When to throw away brass

[Robinhood493]

What signs do I need to look for to determine when to throw my brass away? I have Remington cases in 300rum. They have been loaded 3 times FL and the primer pockets seem really loose on some cases. I loaded them up for a 4th times and was very careful and I didn't have any soot around the primers. My guess would be that I need to chunk them now and get new ones.

 

[kcebcj]

I pretty much use brass until it destroys itself. Use once fired for hunting and all the important stuff and everything else for practice. The latest 100 is on the third go around and they are perfect. All of this is with a -06 which may not be as hard on brass as a 300rum. Leakage around the primer would be a sign that things aren't going good. You should get much more than four firings though.

 

[D.ID]

I shoot them till the primer pockets will not hold a primer unless I start feeling case head groove or getting split necks, If that happens I retire the hole batch. P.S. 300 rum brass will give out in the primer pockets first, you can kill the primer pocket in one firing of a real hot load without having any other sign of pressure.

 

[Daveinjax]

I'm with Jim on shooting them until they give up. If the primer pockets are truly loose after 3 loadings you are loading too hot. Need to tune it down a bit. Cutting case life more than half for a 1% or 1.5% gain in velocity is something most all of us get over. If you are asking if you need to thow away cases then it is very unlikely you are to the point in shooting range that 30 to 50 fps will affect anything but your feelings. I think most of us pushed the loads really hot when we start but get tired of buying powder and brass for nothing. If there was no signs other than the primers go in easy I would load them again. $110.00 + shipping a hundred is a bunch of green to just throw away.

 

[MachV]

Some brass and loads seam to last forever and some dont!! I've got some hot loaded 223 & 243 brass that is past 10 reloadings......Ya its getting tired and only the LC and Winchester brass made it that far, the Federal cases fell out after a couple reloadings due to primer pockets letting go and the Remington cases split necks between 4-5-6 reloadings.
I just tossed all but 10 of my 338 Edge(neckt up 300RUM) brass after 3 reloadings=The primer pockets where toast! I could understand if it was Federal brass but I expect more from Remington!

 

[D.ID]

338 edge (300rum brass) 91 grains in my chamber will kill 35% in the first firing and all the rest in the second with no other pressure signs. 89 grains can be loaded six times and counting.

 

[Daveinjax]

338 edge (300rum brass) 91 grains in my chamber will kill 35% in the first firing and all the rest in the second with no other pressure signs. 89 grains can be loaded six times and counting.

Yep! Thats what I'mm saying. Almost nothing down range but 3 , 4 , 5 times the brass life. Just wihed I could have started loading that smart

 

[D.ID]

You and me both. Live and learn if we're lucky.

 

[Gene]

I keep my Lapuas in batches of 20, and usually load all 20 at a time. When I find the first split neck, or primer dropping out of pocket, I throw all of them away. I recently lost a match when one shot dropped about 4" at 300 yards. Then I saw the split neck. They all went in ther trash.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

Some brass and loads seam to last forever and some dont!! I've got some hot loaded 223 & 243 brass that is past 10 reloadings......Ya its getting tired and only the LC and Winchester brass made it that far, the Federal cases fell out after a couple reloadings due to primer pockets letting go and the Remington cases split necks between 4-5-6 reloadings.
I just tossed all but 10 of my 338 Edge(neckt up 300RUM) brass after 3 reloadings=The primer pockets where toast! I could understand if it was Federal brass but I expect more from Remington!

that's odd on the lc making it farther than fed, after all it is fed brass.
I'm wearing out rifle throats before brass fails in my rums it seems. I shot a 7rum tired on 100 rounds of brass, re-necked it and I'm still using it in a 300 rum.

 

[MachV]

Ya I know LC is Federal brass but made to different specifications.
I've loaded the 338/300 RUM down to 338RUM specks and still the primers are not staying in them? No other signs of preasure = just loose primer pockets.
Going to start over with the new lot of brass at 88 grains of Retumbo and see how the primers last.......

 

[Bart B]

I've loaded the 338/300 RUM down to 338RUM specks and still the primers are not staying in them? No other signs of preasure = just loose primer pockets.

Looking for visible signs of pressure is not a good thing to do. Some cartridge brass won't show any visible signs of high pressure even if it's proof loads.

Primer pockets being too loose to hold primers after a few reloads is a sure sign of too much pressure. If cases fired in a given barrel end up with loose primer pockets before they've been shot 20 times, I think they're loaded too hot for the load and barrel used.

'Course we all get to define our margin of safety depending on our desires.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

Looking for visible signs of pressure is not a good thing to do. Some cartridge brass won't show any visible signs of high pressure even if it's proof loads.

Primer pockets being too loose to hold primers after a few reloads is a sure sign of too much pressure. If cases fired in a given barrel end up with loose primer pockets before they've been shot 20 times, I think they're loaded too hot for the load and barrel used.

'Course we all get to define our margin of safety depending on our desires.

I've heard many times that three firings minimum for tight pockets or the load is too hot. I agree with bart though that you should have a failure elsewhere than the pocket. A definate no-no getting loose pockets at all.

 

[Robinhood493]

On my 300 rum, the only pressure signs I see are very slight ejector marks at 103g of retumbo. I backed it down to 102g and stuck with that. I am getting the best accuracy by far at this load with 3/8"-1/2" MOA @100 yds with 180g Nosler Partitions. The first 3 loadings the primer pockets were normal, but the 4th time they feel very loose. This is all on a factory LSS Remington 700 with a free floated barrel and trigger job. It looks like I need to back down more and try to get the lighter load to group.