How many reloads are people getting from Norma 416 Rigby brass? Not a hot load thanks

I don't know about Rigby but in my .338 Lapuas I am loading them over a dozen times and still have tight primer pockets.

Weight is more consistent that Lapua brass - in fact, it isn't even a contest in terms of weight consistency.

More than ten. Twenty or so with cast boolits. (I lost more over crumpling the shoulder than wearing out from shooting/resizing. Sold the gun...)

+1

I was loading standard velocity of 2400 fps and also higher 2550 fps with 400 gr bullets and then I was doing 2850 fps and 2700 fps loads with 340/350 gr bullets. Never had to trim the brass even once!

quote:

Originally posted by BNagel:
More than ten. Twenty or so with cast boolits. (I lost more over crumpling the shoulder than wearing out from shooting/resizing. Sold the gun...)

Haven't worn out any cases yet. I load 400-410-grain solids and soft points at 2,350 fps, and 350-grain A-Frames at 2,550 fps. I use Redding dies, and Lee Factory Crimp dies for hunting loads.

I also load 350-grain hard cast lead bullets to reduced velocities for practice, and training people who are new to big bore shooting.

With the low pressures, the cases seem to last forever. Annealing really helps.

Hope this helps.

Loaded to original ballistics and assuming q low pressure load with slower powders then close enough to forever. Simply not an issue.

I had a lot to do with 378s in past years. Loaded back to what would be top 375 H&H ballistics brass for the 378 worked out cheaper than the Winchester 375 stuff.

Loading a 378 back to equal top H&H ballistics would be about the same as loading the 416 Rigby back to top 416 Remington ballistics.

I've used Norma and Hornady and prefer Hornady.

No problems on case life but I load "hot" so my vote wouldn't count. Crushed shoulders from carelessness is the main way to use cases, besides dropping them in the long grass in the middle of a hunt.

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
I don't know about Rigby but in my .338 Lapuas I am loading them over a dozen times and still have tight primer pockets.

Weight is more consistent that Lapua brass - in fact, it isn't even a contest in terms of weight consistency.

Misread your post - I am actually using Nosler brass, which I love.

quote:

Originally posted by TOP_PREDATOR:
How many reloads are people getting from Norma 416 Rigby brass? Not a hot load thanks

Your question is rather open as it depends on how people perceive "getting reloads".

Cases can be junked because of loose primer pockets or incipient case head separations (high pressure loading and pushing the shoulder back too far for the latter) or case neck or shoulder splits through work hardened brass, fixed by regular annealing.
If the reloaded ammo is used for DG hunting the shooter may well consign good cases to the bin or cast bullet shooting after a couple of reloads just to be sure his ammo is 100% for DG hunting.
As some have already mentioned, the 416 Rigby has a propensity for crumpling the already steep shoulder if careless when seating and or crimping bullets.

If loading to moderate pressure, regularly annealing the neck (avoid the shoulder area as much as possible), trimming all cases to same length when crimping and then not setting the shoulder back, cases should last a long time.
Cases will last almost forever if shooting light cast loads and following the steps above.

I am on the same 20 Hornady cases for my ‘charging buff’ Comp rifle that has been through 10 boxes of Woodleigh 410gr RNSP just this past year and a half.
I also have some 30 year old Norms cases I reformed into 450 Norma, then resized back to 416 without a hiccup, must have had 6 or more sizing by now.
Have a new packet of Norma, have only shot a few in anger, so nothing to report there, yet.

Cheers.

quote:

Originally posted by 416RigbyHunter:
I am on the same 20 Hornady cases for my ‘charging buff’ Comp rifle that has been through 10 boxes of Woodleigh 410gr RNSP just this past year and a half.
I also have some 30 year old Norms cases I reformed into 450 Norma, then resized back to 416 without a hiccup, must have had 6 or more sizing by now.
Have a new packet of Norma, have only shot a few in anger, so nothing to report there, yet.

Cheers.

That's real good value, do you anneal your cases?

Let me know when you start seeing neck splits and I'll give you my recipe for repairing the splits

[/QUOTE]

That's real good value, do you anneal your cases?

Let me know when you start seeing neck splits and I'll give you my recipe for repairing the splits [/QUOTE]

"Repairing" neck splits? Tell us!

To the original poster, I have brass with over 15 cycles. I use Imperial Reloading dry neck lube when seating bullets. Seems to have eliminated the crushed shoulder problem.

quote:

Originally posted by eagle27:

quote:

Originally posted by 416RigbyHunter:
I am on the same 20 Hornady cases for my ‘charging buff’ Comp rifle that has been through 10 boxes of Woodleigh 410gr RNSP just this past year and a half.
I also have some 30 year old Norms cases I reformed into 450 Norma, then resized back to 416 without a hiccup, must have had 6 or more sizing by now.
Have a new packet of Norma, have only shot a few in anger, so nothing to report there, yet.

Cheers.

That's real good value, do you anneal your cases?

Let me know when you start seeing neck splits and I'll give you my recipe for repairing the splits

I anneal every 5th cycle, haven’t seen a neck split yet in this cartridge.
I also don’t run it hot, 2535fps with the 410’s in my 25.5” barrel.

Cheers.

PS, how do you ‘repair’ split necks?
I am intrigued.

While I don't recommend the practice of repairing splits in case necks as a normal practice, I have done so with my 404 cases particularly the older Kynoch factory brass which have split on first firing and where otherwise these cases once annealed and splits repaired go on to give long service. I use my cases mostly for cast bullets but would be quite happy to load jacketed in repaired cases.
I hold a case with a split in the neck on a short length of steel rod in a vice. The black steel rod is just something I had on hand and fits in a 404 case neck without turning down so is just a standard size and finish to which silver solder won't stick. Rod also acts as a heat sink too. Using a small tip oxyacetylene flame I just flow a little silver solder (silfos) into the neck splits. Mostly don't need any clean up but if slightly heavy handed a pass with a fine flat file on the outside and same with a chainsaw file on the inside of the neck and then a then go ahead and load. Have to look real hard to see repair once cases are polished and the cases anneal just like any others.

Sounds pretty pedantic but then I also reload the Kynoch berdan primed cases too just because I can, all about learning.

I think Norma makes federal’s 416 Rigby brass.

I have some that have been reloaded so often that the nickel plating is pretty much gone. I think some have 10-15 loadings on them and the primer pockets are still good using full power hunting loads.

I seem to lose a bunch with the first firing (maybe 1 out of 40) and then some issues arise starting around the 10th loading, usually neck splits.

I wasn’t the best at keeping track of how many times things have been reloaded. I got my first .416 Rigby in 1995, and I suspect some of the plinking cases have gone through 25+ times, but those have had all kinds of loads in them from hot rodded 2700 FPS loads to some subsonic loads. Until I started worrying about annealing, the cases would cull themselves by neck splits. I don’t think I’ve tossed a case for a loose primer pocket in this caliber. Low pressures and good quality brass and it tends to last.