Reusing rifle brass

shoff14

How many times can you reuse rifle brass for it still to be good? Or does it just matter if it fits within size specifications?

ContacFront

Depending what brand brass you are using, what kind of loads you are putting in them (hot or max loads will shorten the life of your brass). Also if you are full length sizing brass each time you will be working the brass more and that will also shorten the life cycle. And some calibers you can use more than others.

Can you give us more details on what you are loading?

shoff14

haven't started loading anything yet. Just trying to learn how to do it before get into it. Just one of those questions that I had.

The gun that I will be loading for is a 25-06. I will probably be only loading for some varmit loads. So I won't be maxing them out.

Do you guys usually seperate your brass by max loads and light loads?

Also for a 25-06, can I use 30-06 brass that I have necked down and trimmed?

D.K.

shoff....brass life depends on your reloading habits. Hot
loads reduce brass life. There are 3 simple tests for brass
quality after looking them over for obvious things such as cracks,
etc.

1. check the primer pocket for looseness or oversizing.
I use CCI primers because they are softer than other
brands and thus will "seat" better on firing. I use
a SINCLAIR pocket uniformer for cleaning....sloppy
primer pockets can be felt when seating the primer if
you use a hand seating tool rather than the press.

2. check the length of the brass and keep the brass to its' proper
length. Trim lengths are given in many mauals.

3. use a straightened paper clip with a very slight bend
in it to check inside the brass for signs of case head
separation...you can feel this with the clip..it should feel
smooth down close to the head and with a bad casing you
will feel a slight bump.

That's it! If your brass passes these tests, they are good,
and how many times they have been fired is unimportant. I'm
* with my reloading....so I dump my brass for new brass after
I hit the 25 times loaded mark!

deadeye46

shoff,here's one rule to go by,if you acquire brass from someone and they don't know how many times it's been loaded (or fired),just pitch it.just something I learned a long time ago.

mrbruce

If your going to use 30/06 brass necked down be sure to check the neck thickness when your finished.The brass has to go somewhere, and it usually ends up in the neck. You will probably need to turn the necks, or ream then out depending on the chamber in your rifle. Your better off just using 25/06 cases to begin with.
In a few cases (pun intended)
I have shot some brass over 12 times and they are still going strong. It just depends on what your doing to them.
if your shooting varmints try the 85gr Nosler Ballistic Tip out with enough H-4350 to get the job done/

Gun control is hitting what your aiming at.

shoff14

Those are the exact tips I have been looking at. Either the 85 or the 90 gr, but i figure I should be able to get a little more velocity out of the 85 gr. tip.

gunnut505

One important tip: NEVER shoot your reloads in someone else's gun!
The whole idea behind reloading for accuracy is to match the cartridge to your guns' chamber; other guns will be different than yours.
BTW, I have reloaded some WW-Super cases for 300Win Mag over 15 times, but always for the same gun.

"Qui non est hodie cras minus aptus erit" --OVID

Iconoclast

shoff - as others have noted, it *REALLY* "depends." If all your loads are going to be shot in the same *bolt-action* rifle, then a neck sizer will minimize the stress on the brass and prolong it's life. I'm not real sure it makes a huge difference, but it will have an effect.

Your best investment at this point will be a good loading manual (I simply cannot recommend the Lyman enough for a beginner). Read the first 50 or so pages carefully and it will answer most of your questions clearly / concisely.

"There is nothing lower than the human race - except the french." (Mark Twain)