How many times can you .....
reload a brass case? I've got a Remington 700 in 7mm Rem Mag. I know the books say that the brass will get a bright ring around the bottom of the case, but I've never seen one. I've loaded some cases 4 or 5 times with minimal case trimming. I shoot light to medium loads (50gr of 4320 w 120gr bullets). I always full length size, in case my Dad wants to use some rounds.
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If you take care of your brass you can shoot it a lot before throwing it away.
What you describe is usually right at the top of the pressure spectrum.
I've gotten as many as 12 loads from 7 WSM...and as few as 1. Better to get 12 or 10. 3-5 is right up in the hottest loads. You will get way better barrel life and just as good accuracy loading down 100 fps oftentimes.
Bottom line, if the brass still looks good and you aren't shooting to catch it on fire, keep loading it. Do remember the two biggest inspections you need to conduct are the necks, for splits, and right above the belt (on the inside) for thinness/separation.
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quote:Originally posted by Ambrose
If you are indeed loading 50 gr. of IMR4320 with 120 gr. bullets, you are getting about 2750 fps from your 7 Rem. Mag. That's about what you would get from a .250 Savage with a 120 gr. bullet. Your 50 gr. load is 6 gr. below the recommended starting load according to my Lyman book. If it works for you, great; your brass should last indefinitely.
Ambrose, I don't know what I missed but you're right that is a light load not a hot load. I must've been thinking 60 not 50 gr. But, yes, brass will last forever at this rate.0 -
If you are indeed loading 50 gr. of IMR4320 with 120 gr. bullets, you are getting about 2750 fps from your 7 Rem. Mag. That's about what you would get from a .250 Savage with a 120 gr. bullet. Your 50 gr. load is 6 gr. below the recommended starting load according to my Lyman book. If it works for you, great; your brass should last indefinitely. 0 -
"I always full length size"..........that is going to shorten case life, especialy with a belted mag. If you just neck size you can get over 20 loadings per case. My personal 'best' was 50 loadings on a 'set' of .22/250 brass cases. 0 -
I have some cases I neck size only with light loads that are over 100 reloads and show no problems.
On the other hand, I have some that I full length size and load with full end loads that last only 2-3 loads.
So it all depends.0 -
That "always" or "never" term will get you in trouble. If you happen to have a set of dies that closely fit the chamber of your belted mag, the brass will last about as well as any other type. If your dies are short or chamber long, then the cases won't last long. I've full length sized belted brass for years and have not had anything close to a seperation from either 7Rem mag or 300 Win mag. 0 -
Until you see cracks or something you don't like. I have reloaded some twice and some over 10 times...........nver know! 0 -
After reloading any cartridge case, especially bottle necked cases, you should start checking for signs of weakness and streaching. Some cases will start growing in length after one or two firings. 0 -
Most cases "grow" in length (stretch) from resizing. Firing the case results in very little lengthening, usually only .0005 inch. The expander ball of the depriming rod stretches the case neck longer each time it is deprimed even more so when a full length sizer oversizes the neck. By using neck size bushing dies, only a minimum (optimum) amount of sizing is done resulting in almost no stretching of case and very long case life giving as much as 50 or more loadings. Just measure a few cases before and after resizing and before and after shooting. 0 -
Pushing the shoulder back to far on sizing will make the brass Stretch, resulting in a case separation in the body or more common near the head. You 7mag headspaces on the belt, but sizing your brass to headspace on the shoulder gives the longest case life. This method does not work well when switching the same ammo between firearms. There are tools to adjust how much you size. See this >http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=12897/GunTechdetail/Gauging_Success___Minimum_Headspace_and_Maximum_COL See photos here >www.photobucket.com/joe1944usa Its possible to have a case head separation of the first firing if the guns headspace is bad. 0
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