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"5X Brass Bucket"

Jim Poulette

Jim Poulette

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Apologies if this has been covered before, but:

So I arbitrarily made a "5X bucket" for my .44 mag brass (all from new WIN WSC44MU) - a place to put brass after a fifth resize, de-prime and clean (5 reloads).

I went through it last night - and frankly it all looked pretty close to brand new. Granted, I make very few full mag loads over 1000fps (and also probably over-clean it) - but I am fascinated at how good this brass looks.

Tons of opinions on the internet about anywhere from 10-20 reloads with larger caliber straight wall cases. I know it's subjective, but is there a rule of thumb for how many times you can safely reload straight wall brass, or is it purely inspection / pressure sign based ?
 
All I can say is I don't keep track of my pistol brass firings and I KNOW for sure that I've reloaded 44 mag brass well beyond 5 firings with no issues so far.
I just load them until they split. I think I've only had 2 cases split in the 6+ years I've been reloading 44 mag.
 
That is hysterical - most of the online posts say exactly the same thing. One guy even said he thinks he's gotten "at least 40 or 50 loads" out of his .44 brass, and he "holds them up to the light" to look for side wall defects.

Anyway, I'm going to go with it. They also all feel about the same when resizing & flairing - so that may be a decent clue. :p
 
If you think about it - max allowable pressure for .44 mag is about 40K psi. My loads, so far, haven't even breached 23K psi (Pmax-40%). I would suspect there is some kind of a correlation between how hard you work them and how long they last. One guy at the range told me "as long as the spent cases keep falling out of the cylinder - you're good".

Bottom line - now I have tons of brass to use ! [cheers]
 
Last edited:
Agt. Smith said:
If you think about it - max allowable pressure for .44 mag is about 40K psi. My loads, so far, haven't even breached 23K psi (Pmax-40%). I would suspect there is some kind of a correlation between how had you work them and how long they last. One guy at the range told me "as long as the spent cases keep falling out of the cylinder - you're good".

Bottom line - now I have tons of brass to use ! [cheers]
Click to expand...
All of my 44 mag loads are very warm. Not max but very close, and the brass is still holding up.
 
Agt. Smith said:
Apologies if this has been covered before, but:

So I arbitrarily made a "5X bucket" for my .44 mag brass (all from new WIN WSC44MU) - a place to put brass after a fifth resize, de-prime and clean (5 reloads).

I went through it last night - and frankly it all looked pretty close to brand new. Granted, I make very few full mag loads over 1000fps (and also probably over-clean it) - but I am fascinated at how good this brass looks.

Tons of opinions on the internet about anywhere from 10-20 reloads with larger caliber straight wall cases. I know it's subjective, but is there a rule of thumb for how many times you can safely reload straight wall brass, or is it purely inspection / pressure sign based ?
Click to expand...
I’m here for you. If you are concerned I will gladly take that 5x brass and let you know how many reloads I get. 😎
 
I load handgun brass until it splits or I lose it. Very few split. I have .357 brass that has been loaded so many times that the nickel plating is worn off. Rifle brass is a bit different. I load .223 once and throw it away. It's all over the ground at the club and I have many thousands of them. .43 Spanish is at the other end of the spectrum. It's expensive and hard to find. I don't resize it and will load it as many times as I can get away with. I've only experienced loose primer pockets in some .30/06 from Taiwan.
 
EddieCoyle said:
I did a test...

Cartridge Case Longevity - Part 1 - MassReloading

vintagepistols.com

The failure mode for revolver cases is the case splitting.

The failure mode for 45 ACP is the primer pocket shortens up.

How many times can you reload a .45 ACP case? - MassReloading

The .45 ACP has a reputation for legendary durability. Is it well-deserved? Read this and find out.
vintagepistols.com
Click to expand...
I often source this test when talking to new reloaders about the question of how many firings.
I swear I first read this article in a Goal newspaper. Is my memory correct on that?
 
Nick Leduc said:
I often source this test when talking to new reloaders about the question of how many firings.
I swear I first read this article in a Goal newspaper. Is my memory correct on that?
Click to expand...
Yeah, I think I did the 38 Special one when I was contributing to the GOAL paper. Starline Brass has also shared both articles multiple times on Facebook.
 
I sort of gave up on the X bucket
I now take 100-300 pieces of brass and load until I have problems then the entire batch gets nixed to scrap bucket. If its brass I dont have quantity in I will then do a deep clean and sort and decide if I should press on with the rest of that batch
 
Well, this is why the "5X brass" looks so good. Honestly, aside the darkened primer pocket - you'd swear they are brand new. :cool:

The only thing I have noticed (purely numerical, harder to tell with accuracy because I do everything off-hand) is that standard deviation on velocity goes down when I sort brass by head stamp (regardless of how many times it's been used). This may be the one thing I need to continue. It's funny - when I get used brass you can always tell the shooters from the brass rats. One will be all one headstamp, the other a jumbled mix. No biggee I suspect, as long as I keep them sorted.
 
Agt. Smith said:
Apologies if this has been covered before, but:

So I arbitrarily made a "5X bucket" for my .44 mag brass (all from new WIN WSC44MU) - a place to put brass after a fifth resize, de-prime and clean (5 reloads).

I went through it last night - and frankly it all looked pretty close to brand new. Granted, I make very few full mag loads over 1000fps (and also probably over-clean it) - but I am fascinated at how good this brass looks.

Tons of opinions on the internet about anywhere from 10-20 reloads with larger caliber straight wall cases. I know it's subjective, but is there a rule of thumb for how many times you can safely reload straight wall brass, or is it purely inspection / pressure sign based ?
Click to expand...
I stopped counting how many times I reloaded my 45/70 cases. I was well over 12.

For 9mm, I am getting around 10-12 reloads before a small crack develops. I would be able to get more out of it if I wasn't loading .358 bullets.

Straight walled brass will last a long time.
 
Last edited:
Agt. Smith said:
Apologies if this has been covered before, but:

So I arbitrarily made a "5X bucket" for my .44 mag brass (all from new WIN WSC44MU) - a place to put brass after a fifth resize, de-prime and clean (5 reloads).

I went through it last night - and frankly it all looked pretty close to brand new. Granted, I make very few full mag loads over 1000fps (and also probably over-clean it) - but I am fascinated at how good this brass looks.

Tons of opinions on the internet about anywhere from 10-20 reloads with larger caliber straight wall cases. I know it's subjective, but is there a rule of thumb for how many times you can safely reload straight wall brass, or is it purely inspection / pressure sign based ?
Click to expand...
Threads a week old but Ill throw in my 2 cents. I was taught to retire rifle cases after 5-6 reloads and pistol cases were GTG until they showed a defect.
 

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