.243 brass life

[tvc15]

   At what point do you just throw out your brass? I have some .243 brass that has been used 4 times but has no warning signs yet. They were shot with medium charges.
    I am pretty anal about the brass and check each one with my reading glasses for split necks and separation and use a paper clip on the inside.
  Also, What is usually the first sign? Neck split. Separation or loose pockets?  TVC15

[stimpylu32]

Some say no more than 5 times , i have some 270 brass that is at over 10 and still going strong . split necks are the number 1 reason that i pitch cases . since i started to annell my case necks those numbers have gone way down on even them .

If you neck size only the cases will last longer as you are not work hardening the brass as much , just keep looking over the rounds as you get ready to load and the brass will tell you when its time to replace them .

stimpy

[Dave in WV]

I load the .243 and if you haven't annealed the brass it's probably time to. I full length resize. I load stout loads with 100gr bullets and I trim my .243 brass every time.

[DalesCarpentry]

I load the .243 and if you haven't annealed the brass it's probably time to. I full length resize. I load stout loads with 100gr bullets and I trim my .243 brass every time.

What does annell mean? Thanks Dale

[stimpylu32]

Dale

here you go .

 http://www.6mmbr.com/annealing.html

stimpy

[Kurt L]

just be sure to follow how to anneal directions as if you get them to hot you can do more damage than not doing them.
by making the case weak.

[DalesCarpentry]

Dale

here you go .

 http://www.6mmbr.com/annealing.html

stimpy

Thanks Stimpy. I do understand now. For anyone who has not read this article you should. It is a good read. Thanks again Dale

[Dave in WV]

I use the Hornady annealing kit and it's quick and easy.

[Lloyd Smale]

I dont aneal brass. Its not that i dont think it works its just that i load so much other stuff, mostly handgun, that my rifle loading techniques have tended to get less precise over the years. I trim brass when its new and again on about the 4th firing. I rarely clean primer pockets anymore other then the fact that i tumble brass size and deprime and tumble again so the tumbler takes care of some of it. I usually load rifle brass till the necks crack or i see that failure is emminant but when im loading rounds for hunting i use new or once fired brass. The days of me looking for the majic 1/4 inch loads for rilfes are gone. Im more into the handguns and look for useable accuracy in my rifles. If i find a load that gives me a one inch 100 yard group out of a hunting gun i can see no reason to tweek the load beyound that. A little more for a varmit rifle but in all actuality a one inch varmit load will take care of about anything. Ive got nothing against anyone who takes the time to really wring out a rilfe as i used to do it myself but find lately that if im standing behind a press or the loading bench i want to see a pile of ammo not a dozen perfect cases that might buy me another 1/4 inch of accuracy.

[Questor]

tvc15:

All of my bottleneck brass cases are for hunting and practicing for hunting, and I discard them after 4 loadings. I am sure they will last longer, but I just don't want any problems. I know of guys who load their bottleneck cases 7 to 10 times. But they shoot a lot and find it worthwhile to do so. If I shot a lot of rifle, I'd do the same.

One thing I do when reloading high pressure cases is to check for incipient case head separation. I use a straightened out large size paper clip that has a small L bend at the end. This L bend is sharpened and makes it easy to detect grooves on the inside of the case where case head separation is likely to occur. I believe if you can eliminate cases with this affliction, and cases with cracked case mouths, and cases with loose primer pockets, then you can just keep shooting them so long as you keep them trimmed to the right length.

[huntswithdogs]

I load for the 243 and usually throw them away after the necks split. I've not had any problems with enlarged primer holes or case separation. These cases get trimmed after three firings.

HWD

[huntswithdogs]

About the above comments that I made...These cases are being fired from a Mauser actioned rifle that is quite tight. My mileage may vary from others.

HWD

[ihookem]

Nice article, I never annealed but with the price of brass these days I'm going to start. Brass seems to have really gone up. 30 bucks a hundred for 243.

[huntswithdogs]

Dang, brass has gone up that high !??! Looks like I gotta start scrounging again! I haven't bought any brass in years but my 243 are getting under 200 or so. Looks like my range day monday is gonna turn into a barrel turning party!!! Lord knows what all I'll find.

If brass prices have gone up that much, wonder what the scrap yards are paying for old brass?


HWD

[ihookem]

 243 brass is 31 bucks at Midway, 33 at Cabelas. It went up 3 bucks in a month or so.

[The Sodbuster]

If brass prices have gone up that much, wonder what the scrap yards are paying for old brass?

Around here they're paying about $1.60/lb.  At my local, public range, there's hardly any brass left on the ground anymore compared to a couple years ago.