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Hi
Newbe here with my first post/question. I recently started reloading 45ACP and 38/357 ammo. I understand .45 ACP can be reloaded many times, but I haven't heard how many times .38 brass can be loaded. Any ideas?:confused:
(Stand by. More novice questions to come)
Thanks.
Ric learn to anneal and if you are loading them on the light side instead of max you will get quite a few loadings out of them.
Good Luck Ken.
It depends on the brass, the gun and the loads. There's no way to predict it.
Some people (I didn't even say "shooters") will tell you that such or such brass will last "X" times, like if they all split at the same time...
My experience is that, at some point, auto brass and the .38/.357 will start quitting one or two at a time. Sometimes it takes 8 or more reloads, sometimes not.
In the case of the .38, I was utterly disappointed at the rate of failure even with good brass. Don't let that bug you, .38 is one of the cheapest and often free.
One way to limit lhe losses is to go easy on the crimping, IF your dies give you enough neck tension.
kg
Every lot of brass is different. I have found no real consistency even in brass from the same manufacturer. My general rule is to toss the cases when I have lost more than 10% to neck splits, or when the primer pockets loosen up, regardless of how many times they have actually been loaded.
With revolver brass, the hotter the load, the firmer the crimp needed to both insure good ignition and to keep the bullets from lengthening under recoil and binding up the cylinder. The heavier the crimp, the more the brass is worked and the sooner neck splits will begin to happen. Over expanding the necks to accept bullets is another stresser of brass, too. They only need to be belled just enough to start the bullet without shaving lead or collapsing the neck. Many loaders overdo it. Expect to lose a few cases getting the dies adjusted properly. I have taken some lots of .357mag cases over twenty loadings, but most of the loads were of the light target variety with lead bullets. Conversely, I have had lots that only stood up to four or five loadings before the necks started splitting and I had to toss them. I'd expect at least ten loadings from a decent lot if you treat them right.
45ACP is a low pressure cartridge that will stand up well to multiple loadings, but again, you have to watch not to over expand the necks for longer life. Over crimping is problematic not from stress but because the cases headspace on their necks, so it usually is not an issue effecting the cases' longevity. They do not generally develop splitting problems as soon as revolver cases do. With a good lot, it is not unreasonable to expect fifteen or more loadings before the primers seat too loosely and/or you have some neck splits.
All good info. Thanks guys.
I find the nickle plated brass to be prone to splitting even with low pressure loads in both 45 acp and 38 spc. DALE
I shoot both calibers till they split. Some of my brass has been reloaded maybe 20 times or more. I lose about one out of every thousand. I inspect my brass very close at two stages before they go in the hopper to be charged. I don't load max loads as all I am hunting is bullseye's on paper. I don't over stress the brass while reloading either. I have found the same thing as Dale about the nickel plated also. Why it doesn't last as long I haven't a clue.
The nickel plating isn't as resilient as brass. It also takes the place of brass, inside and out, even if very thin. So you have the combination of thinner brass stressed by the tight bond of the rigid nickel. When the nickel gives up to the stretching, the underlying brass is torn, and a split is inevitable.
The end results is overall brittle brass cases that are pretty for a little while.
I usually save the nickel plated cases for carry and hunting loads. Neither gets reloaded very often. For target and practice loads I mostly use unplated, but I have several lots of plated Win .357mag cases that are over 20 loadings with no signs of cracking or splitting despite hot loads and heavy crimps. OTOH, I've had plated cases split and/or delaminate on the first resizing. I am more trusting of the unplated ones for most of my shooting.
I load for the 45 ACP and 357 Max. Since I always use low powered loads (700-750 fps) in the .45 so thought the brass would last..it does...I lost count of the number of times I reloaded it...I would guess 20 plus times. since I taper crimped I never had a case split. What I did miss were hairline cracks in the web area. I learned my lesson when one let go on me. Blew out the grips and spray a few pieces of brass into my face.
I now use 45 Super brass for the beefed up web area and carefully inspect any brass I reload.