Brass quality question

[D4HighDesert]

I have about 160 pieces of old Remington and Winchester Western 7mm rem mag brass. I am curious as to what the quality of this old brass is like compared to new Winchester and Remington. I understand newer brass is considered soft and not as well made but is that also true for old Winchester and Remington brass or was it made better back then like other things? I’ve attached a picture of the boxes to demonstrate their age since I don’t actually know the year or anything. Any input is appreciated! 

[HuntHike61]

Dunno about relative quality of decades old brass construction versus new, but the reusability is all about inspection of the brass.  Hotly loaded rounds can ruin even new brass (back then, and today), and over worked brass can be a problem as well.  Light loads with proper resizing- the brass could last 10 times over easy.  Tumble the brass, and inspect it for separation, hot loads (via primer inspection), dents and splits.  Not sure if this is what you were looking for or not...

[D4HighDesert]

That is certainly a helpful answer and pretty much what I was wondering. I think the way you pose it as reusability is much more appropriate than just general quality. Thank you! 

[firstcoueswas80]

Don't forget to add annealing in the mix.

 

My 28 nosler brass is on its 4th go round with a not-so mild, but not super hot load. I anneal every other firing, and I haven't lost one yet. 

[D4HighDesert]

2 hours ago, firstcoueswas80 said:

Don't forget to add annealing in the mix.

 

My 28 nosler brass is on its 4th go round with a not-so mild, but not super hot load. I anneal every other firing, and I haven't lost one yet. 

Do you use any particular annealing machine or just heat the necks with a torch for a few 6-8 seconds?

[firstcoueswas80]

I use the torch/drill method 

[nighthawk]

I’m on my 6 or 7th reload on my 300rum RP brass.  Mild load and neck size with bumped shoulder at 6th reload.  Still looks and works great 

[lancetkenyon]

I use Rem R-P brass for my 7RM with up to 10 firings on it & .300RUM, all bought in 1999 with up to 10 firings on it, and .243 brass necked up for my 6.5SLR with anywhere from 3 to 15 firings on it.  Almost all still going strong.  Only lost a few, and not running mild loads in any of it.  I think it lasts better than most of the newer Nosler brass I have tried. 

[D4HighDesert]

31 minutes ago, lancetkenyon said:

I use Rem R-P brass for my 7RM with up to 10 firings on it & .300RUM, all bought in 1999 with up to 10 firings on it, and .243 brass necked up for my 6.5SLR with anywhere from 3 to 15 firings on it.  Almost all still going strong.  Only lost a few, and not running mild loads in any of it.  I think it lasts better than most of the newer Nosler brass I have tried. 

That’s great to hear. Are you annealing it as well? 
I’ve got 100 pieces of Norma brass but I figured if there weren’t any major accuracy differences than I may as well cycle these in branded batches to reduce the number of reloads on it all. 

[Delw]

I been loading the same brass in 22-250-300 win mag and a ton of stuff in the middle since the early 80's. Safely say my 300 winmag brass has been shot more than 10 times. the 243 22-250 and 220swft brass easy over 10 times.

when I go through a batch I maybe throw away 5-10 cases of each cal thats it. all the small stuff 22-250-243 I have 2-3k rounds of each. the 300 winmag 800-1k rounds

never anneled only trimmed and fl resized.

but the 223 brass which I have 5k rounds of brass for doesnt last very long, probably because most it is new stuff. the PMC stuff lasts for ever and the older brass does, but the newer last 10 years brass of the .223 doesnt last more than 5  reloads

I think because its out of ar's, lots of stretching. my 308 Springfield Amory M1A1 same deal 5-6 loads but the bolt guns last forever on older brass

[HuntHike61]

I don't shoot ARs, but maybe folks typically full length size those? That would reduce their life.  I reload only for bolt actions- and do not full length size those once they are fire formed for my particular rifle, which increases brass life.

[lancetkenyon]

I run all my AR brass through a small base die.  Even tighter than a typical FL die.  But, they feed flawlessly,and with about 8000pcs, not too worried about brass life.

[D4HighDesert]

On 6/5/2021 at 3:01 PM, firstcoueswas80 said:

I use the torch/drill method 

What do you use to chuck the brass in the drill? 

[lancetkenyon]

11 hours ago, D4HighDesert said:

What do you use to chuck the brass in the drill? 

Deep socket slightly bigger than case diameter, and short enough to leave the top 1/3 of the case exposed.  Drop the case in the deep socket, which also acts as a heat sink to keep the temps off the head.  Then tip it upside down and let the case drop in a SS bowl to cool.  No need to quench in water.  

[D4HighDesert]

On 6/7/2021 at 9:18 AM, lancetkenyon said:

Deep socket slightly bigger than case diameter, and short enough to leave the top 1/3 of the case exposed.  Drop the case in the deep socket, which also acts as a heat sink to keep the temps off the head.  Then tip it upside down and let the case drop in a SS bowl to cool.  No need to quench in water.  

Good deal thank you, I am going to give that a try tonight with a little tempilaq.