Do you use new brass or previously fired on big hunting trips?

New or as new as possible.

I am using brass that has been loaded 15 times.

I only throw them away when they develop cracks in the neck or shoulder.

That is sound advice coming from you Saeed!!

I use a wildcat I designed and built myself.

I form brass for it.

I take them on safari where several of us use them in different rifles.

Both rifles were chambered with the same reamer.

After a few years, one or two of the cases show cracks on the neck or shoulder.

I leave these behind, and just replace them with new brass.

The rest go on and on.

I know most of these have been loaded at least 15 times.

This is what I do.

I am not suggesting anyone else does the same.

The prudent advise is to use all new brass so there is no danger of the bolt not closing because you have a tight chamber and there is a bit of dirt or debris in the chamber. Personally I just cycle all my hunting ammo through the rifle before a hunt. If it feeds and chambers fine I'm good to go.

Mark

New or once fired for me. But I don’t shoot as much as Saeed!

I am loading ammo right now for an upcoming safari and it will all be in once fired brass - full-length resized.

I use brass that has been shot and tested in my gun. I'm like Saeed and reuse brass.

I have over 2,000 rounds through my 375 H&H and and I've probably only bought 200 cases. I used to keep track of how many times I reloaded each case but gave up when I was consistently getting over a dozen reloads on each case.

I anneal cases about once a year and discard the cases when the primer pockets start to loosen. I can't remember the last time I had a case crack and I've never had a case head separation in this rifle. If you adjust your sizing dies to closely match your chamber you will work your brass less and minimize cast stretch on firing this results in a lot longer brass life.

You guys are more adventurous than I am. For target practice on several occasions had the case crack and separate just before the belt on my 375 could not get fired case out. The last time was the day before I was due to leave on safari lucky the local gunsmith was a friend of mine and got me out of this jam. From that point on I used only new cases for hunting in addition, I run all of the reloaded cases through my rifle .For target practice I discard cases after 3 rounds saves a tip to gun smith .

Big trips get new brass. Once fired is regulated to local deer hunting and practice. I cycle all rounds to ensure they chamber prior to leaving.

Reloaded multiple times, usually. High intensity cases like the .300 RUM will usually get reused 2 times then go to the practice pile, but stuff like the Rigby I don’t even bother to track how many times it’s been used.

If anything is off on the case it gets put in the throw away pile.

My loads are usually on the conservative side for hunting, except for things like the .300.

quote:

Originally posted by Brandon.Gleason:
Big trips get new brass. Once fired is regulated to local deer hunting and practice. I cycle all rounds to ensure they chamber prior to leaving.

l now full length size new brass as well. Neck sized new Hornady 6.5 Creedmore would not chamber in my daughter’s Weatherby.

Shotgun 46,

If you only resize those fired 375 H&H cases part way as in adjust your seating die to not quite touch the shoulder of the case on the sizing stroke your 375 cases will last a long time. Both the 375 and 300 H&H stretch excessively because of their tapered case and shoulder causing the split just before the belt. In 35+ years of using a 375 I have never had a case split.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Shotgun 46,

If you only resize those fired 375 H&H cases part way as in adjust your seating die to not quite touch the shoulder of the case on the sizing stroke your 375 cases will last a long time. Both the 375 and 300 H&H stretch excessively because of their tapered case and shoulder causing the split just before the belt. In 35+ years of using a 375 I have never had a case split.

Mark

I've taken to the same theory. I bump the shoulder 0.002" as measured with a Hornady gauge. I haven't lost a practice case yet, and I've some with 8+ on them, mostly PPU.

I prefer to use cases that have been fired in the same rifle one time. When the brass is new I uniform the primer pockets, size, trim, and chamfer. Before depriming I uniform the flash hoses, then size, trim, chamfer, and load. These are my hunting loads. I feel I will generally find any major flaws on the first firing. I have never had ammunition loaded this way. I then use the brass for local hunting, practice, and developing loads until it wears out.

I mostly always use new brass, see no reason not too..I, of course, keep the emptys to reload. I have in the past use once fired brass in certain guns for various reasons, jus be sure every round feeds before you leave home..Its an option and Ive never had a problem with either handloads with new or used brass..SAme with factory ammo, its always worked...Ive had bullet failures early on and minor problems on one ocassion with double rifle failure and that was my fault, long ago.

New brass for any hunting trip, I also leave any empties or leftover loaded ammo for the PH.

If your handloading methods lead to split brass, hard chambering, hard extraction, expanded primer pockets, etc., then you should never use anything but factory loads. Simply using "new" brass won't correct your faulty handloading.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
If your handloading methods lead to split brass, hard chambering, hard extraction, expanded primer pockets, etc., then you should never use anything but factory loads. Simply using "new" brass won't correct your faulty handloading.

If you reload enough, you will get all of the above.

Does not mean you are doing anything wrong.

Faults might be attributed to all sorts of things, not necessarily one’s reloading methods.

quote:

If you adjust your sizing dies to closely match your chamber you will work your brass less and minimize cast stretch on firing this results in a lot longer brass life.

Yep!

quote:

If your handloading methods lead to split brass, hard chambering, hard extraction, expanded primer pockets, etc., then you should never use anything but factory loads. Simply using "new" brass won't correct your faulty handloading.

Or seriously rethink your methods.....you are doing something wrong.

For trips abroad, I try to use new brass but I keep 20-30 pieces of my harder-to-find once or twice fired brass segregated for these hunts just in case I can't find new brass. Haven't had any problems so far.

A point in question, is Ive had a few failures with factory ammo..so new brass or old, things can go south, its a matter of keeping that number low..listing a number of problems won't help..

I recall neck sizeing 450-400s many years ago, tried some and they worked, got to Africa and bullets stuck in chamber if I didn't fire them and just unloaded the gun back at the truck..fortunately I had a fold up cleaning rod and knocked the bullets out that had stuck in the throat because I seated them out..Lesson learned in my embryo stage of DG hunting..but its been many years since anymore disaster of that kind took place, but hey others took their place!! anything made by man!!!

Those that claim nothing bad happens on their hunts, has probably not hunted since dad took away his bb gun.. The more you hunt the more s--t happens..Just get to thinking your the worlds best shot and watch a safari go bad!! poop happens, rest assured.

quote:

Those that claim nothing bad happens on their hunts, has probably not hunted since dad took away his bb gun.. The more you hunt the more s--t happens..Just get to thinking your the worlds best shot and watch a safari go bad!! poop happens, rest assured.

Truer word were never spoken!

I have not purchased factory ammo in 40+ years.

For hunting I use only new brass or once fired. That brass is kept on a shelf separate from other brass and marked "hunting."

After the second firing, all brass is then requlated to the shooting area and I shoot that brass in practice and keep doing so until it fails.