How many times can you reload factory brass?

[IrishPirate]

title says it all. What's the deal? I know that some reloaders at gun shows buy brass, but how are they to know how many times the brass has been reloaded and fired? is there a limit to the number of times a case can be fired before it fails?

What about nickle cases? are they reloadable or are they similar to steel?

[bohoki]

i use it till it is unusable

meaning a case split during resize or loose primer pocket

[johnrunner89]

I only reload brass no more than a half dozen times and sometimes less. But thats because I usually collect enough once fired brass to throw the old stuff out after I've used it a handful of times.

[gunboat]

There is no absolute number -- Some straight cases are almost everlasting, some bottleneck cases stretch so bad they only last a few firings.
Nickle case do seem to have a bit shorter life, again depending on how much they are worked.
My main objection to nickle cases is that they seem to be more likely to scratch plain steel dies. A bit of debris on a nickle case will tend to scratch the die as the nickle is harder than the die. Makes no matter with carbide dies.
my ha-penny

[IrishPirate]

so if the round looks ok after being loaded it should be good for firing? and vice versa?

[Bug Splat]

so if the round looks ok after being loaded it should be good for firing? and vice versa?

Yeah just about. Like Bohoki I just keep loading them till they split or won't hold a primer.

As far as the number of times there are too man factors to account for. Pressure of your round, type of brass, type of powder and on and on you can go. Your chamber size is probably the biggest variable. if your chamber is oversized the more your brass will stretch and every time you resize the brass you a stretching it back. On the other hand if you have a match chamber that is tight you are working the brass a lot less. The more you work the brass the harder it gets and splits or cracks. This is why a lot of people who shoot expensive rifle bottle neck brass will anneal the brass after a few firings. Unlike other metals, when brass is annealed it gets softer and brings back the stretchiness to the case. For someone that anneals, brass normally goes bad when the brass in the neck because too thin from all the trimming or the primer pockets get too big.

[IrishPirate]

copy, thanks!

[XDRoX]

I have some brass that you can hardly read the head stamp on. Must have been reloaded well over 20 times is my guess. I keep shooting it until it cracks. I don't load on the heavy side and I don't over-expand so my brass should last a long time.

This is why it's also important to get the brass nice and shiny before reloading. A shiny piece of brass shows it's imperfections easier than a dirty one.

[FieldsofFire]

I use it until it looks to be in bad shape or has obvious damage. I've loaded a lot of my brass seven or eight times by now, and most of it gets cycled out after that because I lose it. Reloading the nickel plated cases is fine.

[Seesm]

More than I ever would have thought I could have... I have some with 8 loads on it....

[Rover]

For straight wall brass, you'll lose it before you wear it out.

[J-cat]

A brass case can be reloaded upwards of 100 times depending on caliber, pressure, the amount of sizing, etc. If you size it wrong, it will fail, if you load it hot, it will fail. If you size minimally and use moderate loads, your brass will last a long time.

[IrishPirate]

does having the carbide dies improve the lifespan of the brass? i was told you don't need case lube if you spend the extra $$$ on carbide dies, is that true?

[J-cat]

Yes, for straightwalled cartriges.

But for bottlenecked cartriges you still have to lube.

[TestPilot]

While you can get away with not using lube with carbide dies, a little now and then (every 5th or so) for pistol cases makes it much smoother. One of the biggest factors in pistol case life is how much you bell the case mouth. The belling and crimping to remove the bell works the case quite a bit. Keep the amount of bell you put on a case to a min to lengthen the case life.