stupid? question

[hunt4570]

how do you determine when cases have been loaded to many times/time to replace?SGB

[ricciardelli]

They start coming apart.

[mountainview]

A rule of thumb used by a number of reloaders is to not use the brass after the 5th trimming as the metal thins out too much. Even so, inspect cases for flaws before every loading.

[Castaway]

Depends.  Bottle necked rifle cases are quiet a bit different than straight walled pistol cases.  For rifle, I usually fire twice, trim, fire two more times and trash it.  Is it a hard fast rule?  Not really, each rifle will allow brass to "grow" at a different rate, and RCBS "X" dies eliminate case stretching.  For pistol cases, if loading hot 45's, I load twice hot, then relegate the brass to the plinker pile and shoot to destruction which usually is a split neck from being work hardened.  Had as many as 50 loads with some brass

[KN]

I keep my brass in specific lots. At the first sign of fatigue, usually a spit neck, the lot goes in the trash. Caliber differences will very greatly in the number of reloads you can get.  KN

[Donna]

I don’t load my cartridge too hot, but if you start to see neck splitting then you could anneal the rest to give them greater life. But annealing is time consuming some think its worth it and some do not. Because I don’t load my to hot I throw the split ones away and continue using the rest. Cases will change their geometry at different rates. But definitely if you’re in the habit of loading to the absolute max or even a little over (I say this because loading manuals differ from one another and some firearm are stronger than others) then more caution must be taken. The real answer to your question is either no one has an answer or everyone has an answer. You ask 30 people and your likely to get 30 different answers. So, take the one that sounds the best to you.

Donna

[Nobade]

When the primers fall out in the ammo box, or the cases break in half. Seriously, some of my pistol brass has thousands of reloads on it. But hornet brass lasts maybe 4 shots. It all depends on how well your firearm is assembled, how well you set up your loading dies, what kind of dies you use, how hard you push your loads, etc.

[Flash]

I have 222 Magnum brass that was purchased in the 60's and it still gets reloaded. Don't hot rod your loads and the cases will last much longer than you realize.

[Questor]

I don't have a single answer for that question.

For bottleneck cases of high pressure cartridges like 270, I replace them after four loadings. I know I can probably get 10, but I use these for hunting and practice for hunting and I want to do it this way.

For smaller bottleneck cases like 221 or 223, I'll reload them probably six or seven times or until I detect any trace of incipient case head separation, then I'll replace the whole batch.

For 44 magnum hunting loads, I load the cases twice, then use them for practice ammo until the case mouths split.

For 45ACP and 38 special I reload them until I lose them or the case splits.

[skb2706]

As others have stated depends on many factors

.300 Win mag and similar bottlenecked rounds........maybe 5-7 times medium loads

6mm 30-30 AI ..........as many as I can squeak out of them but at least 16-20

straight walled stuff ....no clue but definitely more than 12

[Duffy]

On straight walled cases usually the mouths or sides will split or the primer pockets will get loose (hotter loads) Some brands of brass lasts longers than others, nickel sometimes seems to split the necks sooner than regular brass.
On bottle neck cases you can check them for head seperation by making a tool. Take a peice of wire twice as long as the case your going to check, (paperclip size or so) sharpen the end and bend it at a short 90 degree. Insert that into the case down to the head and rub it against the side wall while extracting it. With some practice you will feel a ring about a 1/8" above the head that the wire will hook into. A little isn't bad but as they are reloaded it will get worse and eventually crack there and seperate. If you look closely on the outside you can also see it, it'll look like a thin lighter ring and it may not be perfectly round. Don't confuse it with the normal pressure bulge right above the rim. Your chamber size will also determine how many loadings you get, my old 22K Hornet bbl had a large chamber and four loads were the limit, my new Bullberry is very snug and I'm up to six loads now and they still look great.  

Ryan

[willysjeep134]

It seems like my 30-30 cases are indestructable. When they grow too long to crimp without ajusting the die I will trim them back. If the primers seat really easily I will mark the case with a magic marker and throw it out after I shoot it. I have never had a case come apart. I do resize them pretty tight because a lever action can't horse an oversize case into the chamber like some other actions. I also crimp pretty tight so I don't get bullet setback. I even shoot range pickups, especially the once fired stuff that turns up before deer season. After the cases get really scratched up, and if I don't tumble them, then I save them for my 30-6-100 Plinker small game loads and cast lead loads.

[riddleofsteel]

Case failure is hastened by over working the brass. If you have a chamber that is to the big end of the specs and a die set that is to the tight end of the spec then you are streching the brass out and then squeezing it back down again. Ever bend a wire back and forth until it breaks? Try adjusting your die so that it basically neck sizes the case not pushing the shoulder back if it is a bottle neck case. Your cases will last longer and be more accurate to boot. The only time I full length resize rifle brass that has been fireformed is for hunting ammo. That way you know it will chamber with minimum pressure.
One thing to look for is a bright colored ring just ahead of the base of the cartridge. If you see that starting it often means the case is streching at this point and as a result is getting thinner and more brittle. You can confirm this by making a tool from a piece of wire or a paper clip. Bend a little 90 degree crook in one end and reach inside the case. Scrape it along the inner surface of the case. If the case is thinning or getting ready to seperate you will feel a roughness, ridge or groove near the base of the case.
I once loaded quite a bit for the 7-30 Waters. Under heavy loads the case grew like weeds. I had to trim them every few load cycles and the brass thinned rapidly. If you really want to see what is going on with a suspect batch of cases hacksaw one in two length wise.