Anyone Keep Track of Number of Times Reloaded?

[kbm6893]

I started reloading about 18 months ago. 9MM and .38 Special. Load very middle of the road. Just punching paper and having fun.

I started with brass I knew was factory fired once. I only shot factory for years and have been saving the brass in case I started reloading.

But I have loaded almost all of my 9MM brass and 70% of my .38. Unlike most people, I don't reload to shoot a whole lot more, so I have way more loaded rounds than I do fired brass.

But I don't want to stop reloading until I shoot up more of my finished rounds, especially with winter coming and shooting opportunities even less. And I don't want to seperate the finished rounds. As it is now, I dump them into an ammo can for each caliber. Can labeled of course with recipe.

So should I just tumble and prep the once reloaded brass and just add them to the can, or keep them separate? Should I just shoot until
A case splits and then chuck them or continue to keep track of their times being reloaded?

I have shot probably 400 rounds of my reloaded 9MM and at least that of the .38. The brass is sitting in a seperate bucket and marked as once fired reloads.

 

[fredj338]

I only track my precision rifle brass. The service pistol brass, just shoot it & reload it.

 

[Twoboxer]

Precision rifle yes, all other no.

 

[J. R. WEEMS]

KEEPING TRACK--

Well I guess you could say I do-- the reloading labels have a spot for that so it is easy-- After 10 reloading of the brass I get somewhat lazy. things happen, splits, etc. just the way it goes.

 

[roscoepc]

I've got 4 boxes of brass for reloading my 500, 50 cases each, loaded for TP plus one "lot" of store bought rounds consisting of about 47 cases loaded with 350gr Hornady XTP bullets for hunting. I keep records of the TP ammo numbered box 1 thru 4 and when I load my range blocks the box number is logged with the range block number in my records..

I do this to track consumable usage but mainly for the amount of range cycles for the casings just like yer asking about!! I'm not running a hot load in my 500 but I am interested in how many cycles I can get before signs of case failure....

And if anyone is wondering what brand of range block I'm using, it's a home made brand that was R&D'd right here in my Man Shed!!! Here's some pic's and each block holds 50 rounds!!

 

[9mmsubgun-m11]

Pistol gets loaded till it splits. You should get a lot reloads if your not loading hot and the gun your using does not beat up the brass. I had 700-1000 9mm cases that have been loaded 35-50 times before I recycled it.

 

[SteveFi]

revolver & rifle brass I track number of reloads but semi-auto pistol brass I dont unless I find all the cases from factory brass then I might bother to note that as once fired but after that dont bother

 

[Engineer1911]

In 1975, after the 10th reload on new 357 mag brass with a max load I quit keeping track.

I keep reloading brass until the bullet won't stay in case after crimping. I get all the X's and 10's out of my brass!

 

[BC38]

Nah, I'm not shooting precision matches with money on the line, just plinking for fun and practice, so I reload and shoot my brass 'til it fails.

 

[Nevada Ed]

I always log my rifle brass trimmed, reamed and loaded/fired.

Pistol/revolver...... times loaded with full loads.
First sign of crack or fail they go to target loads .......and times loaded.

My new C9 (9mm) has had 504 loads through it and I have boxes of GI, factory and SD cases on hand with number of times fired.

2x, 3x, 5x etc.

 

[Frank46]

Regular pistol brass I don't bother with any tracking. I've a batch of 45acp mixed brass that I've been shooting for about 15 years. If one cracks at the case mouth in the scrap bucket. Hunting loads get prepped almost like match brass only do this in 50 case lots. Couple rifles I tracK how many rounds down the tube. Frank

 

[Nemo288]

Yes.
Keeping track of 44 Special is probably unnecessary but anything more powerful might be helpful.

 

[ageingstudent]

My 22-250 brass for sure. Not really keeping track of all my pistol and revolver brass, but I have been keeping track of a 100 piece sample of each caliber I shoot. I just wanted to see if there are any glaring differences between the calibers. Nerd.

 

[BLUEDOT37]

I don't track total reloads per case. I've got brass from the 70's I'm still using. Once they split, or the primer pocket gets too loose, I (reluctantly) trash them.

I do keep all my brass, that's in rotation, prepped & ready to be primed & flared, once I know what load I'm going to use in them. I keep about 100 cases each in marked quart freezer bags.

To try & get even usage on my brass, inside each bag is half an index card, numbered (1, 2, 3, 4...). Once I've removed all the brass in #1, I move that card back to #2's bag & #2 back to #3's, & so on, with the last numbered index card going in the now empty bag. The next batch of fired & prepped brass goes in that bag.

.

 

[kbm6893]

Thanks. As a new reloader I guess I'm still a bit paranoid. But when you say "until it splits", could there be any damage to the gun depending on the split? I weigh every charge and triple check before the powder goes in and I have a whole system with different colored blocks on different sides of the bench to ensure I am not double charging a case. I check the cases to make sure none are overcharged before I seat a bullet too, so I'm not worried about an overcharge harming the gun, but when a case splits, the pressure in contained by the chamber and no harm to gun or shooter, right?

 

[old&slow]

No. I do not count # of times loaded. Dirty handgun brass gets thrown in to the dirty bucket.
When I clean it, it moves to the clean brass bucket. I inspect it before and during the reloading process.
I use plastic Kitty Litter buckets for pistol brass storage ( about 5 gallon size).
Rifle brass I keep a note with it , as to which operation I'm at with it,, i.e.. cleaned ,, sized ,, trimmed ,, etc. I inspect it during each operation.

 

[shocker]

Thanks. As a new reloader I guess I'm still a bit paranoid. But when you say "until it splits", could there be any damage to the gun depending on the split? I weigh every charge and triple check before the powder goes in and I have a whole system with different colored blocks on different sides of the bench to ensure I am not double charging a case. I check the cases to make sure none are overcharged before I seat a bullet too, so I'm not worried about an overcharge harming the gun, but when a case splits, the pressure in contained by the chamber and no harm to gun or shooter, right?

Case splits due to metal fatigue shouldn't cause a problem in a modern handgun.
At about 10% of the surplus 7.62X54R ammo splits the case when I shoot it from my Moisin Nagant 91/30. The chamber is ridiculously oversize and steel only stretches so much. Nothing bad happens as far as the shooter is concerned.

I don't count cycles as "moderate" loads don't cause much wear and tear on the brass.

 

[bananaman]

I reload .38, 9mm, .40, 45ACP, & 45 Colt. I will keep using brass unless there is a problem with a case. Do not load crazy heavy loads for anything. I rarely have to discard any cases. I use my own used brass & any that I find at the range. 1 day, I picked up 150 .357 mag cases. Appeared to be once fired. The boxes for them were left also. Bob

 

[OKFC05]

But when you say "until it splits", could there be any damage to the gun depending on the split?

I have never seen a chamber damaged by an ordinary mouth split, even ones that sent way down the case. Failure due to overloads or weak cases at the head are a different matter.

I bought a large quantity of Federal nickel plated .38 and reload them until they split. When I take the brass out of the tumbler, I shake it and listen for the changed tone that split .38 cases make, and check for the splits.

 

[fredj338]

In 1975, after the 10th reload on new 357 mag brass with a max load I quit keeping track.

I keep reloading brass until the bullet won't stay in case after crimping. I get all the X's and 10's out of my brass!

Or primer. When seating primers, if the primer offer little to no force, I mark that case so I don't pick it up or pick it up & toss it.