How to know when your brass is due to be replaced

[Kyskeet]

I've been using the same 100 pieces of Lapua (6.5 CM) for approx. 15 cycles, annealing between each firing. How will I know when it's toast. Baring mechanical failure, will accuracy go away, small primer pockets are still good. What say you Jude.

 

[TonyTheTiger]

Always pretty obvious to me....

 

[Diver160651]

View attachment 7086393
Always pretty obvious to me....

Wow- that looks atypical for a bolt gun. Usually a bolt gun, the case head separation in much closer to the case head.. was that out of a gas gun?

 

[Steel head]

Till it doesn’t hold primers.

I have brass with a good bit more shots on it than 15.

I did recently have a box of 50 that started acting weird.
ES beyond normal and flyers.

They had been loaded so much that the primer pocket had flowed material and primers barely seated flush so I hit them with a pocket uniforming tool and they seem to be GTG now.

Not sure how that helped but flyers are gone.

 

[Kyskeet]

So, I just keep cycling it until a mechanical failure. Wow, maybe I'll just pitch it and buy a new box of brass.

 

[TonyTheTiger]

@Diver160651
Most likely a gas gun. Thats just out of my range pick up blaster brass bucket. I catch quite a few imminent separations before loading, but I've had at least 4 get by me in the last 30k rounds.

 

[canezach]

For me, my primer pockets go before I get close to case head separation, but I do have my “case head separation gauge” to check. Just take a paper clip, straighten out on side, and bend it at the end to form a little L. It’ll slide into the case mouth and you can feel the case wall for a little “notch” where the wall is starting to weaken

 

[Huskydriver]

You can usually see a light ring of death the firing before a case head separation. You can also feel the thinning out of brass on the inside with a picking device paper clip dental tool etc to confirm the ring. Once I see both I toss it but my primer pockets usually fail first.