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45 ACP brass life

10K views 59 replies 39 participants last post by  Rifter 
#1 ·
How many times do you reload your 45 ACP brass before discarding? I reload about 4 or 5 time then trash them. I've been told I'm throwing away good money.
 
#12 ·
I had a round rupture in the unsupported section of the barrel setting off a round in the magazine. Not fun and expensive repair. Kimber said it was not from over pressure just a weak case (PMC). I had thought I was shooting new ammo but there was a possible a reload got in the box loaded with Bullseye powder. If that is so (kimber is sending the round back with the 45) for sure they were reloaded less than 5 times. I keep track of how many time I reload all my rifle and pistol brass.
So that is how I came up with this number.

I am considering going to a ramped, fully supported barrel and that would fix that problem.
 
#26 ·
I had a round rupture in the unsupported section of the barrel setting off a round in the magazine. Not fun and expensive repair.
QUOTE]

Wow...it set off a round in the mag, don't think I've ever heard of that happening. I've never had a case blow but I have had some quality and size issues with PMC brass.

That sounds suspiciously like a double or over charged round.

Some years back my dad had a double charge, 45 acp, 1911.


The result was a cracked slide, split barrel. The round was still exploding as the slide was driven back. The pressure and shrapnel from the double charged round jammed the remaining rounds to the bottom of the magazine. The top round in the magazine, which was next in line to be fired, had a strip of brass peeled back, exposing the base of the bullet and the powder. How that round wasn't set off was surprising in itself.
 
#4 ·
If you feel uncomfortable loading more times than that, box em up and list em in the "Karma" thread at the top of this sub-forum. LOTS of us would be all over em.

Bob
 
#5 ·
I load them til they split or I lose them. I have some that the headstamp is about worn off. They are still quite useable.

If they split, they go into the recycle bucket. The local salvage company pays $2.00 plus for a pound of yellow brass. This includes brass cartridges, nickel plated cartridges, and spent primers.

Trashing them? Ouch, I cringe at the thought.
 
#6 ·
I don't load my 45ACP very hot for target practice and I have 40 loadings on some of them. I load them until they split or something.

You are throwing away good money but if it makes you feel better and more confident in your shooting to do this then by all means cycle your brass.
 
#7 ·
Most loaders I know say 20 times is around the max. Since my brass is all mixed up, I load it till it tells me no. Usually the case splits or it fails the basic measurements after sizing(too fat). Sometimes the rims get deformed or partially torn from fatigue.

I usually throw away 10 or 20 bad ones from a run of 500.
 
#8 ·
OMG Send them to me!!!! I've loaded as many as 60x before they began to split and be unusable. Have reloaded well over 250K rounds just on one machine. Did a control test on 1K rounds (mixed brass) and quit recording after 50X and they were still OK. Most shooters will NEVER shoot that much.
Semper Fi
 
#11 ·
My brass will outlive me

I'm still reloading .45 ACP with headstamps such as WCC 62 and RA 65 match. After 50 years they are still going strong, while my body has aged and degraded during that time. I have had only a handful of cases that have had to be discarded. It should be mentioned that these are target, wadcutter lead bullet loads which are at the low end of the pressure range. This will probably increase life over full hardball loads.
 
#14 ·
You are throwing away good money.
.45 acp brass will typically last a long time (as will many pistol calibers.) Aside from the odd split case now & again, it doesn't really go bad very much with normal loads. .45 brass has a pretty good gig, it's an over built case with a low pressure tasking. Typically recipe for longevity.
Aside from 4 or 5 uses, what criteria are you using to discard them?
Frankly if there is no visible defect, then it's good to go another round.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Like most everybody here, I load 'em till I lose 'em. I've got a lot of Starline high grade brass, so I try real hard to find all of them. I know I've got a lot that has seen somewhere between 10 and 20 reloads. Still works just fine.

Btw, all of my loads run at 950 fps with 230 gr. That's +P territory.
 
#23 ·
Non ramped barrels on 1911's have been around for over 100 years. No amount of support can keep a case intact with an over charge or double.

I think the only 1911 style 45 I have with a ramped barrel is because the gun is also setup for 9mm and that barrel is ramped.
 
#30 ·
One thing to keep in mind is that case splitting does not always mean that the case has been loaded too many times. I shot a bunch of 30/06 yesterday out of a half dozen different rifles and am in the process of prepping the cases. The only split neck I found out of about 150 cases was a brand new Winchester case on its first loading fired out of a M70.

I rarely get splits with 45 ACP. Most of the splits I get are with thin-walled 44/40 and 32/20 cases and with high pressure loads in 357 Magnum cases.

I generally use 45 ACP cases until I lose them.
 
#37 ·
Some of you actually count? I have lots of cases with obliterated head stamps. Relatively low pressure practice rounds with 200g 68 SWC over small charge of fast powder. Some probably up into the hundreds of uses. HOWEVER, BE VERY ALERT to even slight case splits. A bullet seated in a split case has NO real retention and is highly susceptible to KABOOM because that boolit can easily be driven deep into the case during cycling.

Inspect your cases as you pick them up. Out of round cases that have been stepped on, no problem; but a case with even a small crease, shound be mangled and tossed into the scap bucket. Further, if one still has high frequency hearing, even cases with tiny splits are essily detected as you shake them in your hand with a couple of other cases. They ring loudly like a sleigh bell. Then wash your brass (citric acid, Thumblers Model B are excellent, as is an inexpensive food dehydrator). As you transfer into/out of the tumbler and rinse, and transfer out of sink into dryer you should again hear any ringing splits. Finally be on high alert during bullet seating at the press. What you must detect is that bullet that does not quite set down by hand into that belled case mouth. SPLIT CASE MOUTHS typically do NOT bell. Then we should always check rounds as we stuff magazines.

prs
 
#38 ·
i find it totally amazing that so many reload so many times. I don't throw cases away but stop reloading those cases some 4-6 times due to ejector/extractor marks, mostly extractor cuts into the rim. That brass is used in three different 1911's and I'm always concerned about misfeeding due to those nicks where the extractor grabs the rim of the case.Those nicks can prevent positive feeding. Just my take on this. How some get 20+ reloads without some problem is phenomenal.
 
#39 ·
Normal dings and such are not a problem. That's life shooting a semi-auto. But, if you're getting gouges and nicks that raise a sharp edge, then the problem is with the gun, and needs to be addressed. An extractor with too sharp of an edge on the places that contact the rim needs to be touched up so it doesn't do that. Not only does that eliminate feeding issues, but it will extent the life of the extractor greatly.

As the old saying goes, "the devil is in the details." Address those, and 20 reloads is nothing.
 
#41 ·
Basically, yeah. However, if you've never done it before, be aware that it is easy to bugger up the angles on the extractor, to the point that it won't work right. If you haven't done it before, take it to a good smith. It will be money well spent. If you want to tackle it yourself, I'd have a spare extractor on hand just in case.
 
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