Brass question?

[noylj]

What they must be talking about is to:
1) cover themselves by making overly conservative statements
or
2) aimed at long-range, high-power rifle shooters and benchrest shooters who will pretty much use up the life of the case in 8 rounds or are so good that notice a loss in accuracy after 8 rounds.
For handguns and any commercial rifle, cases are good as long as they are good. Learn how to inspect and, on bottleneck cases, how to watch for impending case separation.
I know that after about 15-20 loads, my .38 special and .357 Magnum brass will often develop a crack at the case mouth or in the body of the case. When this happens, the shot will not be in the group.
My 9x19 and .45ACP usually lasts until I lose it.

 

[Chuckdog]

I know a lot of you load using progressives and shoot a much higher volume than I probably ever have, but I'm more old school about brass life. I do keep mine separated, the best you can at any public range. I also toss mine sooner than many I read about too. I've always been a bullseye, tiny group shooter, so quality has always overrode economy. I pickup so much onced fired pistol brass at the ranges I shoot at that I still have some new brass that I bought years ago and haven't needed. I've got litteraly 1000's of once fired 40 cal and 38 special brass that I've picked up, and folks have given me, so pistol brass is relatively inexpensive for me. I guess my advice is, if you can keep records on all you loads then do so. Toss them in the recycle bin before they fail. Watch for loose primer pockets and split necks on all loads. After you've trimmed bottleneck cases a couple of times, really inspect around the lower end of the brass for signs of stress before suffering case head separation. I rely on all my loads to perform flawlessly, so I'm more anal than many. Find what works for you. Another two cents from Chuckdog. I hope this helps.

 

[loadnplenty]

I just pay attention to my brass. Case mouths, primer pockets etc.. The number of longevity of brass depends greatly on what pressures they are loaded to

 

[kevinosborne]

Rifle I load (trimming each time) until the necks split. Pistol & Revolver I load (without trimming except for magnum loads) too many times to count. For rifle a neck sizing only die will increase the life of your brass considerably. I agree 100% with loadnplenty. Pay attention to your brass.

necksize only dies shouldn't be used for autoloading firearms.