Hi guys,

I was wondering how many times I can load my .44 mag cases until they have to be thrown away. I know that these cases are strong, and can take alot of reloads, but brass isn't to expensive, and I don't want to take a chance of a case rupture. Please let me know about not only light loads (240gr @ 800fps), but also the full power hunting loads.

thanks alot,
vanbuzen9

Just depends on the particular brass. Shoot them till they split, probably the mouths will go first from crimping.

I've had cases go for many, many loads, and some split on 2 or 3 firings. In a revolver, the case is fully supported and having a case even completely separate should not pose any grave danger to the shooter.

If you want to be cautious, shoot only a few full-power loads, then retire them to the practice bin.

Good morning vanbuzen9

I shoot two 44 mag revolvers, a Ruger Super Redhawk with a 7.5 in bbl and a Redhawk with a 5.5 incher on it. I just added a 4 inch Taurus 41 mag.

I've never trimmed any of my cases and some of them have upwards of 20 firings on them. I'm pushing the around 1350 fps which seems to kill well (black bear and deer).

Most times a pistol case will wear out the neck where there crimped first. I tumble clean all my cases prior to running them thru a die set and the use of carbide dies helps with case life also.

If your loading cast bullets it also helps to use one of the expanders designed for that like Lee's or Lyman's M die. Those will also help increase case life.

You really have to shoot a lot to wear out revolver cases. Even pushed to maximum they have quite a bit less pressure than a rifle case.

Just depends on the particular brass. Shoot them till they split, probably the mouths will go first from crimping.Like Mike says, case splits usually start at the mouth and at first show only a slight crack. Continued shooting with these cases will lengthen the crack but it is inadvisable to make this standard practice since handgun cases are not that all expensive. Once in a while the case splits longitudinally. Right in the middle with sometimes a crack and sometimes a rather lengthy crack. Splits occur with mild target loads, full charge hunting/self-defense loads or anything in between. In my experience, they occur more often with brass that is either old or repeatedly reloaded. It is unlikely that a case split will have catastrophic results as all the brass remains in the chamber and only some gas escapes to blacken the area around the split. In over 40 years of handgun shooting, I have never had a base separation but probably someone will write to say this has happened to them. My advice is to shoot cases until the mouth cracks then discard them. :p

I shoot .41RemMag almost exclusively. My loadings run from primer only wax bullets to real thumpers. I have cases that have been loaded at least 20 times. I find that if I don't bell the case mouth to much they will last much longer even with heavy crimps. Over the years I have replaced all my brass with Starline which I find is worth the bit of extra cost in the long run.

If you don't bell the case mouths any more than you have to, this is the part that really wears out the brass, you should get an easy 8 firings with good brass at magnum level loads. Like the others of have said, I've never experienced case head seperation with a straight walled revolver round, and a split case is really nothing to fear.

I'll second the recommendation that crawfish made about Starline brass, it is top notch in my experience. Their .45 Colt brass, in particular, is head and shoulders above Remington and Winchester for heavy loads in my experience. If you buy in any type of quanitity from a competitive seller the Starline brass is actually less expensive than the big brands.


If you are worried about cases coming apart, shoot them with your mag loads 3-4 times and then relegate them to your light loads.

Over expanding the case mouth, making a trumpet like bell, will kill cases faster than anything else I know of...no matter the load.

I agree with all that has been posted here so far. I would only add that when my .41 mag cases split, I trim them back to .41 special length and shoot them some more with reduced loads. It is a fine wildcat.
Cheezywan