Like the title says. How many times do you reload 380 brass? It looks to be a low pressure round like 45 Auto. I am thinking it can be reloaded indefinitely? What is your experience?
Like the title says. How many times do you reload 380 brass? It looks to be a low pressure round like 45 Auto. I am thinking it can be reloaded indefinitely? What is your experience?
Until it fails!
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A tight chamber helps - less overall work during sizing leads to longer life. Honestly, I lose more pistol cases to loose primer pockets than splits or cracks. I’ve lost track of load cycles in some of my .45 ACP throwaway brass (the stuff I pick up when I can, but don’t care if I lose). “Indefinitely” is not feasible, but 8-10 times is realistic if you take care during the reloading process.
I think it might also depend on the gun a gun that actually locks up may be easier on the brass than a blow back operated one. Another will be the feed ramp area and any bulges produced.
It probably depends on your ability to find them more than anything else.
The 380 is not a high pressure round. Unless your dies are overworking the brass, or your chamber is too loose, they should last for dozens of reloading cycles.
20+ reloads should be easy but you’ll start loosing some at that point. Once you work it enough you’ll start to loose some from a batch with each reload. It happens eventually even with low powered loads.
This.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lakehouse2012
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If it gets sized, then fired in a rather 'generous' chamber over and over,
you might get enough times reloading for one to split before you lose it.
The way my .380 PPK/s ejects brass I loose more than will fail.
I treat 390 brass the same way I do any other pistol brass I reload - I reload it until it fails or until I can't find it in the case od semi-auto rounds.
I haven't got very many reloads on any of my .380 brass, but I tend to think it will be like a small .45 ACP, i.e. I will lose it before I have significant problems.
Most of the .380's I shoot are locked breech guns.
Robert
Load it , shoot it and repeat over and over until the brass fails .
I’ll be honest, I can’t say I’ve had a lot of pistol cases fail. The few I’ve seen that failed due to slit necks were range pickups. As for my brass, I can’t say I’ve seen many fail over the last 20 years. I tend to lose them before they do…
I don't know....I've had and shot .380s for years, So far I've only lost a couple due to worn out primer pockets. I have 2 colts that lock the actions for recoil. The cases get lost in the grass long before they wear out.
I’ve got some .357 Sig brass that has probably 6-8 reloads with no brass failures. I imagine you could get more out of a .380.
Locate some straight steel sizing dies to make brass last longer.
Car bide dies are easier, but they scrape the brass rather than pressing it smaller.
You need to clean the brass first and then use lube when you resize, then wipe off lube, but the brass will last forever .
Clothing will also last longer if you hang it up to dry after washing it instead of using the dryer.
Check the lint trap. That's where the cycling of spin drying shows the wear and tear on your clothes.
The lint is the worn off thinning of your clothing .
They last longer if you skip this step and hang them on hangars or a clothesline and clothes pins.
Caldwell makes a brass catcher that will catch many different kinds of brass.
You can also make a copy using wire coat hangars, duct tape and screen door wire, or cut up clear plastic bottles and cloth on a wire frame.
You are at the mercy of your own inventiveness or copy a Caldwell design.
There are other designs out there on internet.