Hey guys,

I have some .44 special brass (both remington and winchester), and I have noticed that after 7 reloadings, the primers are increasingly easier to push in. Does this mean the cases are on there way out? Should I just keep loading until I get a split case? These .44 special loads have never been high pressure, just 180 gr. cowboy bullets at 800 fps. How many reloads do you guys ussually load a batch of cases until there thrown out?

thanks,
vanbuzen9

When in doubt...throw it out. :) lol


Yeah...that needs to go into the recycle bucket, IMO.

D

With low pressure loads, will usually get 15 or 20 loads (assuming I don't step on them) before they either split or otherwise get shewed up. Primer pockets loosening can be by way of friction..decapping and seating new primers and those that aggressivly clean primer pockets.

Agree with the "when in doubt, toss it out" philosophy...if really loose, don't need a primer to become unseated and jam up the rotation.

I have some Remington .44 Special cases that have been reloaded 20 times and they still look new. Like you, these cases were loaded for accuracy and never max'd. I am going to toss these cases the next time they're fired just for safety reasons.

Having the primers feel increasingly easier to push in doesn't necessarily mean that the primer pockets are worn out. It does indicate wear. Unless your primers feel real loose when you prime, not feel any resistance at all, you should be able to get a few more reloads out of those cases. You can seat them a little deeper to expand the anvils for more grip and sensitivity. If you see any signs of escaping gas, a blackening around the primer, then it is definitely time to chuck those cases. I don't know if you make it a habit to ream your primer pockets after each firing but that kind of cleaning will shorten it's life. I just use a wood dowel that I sharpen in a pencil sharpener to scrape the primer residue out of the pocket. Whether or not you toss your cases is a judgement call but IMHO, 7 reloads under moderate pressures would be about half the case life of a .44 Special. If you consistently shoot hot loads, case life could be shorter.

When I was a young shooter (before most of you were born) I had a lot of once-fired Remington military .45 ACP cases with crimped in primers. I bought a Lyman hand primer pocket reamer to take the crimp out of the primer pockets and attacked them with a lot of enthusiasm. Well, one day at the range my last round in the magazine failed to fire. I waited the mandatory safety time and recocked the hammer. Squeezed the trigger and still no bang. So I ejected the round and looking through the ejection port, lying on the magazine follower, was a nice untouched primer. Now THAT'S what I call a loose primer pocket! :D

Particularly since 44 Special brass isn't hard to come by, there is NO reason to take a chance: pitch it.

Have you changed primer brands? Some are smaller than others and will feel loose. Winchester switched to unplated primers a few years ago and they are smaller than the old ones.

Bye
Jack

Thanks for the poetry cookiemonster!!

Really, thanks for all your replies, I come to this website a lot to get great advise. I did switch primer brands(winchester to CCI), but I noticed the primers slipping in easier before I did that. I guess for the sake of safety, I will reload these cases three more times to make an even 10, and then disgard.

Do you guys think I should follow this (maximum of 10) rule for all my other new brass? (9mm, .38/.357mag, 44mag)

thanks again,
vanbuzen9

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Depends on how hard you push the loads. I seldom wear out a 9mm case, I'll lose them long bfore that happens.

Even with hot loads, the .357 and .44 genrally will split necks before loosening the primer pocket...on a guess, something like 5 or 7 warmish loads. Usually i'll only load warm in brass that is new or with les than 4 loadings on it...then it gets moved to practice/moderate loads...and that moves the worst of the practice load brass into the trash can.

Sounds conservative...it is.