Brass Life Expectancy

[JTB]

Sierra 120 gr HPBT MatchKings are pretty much the "standard", if your barrel won't shoot those well it likely won't shoot anything well.

[JTB]

[HONDO]

Check this out. Might be useful for someone

https://youtu.be/1ST25CUpqhY

[pinetreebbs]

I found three split necks in my Hornady cases this week, they had five firings.

[tdbru]

pinetreebbs,
neck annealing is the cure for split necks. however, split necks are caused by overworking the brass. this is normal with standard reloading dies because the die makers have no clue what brass you're going to use, which could have a large variation in neck thickness, so they make sure their standard dies squeeze the neck down to a minimum size. then the expander ball will open it back up to a couple of thousands under bullet diameter. that works the brass a lot.

eventually a few die makers, and Redding comes to mind among others offer what is a bushing die where the brass body is sized down as normal, but for the neck you pick a bushing diameter that will just squeeze the neck down a minimum amount that will let you seat the bullet with enough neck tension. there is no expander ball. you have to figure out which bushing to get based upon your brass. so the folks that use these are typically using them for target shooting, working on getting a maximum amount of reloads out of the brass, and hence usually only buy/reload brass all from the same lot and mfgr to get as high a uniformity as possible. So for them it's easier to pick a neck sizing bushing that will just size their brass only enough to hold the bullet and no more. since all the brass is from the same mfgr and lot, and usually so top quality brass, like Lapua, Peterson, Nosler, etc. the neck thickness is pretty uniform in that lot.

if you scrounge brass from anywhere and everywhere, multiple manufacturers, multiple lots, multiple firings, etc. you may need to just stick with a standard full length sizing die and just neck anneal every 3rd or 4th firing. in mixed case groups of ammo one shouldn't expect as uniform internal case volume and neck tension as when all the brass in the reloads came from one lot of brass from one manufacturer. that variation in internal volume and neck tension usually translates into more dispersion and larger groups due to velocity variations. so it's up to you how you want to do your reloading process, but if you're getting neck splits, it's time to either chuck the brass into the recycle bin or learn how to neck anneal and get the tooling required for that if you want to prolong the reloading life of the rest of the cases that didn't neck split.
-tdbru

[JTB]

pinetreebbs,
neck annealing is the cure for split necks. however, split necks are caused by overworking the brass. this is normal with standard reloading dies because the die makers have no clue what brass you're going to use, which could have a large variation in neck thickness, so they make sure their standard dies squeeze the neck down to a minimum size. then the expander ball will open it back up to a couple of thousands under bullet diameter. that works the brass a lot.

eventually a few die makers, and Redding comes to mind among others offer what is a bushing die where the brass body is sized down as normal, but for the neck you pick a bushing diameter that will just squeeze the neck down a minimum amount that will let you seat the bullet with enough neck tension. there is no expander ball. you have to figure out which bushing to get based upon your brass. so the folks that use these are typically using them for target shooting, working on getting a maximum amount of reloads out of the brass, and hence usually only buy/reload brass all from the same lot and mfgr to get as high a uniformity as possible. So for them it's easier to pick a neck sizing bushing that will just size their brass only enough to hold the bullet and no more. since all the brass is from the same mfgr and lot, and usually so top quality brass, like Lapua, Peterson, Nosler, etc. the neck thickness is pretty uniform in that lot.

if you scrounge brass from anywhere and everywhere, multiple manufacturers, multiple lots, multiple firings, etc. you may need to just stick with a standard full length sizing die and just neck anneal every 3rd or 4th firing. in mixed case groups of ammo one shouldn't expect as uniform internal case volume and neck tension as when all the brass in the reloads came from one lot of brass from one manufacturer. that variation in internal volume and neck tension usually translates into more dispersion and larger groups due to velocity variations. so it's up to you how you want to do your reloading process, but if you're getting neck splits, it's time to either chuck the brass into the recycle bin or learn how to neck anneal and get the tooling required for that if you want to prolong the reloading life of the rest of the cases that didn't neck split.
-tdbru

[Lemonaid]

Some pretty good info here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R37W..._MkiEsrLuX97n0

[tdbru]

JTB,
do you have a reloading manual at all? most of them have pretty extensive introduction to reloading section on brass prep.

when i prep new brass i usually uniform the primer flash hole, because i think it helps consistent ignition of the powder. i cannot prove that and many folks do not uniform the primer flash hole.

i also chamfer the inside of the necks so that the neck doesn't shave metal off of the bullets when you seat them.

i usually also run then through the sizing die as well.

if you can shoot well enough to tell the difference between new brass and once fired brass, you're a heck of a lot better shot than i am.

do keep track of the number of firings on the brass and when the whole lot is at 4 you might consider neck annealing.

do keep an eye on your brass as to it's lengthening and if it lengthens too much, be sure to trim it back. for best accuracy, due to consistent neck tension, if you have to trim a few pieces, you might as well trim the whole lot back to the same length.

in a bolt gun, you can adjust the FL sizing die to just bump the shoulder a minimal amount to reduce the amount of sizing going on. but then that brass will "fit" that bolt gun only, in general. if you are using a semi auto you'll have to size the cases enough so that they chamber easily.
-tdbru

[JTB]

[Klem]

JTB,

I run all new brass through the sizing die so they are guaranteed to be uniform. I also champher the inside mouth to provide an angled surface for when the bullet is inserted. You only have to do this once in the life of the case.

After the first firing there should be no change to the accuracy if full-length sizing for an auto loader. For a bolt gun many guys neck size only as this leaves the case expanded (fire-formed) to the shape of the chamber. This is supposed to be more accurate than FL sizing because the bullet is now concentric to the bore.

You can ream flash holes if you want but I doubt you will see any benefit in an AR. If using Lapua brass this is unnecessary anyway because I hear they drill their flash holes instead of punching them.

[LR1955]

JTB:

If the new brass is Lapua, run it through a Full Length Sizer and champher the neck. Load and shoot. After shooting them five or ten times, measure a few to see if you need to trim them. If you trim them you will have to champher again.

If Hornady or other brass, run them through a Full Length Sizer and measure a few to see if they are the same size. If so, champher and shoot. After five or so shots, measure length again and see if you need to trim.

Trim to minimum length if you trim.

Spend money on components and not annealing gear.

Getting a decent Forster or other collet type of sizing die will mean you won't overwork the necks and will never need to anneal.

If you think the accuracy will suffer from a first firing of new brass, you need to focus your money on components and practice more than annealing gear.

LR55

[JTB]

JTB:

If the new brass is Lapua, run it through a Full Length Sizer and champher the neck. Load and shoot. After shooting them five or ten times, measure a few to see if you need to trim them. If you trim them you will have to champher again.

If Hornady or other brass, run them through a Full Length Sizer and measure a few to see if they are the same size. If so, champher and shoot. After five or so shots, measure length again and see if you need to trim.

Trim to minimum length if you trim.

Spend money on components and not annealing gear.

Getting a decent Forster or other collet type of sizing die will mean you won't overwork the necks and will never need to anneal.

If you think the accuracy will suffer from a first firing of new brass, you need to focus your money on components and practice more than annealing gear.

LR55

[JTB]

JTB,

I run all new brass through the sizing die so they are guaranteed to be uniform. I also champher the inside mouth to provide an angled surface for when the bullet is inserted. You only have to do this once in the life of the case.

After the first firing there should be no change to the accuracy if full-length sizing for an auto loader. For a bolt gun many guys neck size only as this leaves the case expanded (fire-formed) to the shape of the chamber. This is supposed to be more accurate than FL sizing because the bullet is now concentric to the bore.

You can ream flash holes if you want but I doubt you will see any benefit in an AR. If using Lapua brass this is unnecessary anyway because I hear they drill their flash holes instead of punching them.

[FLshooter]

[JTB]