300 win mag case seperation

[AZBUCKEYE]

I have had 2 Cases separate right above the belt I have reloaded 5 or 6 times with these cases. What is the norm for life on these? The loads are not hot and kind of have me concerned why. Any ideas shooting a T.C encore

[azslim]

I called it good on mine after 5 uses, but they are a touch on the hot side

[PowellSixO]

5-6 reloads on a belted magnum is pretty good if you ask me. On my 7mm Rem Mag I load them very hot, and I only get 3 reloads before the primer pockets loosen up and become junk. I don't know if there's any truth to this (works for me), but I take my micrometer and measure a new peace of brass just above the belt, and measure my used brass after I resize it. Once the used brass grows to .0015" over the new brass just above the belt I throw it out. Or you can do the paper clip trick. Straighten out a paper clip and sharpen one end to a point. Then bend the sharp end to a 90 degree angle with the bend being small enough to slip inside the neck of your case. Drag the point up and down the inside of the case to feel for a depression in the area where the case separates. If you feel a lip in there at all, you should toss the brass because it's on it's way to separating.

[Pine Donkey]

Are you full sizing each time? If so, you may be taking the shoulder back too far. However, 5-6 shots is pretty good from that she'll.

[firstcoueswas80]

I had the same issue with the brass on my old 7 LRM.

[PowellSixO]

If you want optimum life out of your brass, a Hornady headspace gauge bushing set is worth every penny. Put your sizing die in your press and keep pushing the shoulder back until you have no issues chambering the brass. Find your measurement it takes to achieve this, and then write it down. Then every time you reload, push the shoulders back to this measurement. It should help your brass life. Stretching and shrinking your brass too much wears it out. I get short life out of my 7mm Rem Mag because I'm running my loads at almost max load. But I don't get case separations. My primer pockets usually give up first. But I blame that on Winchester brass. Better brass would probably give me more reloads. I get almost 10 reloads out of my Norma brass in my 243 before I throw it out. I would have bought Norma brass for my 7mm, but I came across a bunch of brand new Winchester brass for a good price. But never again. The amount of work it took to prep the brass the way I like (cut the primer pockets to uniform depths, uniform the flash holes, run through the sizing die, cut the brass to the same length, deburr and chamfer the necks, and then clean) is a pain in the butt. The Norma brass goes straight out of the box to get primers, powder, and bullet. I'm going to quit being cheap with my brass. But I have 400 rounds of Winchester brass to use up first. Lol.

[lancetkenyon]

If you want optimum life out of your brass, a Hornady headspace gauge bushing set is worth every penny. Put your sizing die in your press and keep pushing the shoulder back until you have no issues chambering the brass. Find your measurement it takes to achieve this, and then write it down. Then every time you reload, push the shoulders back to this measurement. It should help your brass life. Stretching and shrinking your brass too much wears it out. I get short life out of my 7mm Rem Mag because I'm running my loads at almost max load. But I don't get case separations. My primer pockets usually give up first. But I blame that on Winchester brass. Better brass would probably give me more reloads. I get almost 10 reloads out of my Norma brass in my 243 before I throw it out. I would have bought Norma brass for my 7mm, but I came across a bunch of brand new Winchester brass for a good price. But never again. The amount of work it took to prep the brass the way I like (cut the primer pockets to uniform depths, uniform the flash holes, run through the sizing die, cut the brass to the same length, deburr and chamfer the necks, and then clean) is a pain in the butt. The Norma brass goes straight out of the box to get primers, powder, and bullet. I'm going to quit being cheap with my brass. But I have 400 rounds of Winchester brass to use up first. Lol.

I do all that case prep for all of my brass, new or fired. Lapua, Nosler, Norma, Remington, Winchester....it doesn't matter. Luckily, some of it is a one time deal after doing it the first time. Some of it is every 3 or 4 loadings, some every other, some every time. But you forgot the weight sort & anneal steps in there.