Why "6" brass reloads?

[JNunez23]

Just curious as to why a brass case can only be loaded 6 times? I've read and heard from various sources that is the magic number..

So why 6? Who or when was this established? Just curious, as I'm pretty new to reloading and have been wondering this for some time.

Walls get too thin or something? Or maybe applies to rifle more than pistol due to the higher pressure??

Any insight?

[bruceflinch]

[knucklehead0202]

i have some that've been reloaded over 10 times. just keep an eye on them. when they're finished you'll get necks splitting. all depends on brass quality, how hot the loads are, how tight your chamber is....etc...etc....etc....there's no magic number.

[bruceflinch]

I have pistol cases in .40, .38, .45 that have been loaded 8-12 times.

Rifle is a bit more tricky to get the max longevity out of. Case annealing, and/or neck size only for bolt guns will maximize case life. Depending on how cheap your supply of brass is, determmines how much effort you want to put into case prep, IMO.

[JNunez23]

Good to hear!

I literally just read that on a different thread here on Calguns.

They are basing a reload price formula on 6 brass reloads...

I know I reload my pistol brass more than 6 times, same goes for rifle??

[foxtrotuniformlima]

I don't think I could get 6 reloads out of any of my rifle ammo. Maybe though.

[Bill Steele]

I am glad I never heard that "magic" number, I would have spent a whole lot more on brass over the years.

[Chief-7700]

I have some .45ACP brass that's been reloaded so many times the headstamp is gone.

[GeoffLinder]

There is no "magic number" that applies to number of times brass can be reloaded.

.45 ACP can typically be reloaded up to 15-20 times if the load pressure is light. 9mm can go 10+, again depending on load pressure. Rifle brass will usually have a lower lifespan, again because of the load pressure involved coupled with the amount of resizing done.

Also, no one person will get the same result as another due to many factors. Your firearm may damage the extractor area more or less than someone else's firearm. Your resizing techniques may differ. Your perception of when brass is done for will differ from another's perception.

The statement referred to here about 6x is truly FUD

[Dubels]

Depends on your gun and where you get your brass from. Shooting reloads out of Glocks in my experience tends to shorten the life span of the brass because of the unsupported chamber that causes the "Glock Bulge." I have had brass get sketchy on me after reloading 9 times even under lighter loads (147 gr "gaming" loads). But the issue is that when I shoot at the range other brass gets mixed in with mine and I am not sure if they have been reloaded before. Last year I started to mark my new brass and separate them from any other brass stock I have. I am going to see how long they last. But spot check the casings to be safe. Sometimes the brass just doesn't want to be resized and I find it safer just to toss it.

I can see the argument for rifle cases because the case stretches out and you need to trim the case so the material is slowly getting thinner, but I have no personal experience reloading rifle cartridges. I plan on starting to reload .223 when I get my AR complete.

[bohoki]

ive not heard such a thing

[Full Clip]

If one is trying to project their "savings" from reloading by using the same brass multiple times, I don't think "6" is an unreasonable number to use. It's neither too optimistically high nor too low.

[Ahhnother8]

My .223 and .308 brass get loaded 12-20 times. And that is with loads at and over max.

[ar15barrels]

I'm at 2 barrels and 9 firings on my current batch of Winchester 243 brass.
I started with 400 pieces.
In about a year and a half of matches, I lost about 135 pieces to stages where you can't recover your brass.
Then there are about 40 pieces that I can push a primer into with fingertip pressure.
I use those for practice, but not for matches as I worry that one of those primers might eventually fall out of the case and jam up the action when I least expect it.
Even though those primers are only in the cases with fingertip pressure, I still have not had one fall out of a case in practice use and I have fired them twice with fingertip pressure loaded primers just to see when they will eventually fall out.
All brass was full length sized with redding type s bushing dies adjusted for about 0.001" of shoulder bump and using a neck bushing that sizes the neck the minimal amount to hold a bullet.
I don't use an expander button.
I trim it every 3 firings.
None of the cases show signs of case head separation.
None of the cases have started getting split necks.

I'm about to rebarrel the 243 again so I'll probably retire this batch of brass as I don't think it will last through a 3rd barrel.

[rromeo]

.357 and .44 magnum can only be loaded once. I can dispose of your junk brass.