once fired brass
I am new to reloading..so new i have not reloaded a single bullet yet! My question is about once fired brass. I have read the abc's of reloading as suggested by this forum and i am currently reading lymans 49th. Lymans 49th states to never use once fired brass from an unknown source(page 47)? I would like some opinions on this as it seems only once fired brass is available at the present time? Thanks for your time.
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I recently aquired some once fired brass in 257 wtrby mag and full lenghth resized but it will not chamber in my rifle.I did not trim brass so maybe this is the problem.However it chambers fine in a different rifle I own so it has puzzled me.Both are vanguards,one being a back country and the other a standard vanguard.The back country will not chamber the full lenghth resized brass.Any suggestions? 0 -
I use nothing but once fired brass, well until I fire it, then it's twice, thrice etc fired brass.
You have to have a certain amount of faith that it's once fired, but even if it isn't, you're gonna inspect it every time you reload it anyways. Go for it.
Heh, heh, he said "thrice"![:p]
BTW welcome to the forums "weiner".0 -
I reload for several calibers and that rule only holds up for one. My 270 hunting rifle is the only one that I use max loads in. The brass is good for about 3 shots then it goes in the recycle barrel. All other calibers I load down some and the brass lasts for many shots. 0 -
really depends what you are reloading Rifle or pistol and how close to MAX loads Straight walled pistol cases can be loaded many many times. I have loaded 45acp target velocity rounds some over 20 times . But high pressure rifle ammo like a custom 264 Winchester mag that has a chamber on the large size may cause the case to be unsafe to reload even once . 0 -
+1 on Steve and Perry.
I have purchased and sold a lot of brass over the years. Unless you know the person (who doesn't reload) that fired the original you never know how many times it's been loaded. Much of the "once fired" comes from ranges that do sell reloads and you end up with a mix. When I buy bulk I clean and inspect each case. Even once fired in certain calibers such as .38 Super can be an issue.
As Steve and Perry said, if your loading target loads just inspect well, if your loading Max rounds you may wish to use your own brass that you know is once fired.
I almost never buy new ammo, but I inspect really well and throw out anything questionable.
Welcome by the way.0 -
Good advice given here, I suggest you take it [;)]
Welcome aboard "weiner"!0 -
Thanks for the advice...and thanks for the weiner welcome...lol I am sure i will back with more questions...hopefully no dumb ones thanks again to all.. 0 -
A lot of reloading "rules" started out with good reason, but are not always reliable.
Take the "unknown once fired brass" one for example. Back in the day, most of the available "once fired" came out of machine guns with their vastly over sized chambers. That stuff was prone to have a short life. Today, with most of the once fired coming out of commercial chambers, it's not as much of a issue.
As far as case life goes, I started out with about 275 30-06 cases from the trash can (hunter sight in day), and some 25 years & 7500 full power reloads (now on my 3rd barrel) later still have 250 of them on active duty.0 -
I have seen the results of factory rounds that failed on first firing.
As a re-loader you are the quality control guy. Nothing beats good case inspection.
I have brass in 44 mag and 45-70 that have made the trip nearly 50 times. All my guns have nice chamber's or its down the road for them.
I pick up all brass that I find. Sometimes its factory once fired with the box even, other times some factory remanufacture/reloaded. I use mystery brass mostly for down loaded cast bullets shooting just for trigger time.
Generally I buy at least 10 boxes of brass (same lot) sometimes more. Flash hole uniform and inside case mouth chamfer. If they fit the gun I load them a cast bullet load and shoot them (if they don't fit I full length size). After firing I hand scrape the primer pocket fouling, trim to length in Foster case trimmer, inside and outside chamfer. Place in nice boxes and start the log for reloading.0 -
I have cases I have fired hundreds of times.
The main thing is to watch for stretching, loose primer pockets, and incipent head separation. If it passes those, it's good to go.0 -
All Good info, "You" as a new reloader I would like to see you start with new brass. Just 20-40 rounds or so. My Reason, this takes out the little complications of "first time reloading of missed match brass", primer crimps of mil-brass, case trimming etc.
Start from scratch with new brass so you can see what it does in your gun.0 -
Thanks Francf new brass is a bit difficult to find at this time. I have been looking any suggestions for a small quantity source? 0 -
Found some new brass on the auction side..hopefully i will win it!! 0 -
Being new to reloading I would recommend new brass for botlleneck cases and close inspection of any straight-wall cases.
After you get your feet wet and learn about setting your shoulders to match your rifle and annealing necks you will be able to get way more loadings out of bottle necked cases.0 -
My 300 win mag brass I have to take a paper clip down inside and feel for cracks cause they tend to crack at the belt. visual outside insp on the high power loads is not enough. I get maybe 4 reloads out of them at 3000 fps.[:(][xx(][;)] 0
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