.357 brass, count # of loadings?

[Peakbagger46]

I gave up on keeping track of the number of times I use my .38 and .45 Colt brass. Now that I am going to start and load some .357 loads up, I was wondering if I need to keep track of how many firings the brass has gone through. What do you all do, keep track, or just use the brass until it gives out? I won't be doing any super heavy loads for the .357, probably just some mid-range loads.

 

[bluetopper]

Waaay too much trouble to seperate and keep up with and for what purpose really?

 

[ChristopherG]

just use the brass until it gives out

Give that man a prize.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I just load, shoot and repeat. When it starts to split, it goes in the scrap bucket. Life's too short to spend it counting the times brass is loaded, unless you're loading for some precision shooting competition.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Peakbagger46]

So it won't "blow up" in my gun? I was just a might concerned because of the 357's higher pressure.

 

[918v]

It'll split at the case mouth first. You can reload 38 Special 100+ times. I dunno about 357, but prolly the same.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

Life expectancy is dependent on how much the brass is worked. Resizing, belling and crimping all shorten the life. 357 is a caliber that I can't get to work without resizing. So minimize the amount of belling so the bullet just sits in. That also reduces the amount the case is worked in crimping.

I don't keep track of the number of firings, but I don't reload for precision. So I inspect after resizing pitch and the ones that start cracking. A light behind the press makes spotting neck cracks easier.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I also use straight wall handgun brass until they start to split or the primer pocket gets too loose. Like said above, use them until they fail then chuck them in the scrap bucket.

 

[FROGO207]

+1 on the abuse them until they split. It is a non-issue. I have reloaded my 357 brass mostly 75 times with a couple failures per 100. More pressure does not equal more problems IMO. About the same ratio as the 38 SPL I reload. I do use once fired plated for those rounds that I will be loading and putting away for extended periods (years) however.

 

[Seedtick]

I do use once fired plated for those rounds that I will be loading and putting away for extended periods (years) however.

Hey FROGO, I'm curious.
Why do you use plated brass for long term storage?

ST

 

[bluetopper]

It will "blow up" in your gun, but not blow your gun up, if that's your concern. The neck will just split.

I look forward to every cartridge blowing up every time I pull the trigger.
I thought that was the intent.

 

[evan price]

Seedtick: Probably because the nickel brass won't turn green, discolor, or get nasty like regular brass might do, especially where conditions are not optimal for storage.