Case Life

[Jack Flash]

This has probably been discussed before so please either bear with me or please move along to another thread.

I just read in an old gun rag that a gentleman named Art Blatt once wrote that he had done some experiments with case life for the .38 Special. He recounted that he had reloaded a single case 146 times with mild loads before it "gave up the ghost."

"With maximum loads and a heavy crimp, another case lasted for only 34 reloadings, which still seems like quite a lot."

I'm just curious if any one here has conducted his own experiments, perhaps with different calibers, and would like to discuss his findings.

 

[tedog]

Jack, never kept any records but I was given a few hundred 38 spl.cases when I started reloading in 1971. They looked like they had been loaded many times when I received them. Still using them with the same load, 2.7 Bullseye with 148 gr. w/c for target shooting. Mixed brass with every known headstamp from Super Vel to Peters.

 

[Rule3]

Not trying to by a SA but their life is until they split or otherwise die, which can be forever. May also depend on the brand of brass. Pretty much too long to even keep track of them.
I have only had 357 nickle cases split,
Can not recall any other handgun caliber splitting.

 

[m657]

I started shooting 45LC in cowboy action matches over 15 years ago.
While I haven't tracked individual cases, I'm sure many of the original batch continues in reloads today.

Loss due to splits has remained fairly constant, averaging 1-2 cases per match. Figure 2 matches/month for "10 years" and 1 match/month/"5 years" @ 100 rounds/match, with a buddy shooting the same brass for "7 years" the same amount, is beyond my math skills to calculate. Perhaps somebody can calculate the incident of failure, which I believe averages "about 1-2 cases per match" over that time frame. Some matches have no failures of brass, maybe for a couple of months. Then there may be 4-5 or 1-2 splits.

About 1/2 the splits are discovered after reloading, even if none were found when inspected at pre-loading. The other half are discovered after firing a string, about 1/2 of them in the rifle and 1/2 in the revolver. If it's during the string of 10 in the rifle, a jam results with time/miss penalty. If it's the last of the string, just extra time in clearing at the unload table.

The jam due to split incident is infrequent enough in the rifle only standard inspection is adequate. In bigger matches, we may run "new brass" just to make sure. On the other hand, I don't shoot many of the 'bigger matches' and the problem is rather infrequent.


Every few years we add in another new batch of 100 or so.

The brass brass seems to last for more reloads than the nickle brass.

....what was the question?.....HAR!!!

 

[EarlFH]

I've got some 45ACP brass with a 1942 military head stamp on them, that I've been reloading, over, and over, for at least 30 years, and most of them are still going strong. Once in a while, I have to discard one, or two, that finally give up the ghost. It's usually only the brass that is reloaded extremely heavy, that don't last.

EarlFH

 

[tlen]

Why bother ? It is what it is..... IMHO a waste of time.

 

[glowe]

Jack Flash - If I were you, I would only shoot reloaded brass 5 times and then send them all to me for proper disposal.

I only have short case life problems with large caliber BP cases. I shoot 577 Snider and their case life is sometimes only two reloadings before splitting. Even if I anneal the necks, they just do not last long. Shoot'em until they crack!

 

[ACP230]

I have a couple of .38 Special cases from the first box I bought back in the late 1970s. I loaded them with the last batch of .38s I made.
They probably have been reloaded 20+ times and are still working.

Got some nickle .45 ACP brass that my son and I scrounged at a big pistol match in the early 90s. They have been reloaded quite a few
times and are still OK. They were originally fired in a Reising submachinegun in a side match at the pistol match.
Some split after a while, some have yet to.

 

[sophie]

I have loaded 38 spec. and 357 mag. about 25 times before edges of cases would get a little thin and fractured from crimping. Get some new, load some more.
As mentioned above my nickel brass wouldn't last as long as the brass-brass.


___________
James

 

[Engineer1911]

Back in 1976, I loaded new 357 magnum nickel cases 10 times without a problem. The cases were trimmed before the 6th reloading. I am probably loading some of that same brass because I have nickels cases that the plating has been "tumbled" off of. The cases still hold a bullet tightly.

If you find a loaded split/cracked case so what, shoot it unless you have a Coonan or Desert Eagle semi-auto. If you find an empty split case, toss it. There are a bazzillion more out there to pickup at the range.

 

[venomballistics]

its a complex question
loading 30-06, a caliber Ive tortured into oh so many roles, its a load intensity thing. I have some small game loadings using cast which are past their 30th trip .. the thing is with it is that it is the ballistic equivalent of a warm 38 load. The pressure is so low I almost wouldn't bother resizing them if it weren't for depriming functions of the die.

 

[minconrevo]

Depends on the brass mfg, the recipe used in that time frame, the amount the case mouth is worked, how hot the load is, how "fat" the chamber/cylinder is, taper crimp lasts longer than roll crimp, brass brass lasts longer than nickel plated; WHEW!!! Lots of "what if's".

 

[Norsky]

Around eight years ago I had the same thought so decided to start with one box (50) of once fired Winchester White Box .38 Spl. The load was 3.2 gr. Bullseye, Winchester Small Pistol primers and 158 gr. cast tumble lubed Lead Round Nose bullets. The first cracked case was at 17 loadings. Half of the cases had cracked after 32 loadings, so I stopped testing.

 

[bamacisa]

I don't count times fired. I just use them until they split (crack) Alot of case life is dependent on power of load and amount of crimp used. I am using some cases that I got in the 1970's. (I didn't count number of firings)
Then on the other hand, I have had cases split on first firing.

 

[Buckey08]

I've got .357 mag cases and .38 special cases from 1972 when I got out of high school. My very first love would run out to the gun shops and get me .38 reloads for $2.00 a box for my old mod.15. Then in 1972 .357 cases became hard to get and she'd hunt around for new .357 mag cases (Winchester) for my brand new Mod S&W 66 that came out of Williams Gun Site on a side deal (cops only were given first chance). Still loading the old brass, girlfriend is long gone, missed her for awhile but MAN am I missing that Mod 66!

 

[Jack Flash]

Thanks for the responses, especially Norsky.

Like I said, I am curious if anyone ever conducted their own experiments. I am not "worried" as some posters seemed to suggest. Just curious. So many people here have tried so many different things that I thought many of you would have done your own "brass endurance" tests.

I guess I need to conduct my own on .44 Mag and others. Sounds like it could be fun. In the past, I have shot enough factory ammo that I always seem to have once-fired cases sitting around and never have reloaded any cases more than five times or so.

The only personal experience that I have with split pistol caliber cases (that I can remember) happened with FACTORY Fiocchi .455 Webley Mark II. I had several splits from one box, but none from any of the other boxes, so I concluded this was isolated to one batch of bad brass.

Rifle brass is a different story. Reloading for the .303 British, I did have some complete head separations. I was young and foolish and completely resized each case after firing, then fired them in a variety of old military rifles. I found out that this is a big no-no, given that chamber dimensions of these old warhorses vary so much from one rifle to another. Now I neck-size only and have brass dedicated to each rifle.

I did start an experiment with .303 British brass to see how many reloads I could get with gentle loads. My notes say I got up to ten reloadings then I apparently lost interest and haven't reloaded that brass since. The brass is still around so maybe I'll get going again on that.

 

[parabarbarian]

When I first started reloading I kept track of each "lot" of cases. I found that, for moderate loads and absent any accidents, the case mouth will split from the cold working before the case fails. Those records are long gone but, IIRC, new 38 cases (Speer) lasted at least 30 or so reloads before cracks started appearing. The 357 cases lasted about the same.

I finally stopped bothering to track either one.

FWIW, in the last year I shot about 10K 38 reloads through my revolvers. I started with about 1,500 once fired Speer cases. In that time I tossed one for splitting at the case mouth and a couple more for accidents. I had a couple of others split but those were oddball headstamps I used to set the expander and the crimp so they got worked more than the "regular" brass but never actually loaded and shot.

 

[Rule3]

Thanks for the responses, especially Norsky.

Like I said, I am curious if anyone ever conducted their own experiments. I am not "worried" as some posters seemed to suggest. Just curious. So many people here have tried so many different things that I thought many of you would have done your own "brass endurance" tests.

I nominate 125HP !

After this thread he is the go to guy!!

http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/233680-pick-your-range-brass-long-pic-heavy.html

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I have been loading the same 1200 pieces of Remington .38 Special brass for over 7 years now. I have yet to toss one in the scrap bucket. I'm guessing there are well over 40 reloads on them already and I do flare and crimp when I load.

I have heard stories of reloaders who load their 38 Special brass so long the headstamp is gone!

 

[beagleye]

If you have a big size difference between your chamber and your dies it can certainly accelerate the brass.