do you count the number of loadings on your brass?

Nope. I only shoot and load pistol.

I have some really old .38 spl brass that I've loaded I don't know how many times. You can't even read some of the head stamps, they've been peened out. I am thinking about tossing the lot. Over the years some newer stuff has been mixed in but the original lot is thirty years old. My standard load is 4.0 gr of W231 with a 158gr LSWC, which is no powder puff for a .38 load. Case loss does not seem to be accelerating.

Don't think you'll get away with that on higher pressure rounds like the 9mm though. But certain revolver rounds, especially the Magnums with reduced loads, can last a really long time.
 
I do for research purposes and person knowledge of everything but semi-auto pistol loads which always get mixed and lost.
 
I've often wondered about the number of reloads you can get out of a pistol cartridge, a friend that did some serious small arms testing over the years told me about 20 before the cartridge will fail. I've got over 11,000 rounds of 9mm down range and I've only seen a a few fatigued cases, probably less than 10. I also shoot them until they are split. Currently, I have about 2,000 9mm cases in inventory that I shoot from, I shoot light loads, so case failures should be picking up soon if my friend's theory is correct. I'll keep you posted. ;)
 
Do you mark the brass so you know or just dont add new brass until all of it is discarded?
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There is another option among disciplined reloaders, there are reloaders that are in the claims department, they claim everything. I know a few reloaders that will not fire a cases more than 4 times. I know disciplined reloaders that keep their brass together in the same box for the life of the brass. They use masking tape around the Styrofoam case holder, written on the tape is the history of the cases.

Repeat: A friend built a rifle, the owner approached him at a gun show in Dallas complaining about 'head space'. In the middle of a busy gun show the builder responded with the only response he could, he suggested the owner bring the gun to his shop. Once they were through with their business the man complaining about head space moved on down the I isle and was standing in front of me. I asked to see his fired case. He was proud of the case and handed it to me 'carefully'.

After examining the case I asked the proud owner if that was the only case he had for his rifle, I asked him if he was reloading and shooting it over and over and over etc..? I suggested the case should have come apart many firings ago when fired or sized. I offered to form 200 cases for his rifle for free so he could spread the strain of firing out over 200 cases instead of firing the same one over and over and over etc..

It was about that time the builder got involved again, he asked to see the case again then suggested the proud owner seek advise from a third party/fair and objective smith, a man of few words. It was not long before he returned complaining about the way he was treated by the smith, the man of 'few words'.

The proud owner said the third party man asked him if that was the only case he had and was he loading and shooting it over and over and over etc.. And then, the third party smith tore the case apart and measured the thickness of the case body. He informed the proud owner .0025" is a good thickness for paper but too thin for the case body of a case.

The builder instructed the proud owner not tell inform the smith the name of the builder of the rifle and he informed him not to tell him what I said, as in only having one case.

F. Guffey
 
Don't shoot pistols, but keep track of rifle brass for the reasons stated above AND, keeping track of # of firings for cost effective brass purchases. In .223, purchase Lapua brass at a high price or get $.20 cases? It depends on how many firings one gets with each to see if higher cost is warranted.
 
a friend that did some serious small arms testing over the years told me about 20 before the cartridge will fail.
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It varies greatly from brass to brass, so there is no set number. I've loaded more 38 spl until splitting than anything else, and just in 38 spl it has ranged from 4-16 before splitting. I've got one batch that has 17 loads on it and still going. Worst was some R.P that looked like stainless cases. Was not typical nickel coated brass.

I've got several batches on Freedom Arms 454 casull brass in the upper teens, and have never had one split yet, so end of life is still to be determined.

I have a wide array of results in 44 magnum.
 
Fotheringill, let's not go back to store bought, your Savage will shoot better with your home brew. Keep up the good work.
 
Yes and it's not hard at all to keep track , for rifle that is . I'm big on zip-lock bags .
l1j3PX.jpg


All those are separated by head stamp , times fired , prepped and ready to be loaded . with notes inside as to what they are and if prepped .

I also have bags that have dirty brass ( just used ) that are all separated . Those get de-primed and a quick tumble in full bag lots . Then put back in a bag for final case prep ( sizing , trimming etc ) then put back in bags as you see in the pic above . All that while keeping them segregated . I tend to keep brass in lots of at least 200 pieces . If I have lets say 50 - 308 cases I want to clean . I'll throw them in with another batch of a different caliber to insure they stay separate from my other 308 brass .

I also have 3 different locations that each step is stored so I know at a glance what it what but still keep the note inside to avoid any mistakes .
 
If I have lets say 50 - 308 cases I want to clean . I'll throw them in with another batch of a different caliber to insure they stay separate from my other 308 brass .
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Exactly.

If I have a bunch of brass to tumble, I might, for example, throw in 2 boxes (40 pieces) of .270 Win R-P brass, a box of .30-06 Lapua brass, a box of .30-06 Winchester brass, 43 pieces of LC 67 .30-06 brass (lost a few), 100 pieces of .223 Rem brass, and top everything off with some mixed 9mm or .380 Auto.

Even though there are six different types of brass, and three of them are the same cartridge, everything is easily identifiable afterward.
 
When I shot my M1 Garand in local club Service Rifle matches, I only would use the brass case for three loadings. The first to fire-form, then shot two matches with that brass then discarded. With the M1 Garand, the case must be full-length sized and as such I did not want to risk a head separation and a stuck case during a match. Brass was not that expensive back then, so cost was not the issue as it is now.
With the cost of brass now, I sure would not discard good cases now, and especially when only shooting for fun, not competing.
 
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