Anybody got any methods that they use to keep track of what reloading their brass is on? Since I'm new to reloading almost all of my brass is currently once fired. Some of the .45 has been fired twice. I've been keeping brass in coffee cans but if I fire more factory loads, I would have to start more cas to keep the brass seperate. Is this something that others worry about or does everybody just lump it all together? I want to be able to keep track of when my brass should be reaching the end of its usable life.
I use to keep up with how many times I reloaded brass. All I do now is toss the brass when it starts looking worn out. I've been reloading for years and that's my approach. Keep in mind, my reloads are for target practice. I don't hunt and all my conceal carry ammo is factory. I've never had an issue with any of my reloads, they go bang when they should and cycle fine in my autos. Good luck.
Once you have some experience you can tell when seating a bullet that its time for the bottleneck rifle brass to be annealed. If you dont anneal it it will split at the neck. I dont know what the limit on loading pistol brass is. Ive got some 45acp brass that has been in constant use since about 1995.
Mild load non bottlenecked- when the mouth cracks, or the headstamp has worn off. Autos- you lose them in the grass enough that the odds are, it only makes so many trips thru the gun. Hot bottlenecks, and SERIOUS target stuff- ziplock baggies, with number written on a card, dropped into bag. You will wind up trimming cases, needing to aneal, brass thinning out. .38 wadcutter- when primers will not stay in pocket due to wear.
No. When metal has become work hardened, it gets brittle, Annealing removes the brittleness. For example, If I lay a piece of steel on an anvil, and hammer it for 20 hours, that will be harder than its sister piece of the same steel. Also more brittle. I can heat it, and let it cool slowly, and make it softer. Brass cartridges, especially with a really hot load (think .220 Swift) will harden, and when you work the brass in the die, crack.
Brass "work hardens" Repeated shooting, resizing, expanding, shooting will harden the brass. The base needs to be hard. The base does not get resized so it does not have the same stresses. I try to aneal every time, everything bottlenecked above .223. .223 is pretty common and find of "disposable". As stuff gets harder to find, I am considering anealing .223. As soon as I say this, I get a 5 galon bucket full of once fired brass (FOR FREE) and shug my shoulders. I also reform a lot of brass. This requires anealing to prevent cracks and splits. I just finished a batch of .243 - .308 and .270 - .30-06. I also take .270/.280 up to 8 X 57
Sounds like I'm over thinking the pistol brass. On the rifle brass I'll keep track and inspect carefully. What do you guys use to anneal your brass?
I am confused as to why anyone would anneal common brass??? I anneal expensive and or hard to find brass, but the cost of propane would nullify any savings for .308 or .30-06. I load pretty heavy, and I still get 6-8 loadings from these calibers. 4--5 from absolute max .300 and .338 WinMag brass. Plus the fact that annealing is a MAJOR P.I.T.A.
I shoot only pistol and revolver and do not keep track, but I do inspect each round before I start to reload it, after it's deprimed and cleaned. I use stainless media for cleaning and the brass comes out factory new shiny or better, so it's easy to lsee any deformation or cracks.
