Have some inherited Brass that has been run hotter than I normally would. Primers are flat, no outer radius left. Looks like 43 grains of H4350 in Lapua thickness cases. Case heads measure ~0.0008-0.001” more than the same cases with moderate/warm loads. Looks like these have been in the 65-70k range at least once. Trash or any life left?
- Thread starter Silverjay
- Start date
Seat a few primers in them and pay attention to the seating effort. Chances are the brass is probably fine for a few more firings at least.
Any idea how many times it's been reloaded?
This.... but I wouldn't want to hazard a guess on how many more firings you'll get out of it. It depends on the brand and pressure it was subjected to, really. I've roasted a piece of 1x fired Hornady brass while doing testing. The load was hot enough to leave an ejector mark on the brass, but no swipe and the primer was flattened but still had some shoulder (about like the 44gr load on Orkan's "Understanding Pressure" article on the Primal Rights site). That piece of brass will no longer hold a primer firmly - I can move the primer around with my finger, now.
An important thing to remember with cartridge brass is that firing hot loads doesn't weaken it - it actually makes the brass harder, through work hardening. Dimensional changes can occur (such as enlarging primer pockets) that make it unuseable for reloading, but that doesn't mean it got weaker or is somehow a safety concern. (Excess headspace is different, and does weaken brass by stretching, which necks down the case walls and excessively work hardening the stretched area making it prone to cracking.)
If the brass still holds primers tightly, and you don't continue using excessively hot loads, you can expect to still get good life out of it. If it was soft brass to start with and won't hold primers now, it's junk anyway so the discussion doesn't matter.
If the brass still holds primers tightly, and you don't continue using excessively hot loads, you can expect to still get good life out of it. If it was soft brass to start with and won't hold primers now, it's junk anyway so the discussion doesn't matter.
