whats up with some brass?

[3006softpoint]

I have been finding that I like some brass more than others because it will reload more times before the primer pockets loosen up! Do you think they are making the brass cheaper so we by more new brass,or sometimes just poor runs of brass! No need to aneal the the necks primer pocket wears before brass  gets hard to resize! Take the 30-06 at a medium load range some brass you can get 5 plus loads out of others 2 loads and primers are falling out! Poor brass or what?

[Dill45]

I always thought the primer pocket becoming loose was a sign that the brass was being run at some excessive pressure.

To be honest I'm not 100% sure though.  I've never had a primer pocket go south (actually I've never had a primer pocket go south period) before either the neck split, or there appeared to be imminent head separation.

What kind of brass are you using?  Is it nickel plated?

[stimpylu32]

There are lots of reasons for primer pockets to loosen up , excess pressure is just one , The batch of brass used to form the cases is another . The metal itself has a lot to do with how well it will hold up , recycled brass melted down will be different than say Virgin brass due to the compounds used .

I have had Lapua cases that have worn out after 3 loadings , yet had PMC brass that has been loaded over 10 times , the round itself can also cause problems due to the pressure that it operates at , a cartridge that runs at say 18,000 PSI should hold up much longer than say a round that runs 50,000 PSI .

The number of times a case is primed will also make a difference , as will how the primer is installed .

stimpy

[Graybeard]

If brass has loose primer pockets after two firings then either:

1. Pressures are grossly excessive.
2. Brass was defective to begin with.
3. Your primers used initially were over size or those used now are under sized.
4. Someone annealled the case head.

I Just can't think of any other option than those. If you fail to check weight thus capacity of cases you might find some are much heavier thus less capacity and that can jump pressures to unsafe levels even if book loads and this is especially so if you are near max anyway.

In 40+ years of reloading I don't recall ever losing a case to loose primer pockets. I seldom get less than a half dozen loads from any case and most times many times that.

[Johnny6gun]

CCI primers seem to fit a little tighter than the Winchester. What type of primers are you useing?

[3006softpoint]

Yes I use cci & have switched to winchester but fit still seems light ,not good & snug! Maybe I need some wolf primers someone said they fit snugger than normal!