Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

I just purchased a .45ACP and am getting dies for my press.

Does anyone know how many times one can reload the .45ACP cartridge assuming normal factory loads?

With .44 mag I found I get about 5 reloads on factory loads then I need to recycle the brass.

I've never tried to keep track of how many times I can reload the brass.

I lose one now and then during the resizing or the case mouth "belling" steps in reloading. You can hear the "crack" noise when one splits and with some experience you also notice a change to the way the handle moves on the press.

Be careful not to bell the mouth more than needed to seat the bullet as it is stretching the brass. Then when you seat the bullet/crimp the case the brass at the mouth is squeezed back in. I'll bet this puts more stress on the brass than firing the round. I certainly break more cases reloading them than I do firing them.

Pne of my good friends shoots and reloads and shoots again a lot of 45. He says it depends. Inspect before you use them. If you're not loading them super hot, you'll probably lose the brass before it's junk.

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Inspect all brass before you reload it, check for any signs of cracking, excessive buldging or any failures! There is no set limit how many times you can reload it. I have had .40 brass reloaded more than 15 times loading at 4.7 grains, just light target ammo. With .45 I prob only get to reload a few times using a Kimber Ultra Carry, it likes to throw the brass away LOL and I loose as much as I save.

unlesss you are a great brass scrounger, you'll loose it before you wear it out.

10-20 times is not out of the realm of reasonable.

I've got some cases that I've been loading for over 20 years... occasionally I find a split or a loose primer and they go in the scrap bin, but generally it seems like a nearly infinite life to me.

Thanks to everyone for the replies.

Looking forward to reloading.

I was taught reloading by my dad.
Years ago he worked at Smith & Wesson and Harrington & Richardson
We used to melt lead for ingots and cast bullets

Carrying on the tradition except for bullet casting.

Reloading is alot of fun and rewarding, enjoy!! I started about 2 years ago so I could afford to shoot more often, then my older brother wanted to learn to shoot so I took him to the range and taught him the basic's.He bought his first gun and I made him a deal, pay for half the components and I would make ammo for both of us. Then about a year a ago my Dad finally retired for the 4th time and picked up the shooting hobby again after 35 years! I took him to the range and covered the basic's with him which he remembered real quick and I made him a deal lol pay for half the components and I'd make ammo for both of us! Boy making ammo for 3 people who love to shoot is alot of work LOL.

The Good news is with a lot more people shooting 45 ACP than there used to be ,range pick up brass is more plentiful than it was .. most people do not reload and are glad to let me clean up their Brass when they are done.