In general, what's the longevity of pistol brass?

[Centella]

Morning friends,
Yep, self-explanatory subject title. I currently handload 38sp, 357 mag, 44sp, 44 mag, 9mm and 45 ACP. Been hadloading for a little more than a year. I've mostly handloaded not too hot loads. I understand this is a factor. But in general, how many times would you say this brass can be loaded if you go for medium power loads? I've noticed that my revolver brass looks great after 3-4 loads. My pistol brass starts looking more beat-up prettty quicky... especially the 45 ACP...

Thanks!

 

[CQB45ACP]

Morning friends,
Yep, self-explanatory subject title. I currently handload 38sp, 357 mag, 44sp, 44 mag, 9mm and 45 ACP. Been hadloading for a little more than a year. I've mostly handloaded not too hot loads. I understand this is a factor. But in general, how many times would you say this brass can be loaded if you go for medium power loads? I've noticed that my revolver brass looks great after 3-4 loads. My pistol brass starts looking more beat-up prettty quicky... especially the 45 ACP...

Thanks!

A man after my own heart The answer is, it depends and you’ll get lots of comments. I’ll keep mine to 45acp.

Here’s a good article

How many times can I reload 45 ACP brass? – Florida Reloading

www.floridareloading.com

And, I have been running an experiment since May 2023 and am at 20 reloads. I have several threads discussing.

In brief, the cases are still fine looking but they are at or below SAAMI specs for length. In other words they shrink with each use. Primer pockets tighten not loosen.

That’s all I have. Brace for the onslaught

 

[drband]

My revolver stuff seems to last indefinitely. Semiautomatic pistol brass not as long, but is still pretty durable. I think it depends on the extractor and characteristics of the individual pistol. I had a commander in .45acp that really dinged up the case mouths on ejection. 2-3 times was all it took from that gun. My other .45s seem to just keep shooting the same cases time after time until the case either begins to spit at the mouth, or the extractor groove area gets too much wear. I have .45s and 9s that the head stamps are almost unreadable now.

 

[Kaldor]

Pretty much until you lose it Ive found.

 

[Thomasss]

I shoot range brass in .38, .357 and 9mm. Haven't really tossed too many yet. The primer pockets get loose a few at a time and are scarped.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Until you lose it or the neck splits.

I have pistol brass I bought used 30 years ago that I am still using. Some of my .45 brass has headstamps from the 40s and 50s.

 

[PapaG]

In our commercial loading days, late 60s through late 70s, with 38 special cases, brass lasted a long time, nickle not as long. Dozens of cycles. This was target grade ammo using 2.7 BE and 148 hbwc. 357, loaded to the top sensible range, would often develop cracks in the neck as early as the fourth or fifth loading. More often in the nickel plated cases.
Auto loading brass is subjected to much more trauma in the shooting cycle.
Some brass seems to work harden more than others which can be a factor.

 

[Centella]

A man after my own heart The answer is, it depends and you’ll get lots of comments. I’ll keep mine to 45acp.

Here’s a good article

How many times can I reload 45 ACP brass? – Florida Reloading

www.floridareloading.com

And, I have been running an experiment since May 2023 and am at 20 reloads. I have several threads discussing.

In brief, the cases are still fine looking but they are at or below SAAMI specs for length. In other words they shrink with each use. Primer pockets tighten not loosen.

That’s all I have. Brace for the onslaught

Alright, thanks so much!

 

[Centella]

My revolver stuff seems to last indefinitely. Semiautomatic pistol brass not as long, but is still pretty durable. I think it depends on the extractor and characteristics of the individual pistol. I had a commander in .45acp that really dinged up the case mouths on ejection. 2-3 times was all it took from that gun. My other .45s seem to just keep shooting the same cases time after time until the case either begins to spit at the mouth, or the extractor groove area gets too much wear. I have .45s and 9s that the head stamps are almost unreadable now.

Thanks! yeah, my 45 is a brand-new Sprinfield 1911, seems to really be beating those mouth cases on extraction...hopefully just part of the break-in period. But I'm hopeful about the revolver brass...

 

[Insignificant bill]

Yep pistol brass tends to last. Rifle brass not so much although annealing definitely helps.

 

[Reeferman]

I have some Federal and Winchester 38 special brass that has been loaded so much the head stamps are getting hard to read.

 

[EMC45]

I have nickel brass that isn’t nickel anymore, save for the rim recess cut. I also have .45 auto brass that has almost lost the lettering on the head stamp. All my loads are below max too.

I use brass till they crack. Period. I have brass that I load and shoot from the early part of WW2. No worries.

 

[Anchorite]

Pistol brass? Until it cracks. I’m guessing somewhere around 20 or so loadings, but I’m shooting 45ACP at less than book-max. I don‘t fool with reloading any other pistol calibers.

Revolvers….I’ve got some that I have quit counting. As long as you don’t hot rod your loads, you’ll get your money’s worth.

 

[bihj]

I have some 45ACP that has been reloaded enough times that the headstamp is gone.

 

[ballman6711]

My pistol brass starts looking more beat-up prettty quicky... especially the 45 ACP...

Thanks! yeah, my 45 is a brand-new Sprinfield 1911, seems to really be beating those mouth cases on extraction...hopefully just part of the break-in period.

Try adjusting your powder charge up or down and see what it looks like. For my 1911, too light will ding the mouth, too hot will mark the extractor groove. There's a sweet spot, and when you find it you'll know. Problem is it may not always be the best, most accurate load.

But that's the cool thing about reloading, you can tailor the load to the gun.

chris

 

[243winxb]

100 New 357 mag Starline brass. 22 loadings & counting. 1 split mouth. 163gr cast lswc. Alliant 2400/13 grs.

No 9, 12.1 grs. A few 4227 & w296.

Not lubing any pistol brass, for RCBS cardide dies. .

38sp, 357 mag, 44 mag, 9mm and 45 ACP

I load them, but not really tracking times loaded. 500 Starline 45acp on 6th loading cycle. My "Match Ammo"

 

[Walkalong]

in general, how many times would you say this brass can be loaded if you go for medium power loads? I've noticed that my revolver brass looks great after 3-4 loads. My pistol brass starts looking more beat-up prettty quicky... especially the 45 ACP...

Lots and lots, 3 to 4 is nothing.

 

[armoredman]

Pretty much until you lose it Ive found.

Ditto - it's FAR more likely that I will lose it before it fails. I think I can count the number of 9mm brass I've scrapped for splits on the fingers on one hand, in just under 20 years of loading. Revolver brass seems to split before 9mm does, and I have darn few of those, too.

 

[IowaBob]

I will echo the "Load 'em until you lose 'em" replies. I've been loading the same batches of 9mm, 38 Spec, 357 Mag and 45 ACP brass since the early 1980s. The 38 Spec in particular have probably been loaded close to 100 times and are still in good shape. Occasionally I will have a case split, and the headstamps on the auto loader brass are pretty beat up and almost unreadable, but they still work.

 

[Highland Lofts]

When my son bought his Kimber 45acp -1911 he kept track of how many reloads he did on the cases.
He quit counting when he go to 52 reloads. You can't read the head stamps.
He quit counting a few years ago.

 

[bullseye308]

I have 38 brass that I stopped counting a few years ago, and it was 56 loadings on it, and it was all range pickup. On some the nickel is barely visible, and the headstamps are hard to make out, but it’s still going. These are 2.7gr. bullseye and 148 wc loads. My 357 load is 5gr bullseye and a 158 wc and that brass is at 24 loads and still going. Some of my 9mm went 30+ before I quit keeping track. Maybe 7 cases in 5 years lost to splits and I lose very few, I lay out a big tarp where I shoot. 223 I’m only on load 4 on some cases so nothing to report on them so far. 308 I only got about 3 but my CETME was rough in them.

 

[BBarn]

Depends mostly on the pressure. Low pressure loads below 20k psi can often be reloaded dozens of times. I've lost count on some 45 Auto cases where the headstamp has become faint, but still load just fine. Whereas only one full pressure load is recommended on cases with some very high pressure rounds like the 454 Casull.

On medium pressure rounds like the 357/41/44 Magnums, I will often get some case splits after 10-20 loadings.

 

[slickracer]

I’ve had some 38 Special go well over 30 times with mild cast bullet loads.

 

[AJC1]

Anything you taper crimp will last longer than something you use with a heavy roll crimp. Brass used on lead dies before brass used with jacketed. The more I work the brass the faster it dies. I do loose some to primer pockets but not many.

 

[Charlie98]

my 45 is a brand-new Sprinfield 1911, seems to really be beating those mouth cases on extraction

As Ballman suggests, you can range your load up and down a little to see if you can fix that, but you can also fix it by tweaking the extractor, or replacing it.

My first .45 was a Springfield stainless government, it flung brass straight back at my face... I called it The Wretch. In fact, I have a burn mark in my right eyebrow where a piece of brass wedged between my melon and my shooting glasses. I sold it to my brother, who never had that problem. He still has it, as a matter of fact. Knowing now what I didn't know then, all I would have had to do was change the extractor...