Brass Life? .243 Win

[Rmitch223]

I'm a new hand loader and I'm getting ready to load my once fired Remington brass. How many firings will this brass last? I'm currently FL sizing but will be neck sizing in a couple weeks.

How long with this Remington brass last while FL sizing it
every time?

When do you guys discard it? Once it fails/cracks? Or do you reload it a certain amount of times?

How much longer would Lapua brass last me? Is Lapua brass worth the money? What makes it so much more superior?

Thanks,

Ryan

 

[Heman]

Re: Brass Life? .243 Win

I don't specifically use REmington .243 brass I use Winchester. But in my bolt gun I'm up to 4 reloads on some of it and the primer pockets are still good. Maybe not as tight as it was at first but still there and I'm running a fairly stout load.

The only remington brass I have ever used was .260 in my AR-10 most only lasted two reloads as it was very soft and the primer pockets opened up.

Once the primer pockets get loose I discard it.

I bout 200 pieces of Lapua 308 for my palma rifle but also have 100 pieces of LC LR bras loaded. I went ahead and turned the necks on all so they would all be the same thickness and on the target at the 800/900/1000yd line I can not tell a difference. Lapua is really nice brass but a lot of people I know use Winchester also for palma. Same would probably apply to .243.

 

[armorpl8chikn]

Re: Brass Life? .243 Win

How high is the earth? How deep is the ocean? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?

Ok I will answer your questions.
"How many firings willthis brass last?"
That depends on you, your load and your ability to PROPERLY size a case.

"I am currently FL sizing but will be neck sizing ion a couple weeks."
Why? You are a brand new reloader and yet you have embarked on a sizing regimen that will ultimately leed to headaches, on that every one knows but only a few will admit. Are you convinced that way is best? Why? Take this to heart, I have been loading for over 30 years, learn to properly set up your FL sizing die and your brass will last just as long as neck sizing and it will function without fail. Good FL sizing provides ammo every bit as accurate as neck sized.

"How long with this Remington brass last while FL sizing it
every time?"
It depends. Set up your FL die to bump the shoulder .001" or .002" and it may last a very long time...depending of course on your load. Ultimately your primer pocket being able to hold a primer, will be the limiting factor in this entire equation.

"When do you guys discard it? Once it fails/cracks? Or do you reload it a certain amount of times?"
When it won't hold a primer.
A crack will be a good time to discard(common sense).
There is no magic number on brass use, just as there is no number on how many times that same question can be asked.

"How much longer would Lapua brass last me? Is Lapua brass worth the money? What makes it so much more superior?"
It depends. If I were you I would practice on cheap brass for the first few thousand rounds.
YES! But again it depends, if you are shooting an AR15 (I don't care who built it) it isn't going to be money well spent IMHO. Its worth the money otherwise.
It is superior in many ways but most notably it has been blessed by a Finnish monk.

 

[Brandon05_88]

Re: Brass Life? .243 Win

I wouldn't neck size unless it was strictly a bench gun. I'd even recommend FL sizing with a 0.001" shoulder bump for that too. People who used to neck size and now FL size learned the hard way.

Conservative loads are the best way to increase brass life. Start jacking up pressures, and you'll be loosing primers sooner.

I ran 100 pieces of Lapua .243 brass in a factory Rem 700. I FL sized every firing with a 0.001" bump. Every 3rd firing, I would anneal, trim, chamfer and deburr. Cases had 12 firings on them when I switched to another rifle. Out of curiosity, I cut a case or two open with a Dremel. They could've went to 15 firings safely.

 

[Rmitch223]

Re: Brass Life? .243 Win

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: armorpl8chikn</div><div class="ubbcode-body">How high is the earth? How deep is the ocean? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?

Ok I will answer your questions.
"How many firings willthis brass last?"
That depends on you, your load and your ability to PROPERLY size a case.

"I am currently FL sizing but will be neck sizing ion a couple weeks."
Why? You are a brand new reloader and yet you have embarked on a sizing regimen that will ultimately leed to headaches, on that every one knows but only a few will admit. Are you convinced that way is best? Why? Take this to heart, I have been loading for over 30 years, learn to properly set up your FL sizing die and your brass will last just as long as neck sizing and it will function without fail. Good FL sizing provides ammo every bit as accurate as neck sized.

"How long with this Remington brass last while FL sizing it
every time?"
It depends. Set up your FL die to bump the shoulder .001" or .002" and it may last a very long time...depending of course on your load. Ultimately your primer pocket being able to hold a primer, will be the limiting factor in this entire equation.

"When do you guys discard it? Once it fails/cracks? Or do you reload it a certain amount of times?"
When it won't hold a primer.
A crack will be a good time to discard(common sense).
There is no magic number on brass use, just as there is no number on how many times that same question can be asked.

"How much longer would Lapua brass last me? Is Lapua brass worth the money? What makes it so much more superior?"
It depends. If I were you I would practice on cheap brass for the first few thousand rounds.
YES! But again it depends, if you are shooting an AR15 (I don't care who built it) it isn't going to be money well spent IMHO. Its worth the money otherwise.
It is superior in many ways but most notably it has been blessed by a Finnish monk.





</div></div>

I have my FL sizing die setup to bump the shoulder back .002.
Just because I'm new doesn't mean I'm completely ignorant.

I'm shooting a Rem. 700 SPS Varmint.

I realize that answering this question is not gonna be exact.
I understand that there are many variables in involved in how long brass with last. I was just curious as to what others findings were. Obviously I'm only on my second reloads so I would be curious as to how long this initial set of brass is going to last me.

"A crack will be a good time to discard(common sense)." - No shit.

I was asking if other people have a certain regiment they use to discard there brass before cracks happen.

I appreciate you answering my questions even tho you seemed ticked off by the way I asked it, my apologies for ruffling your feathers.

Thanks,

Ryan

 

[armorpl8chikn]

Re: Brass Life? .243 Win

I am not ticked off at all. Yes this question came up just this past weekend. As it does over and over, and that may be why I worded some of my post in a flippant manner, but I am certainly not mad or grumpy. I am crotchety.

I discard my brass when it no longer holds a primer, its just that simple. I can't guarantee you will be able to do that. Splits and cracks are a rare thing onmy bench. Good annealing practices can prevent premature brass loss due to splits and cracks.I load brass till I lose count of loadings...litterally. I usually givea rough guess by how many matches have been fired with it.
So....Be good to your brass, anneal, size proper, trim when needed and throw it away when the primers seat too soft or won't hold.

 

[usmc02xx]

Re: Brass Life? .243 Win

been running 243 for a while. im using winchester brass/cci 200 primers. but I'm shooting low power target loads. Usually getting about 13-15 loads on the brass before it gets ugly. By ugly i mean primers not holding. I dont FL size until extraction becomes an issue then i bump back .002. I can usually go 3-5 reloads on a shell before it needs FL sizing again. The lee collet die works fine for me just doing the necks. Since you mentioned a bolt gun this will probably representative of your needs also.