FOR RIFLE RELOADERS

[jhutto]

How many of you measure case wall thickness to anticipate case seperation??
I am reloading a hot 300 RUM and am trying to determine brass life, a little nearvous to pull the trigger after reloading a few times....
Also consitering my .308 rounds.

[bpet]

Not I.

I do check brass and look for tell-tell ring around base and case elongation as signs of stretching (and other visual checks) but I don't measure wall thickness. Probably would if I had the proper tool but I'm too poor from buying pistol ammo. But, I don't load much of the hot stuff any more either.

[longtooth]

Same here. I load hunting rounds in 308 & my 300wsm. I just visually inspect all brass. When it shows definate fatigue or a crack line I throw it in the salvage bucket.

[CDH]

My reloads all split the neck before case head separation becomes a worry, but then again I don't load that hot. With normal loads the only time you will have a problem is if you run your sizer down too far or have an oversize chamber...

With that said, the sharp paper clip method is tried and true but required a bit of practice and a deft hand to master.

[Houston1944]

My most accurate 308 load is a little on the warm side, 165 gr bullet, ave 2895 fps. I have fired a few thousand of these the past many years and all of my failures were splits at or just below the neck. The failures were always after 4 or 5 cycles. I only have bolt action rifles so when I resize I use a neck only die. My failures in 223, 7mm-08, 270 and 7mm mag have all been the same, split cases. I have blown out primers and extractors, have had cases split, but never had a case separation failure in a rifle. After cleaning I inspect each case to look for cracks or anything unusual about the surface, then I measure to see if the case needs trimming.

I use only Lapua and Winchester brass in the 308, Wnchester and Remington in the others. I keep my rifle loads in groups based on number of times they have been reloaded. Once I have a couple of splits appear I just mark that group and leave the brass on the ground after firing. Hunting rounds are either new brass or "once fired" loads.

[jhutto]

Thanks for the information!
I neck size for all the rifle loads i use.
Maybe that will help me out.