I was curious if single fired brass is always better to load with? If you prep the brass and size it properly does it matter if it's been fired once or five times when you reload?

Brass stretches and weakens every time it's fired. Squeezing it back into shape further weakens it. Over time, it "work-hardens" and becomes brittle. This is why some people anneal the necks of their cases every ten or twenty firings. I think all cases will eventually separate at the head, known as a "head sep," because you can't anneal the head. It will get too soft and the rim will pull off upon extraction. You know one is on the way when you begin to see a thin line, not quite as dark as the rest of the case, down near the head. The head is going to break off on a subsequent firing, and the top portion of the case is going to stick in the chamber. Then, your gun goes off to a gunsmith for about a year...

quote:

does it matter if it's been fired once or five times when you reload?

It certainly does.....in many cases five firings is the life of the case.....depending on many factors.

Even once fired brass can be worthless if it was fired is a chamber with severely excess headspace. However this is rare....

A pass through a FL resizer and trim the case usually returns once fired brass to (nearly) new.

Digger,

I may not understand your question. Are you asking if once fired brass is more accurate than new brass? Or are you asking if 5 times fired brass is still ok to use?

Once fired brass has the potential to be more accurate than brand new brass. It has been fire formed to the internal dimensions of your chamber, so if you partial resize, or neck size, the brass doesn't have to swell as much to conform to the chamber again. This has the potential to be more accurate.

Assuming your loads are sane, and proper brass care is used, I can't think of a caliber that wouldn't be ok to be reused after the 5th firing. If your primer pockets are loose on the 5x firing, you're probably loading too hot. Or if your necks are splitting, you're probably sizing the brass too much and over working it, making it brittle.

Did that answer your question?

Yes, my questions have been answered. Thank you for your responses