Just curious as to what others are getting in the way of case life with their reloads. My practice ammo is 7.1 gr. of WW231 under a Berry's 165 plated FP. My other loads are all self defense max loads, although I haven't settled on any particular load as yet. My first choice bullet is the Lehigh 115gr Xtreme Defense (oddly, their loaded ammo is called Xtreme Defender) bullet. My second choice is the 165 Speer GDHP, although I haven't even seen any in stock with *anyone.* my 3rd choice is the Hornady 180 XTP - mainly because I was able to get a couple hundred!
I bought 2k rounds of new Starline brass and before that arrived I bought 1000k nickel plated, once fired cases from Capital Cartridge. They were mixed brands and included a few that are small primers as well. The cases were in good shape and cleaned up nicely.
During load development I used the same new Starline case and got 19 loads out of the first case and 20 out the second case. I'm impressed as usually I only get numbers like that out of .45 ACP cases! This loading a test shot, shooting it (I can literally shoot out my basement door), cleaning up the case and reloading it again. In general these were *not* lite loads either. I have not tested the life of the nickel cases which I assume is going to be shorter. Both of the Starline cases cracked at the case mouth. I trimmed one a bit but not the second. I fihure if I can get that many reloads out of a case, I have no complaints. Ok, sometimes I lose one in the rocks but so far none of the 10mm's. Just lucky so far!
Cheers,
crkckr
I never could keep track of how many times my pistol brass has been loaded so I just shoot them until they split.
Have Underwood alert you when back in stock, their 165gr GD is my standard carry load when carrying the P220, plus they?re just too fun to shoot
https://underwoodammo.com/10mm-auto-165-grain-bonded-jacketed-hollow-point/
crkckr, with the soft loads you are using which are well under the upper 10mm pressure limits is why you are getting great case life.
Now with that said over the years I have tested some extreme upper end loads I have seen primer pocket stretch and even bulged and smiled (distinct line) on brass to which they are ruined. However, the testing and learning experience was to see just what different brass will hold up to for upper pressure loadings.
Also, I have seen some factory PPU brass that was not properly annealed and wouldn't even hold the resized dimensions which they wouldn't hold a bullet as the brass sprung back open.
The key to things is good brass inspection before and even after reworking with the dies.
Best regards!
Many of my Starline cases have gone over 10x with normal loads.... most 10.4 gr Blue dot with 180 or 200 heads.
I don't find your results surprising.
But I also notice that the nickel case do split sooner then the reg brass as the case is a bit more brittle.
I do have split cases from time to time. I can't remember the last one. Starline brass lasts a long time, and 10mm in general lasts a long time.
I work very hard to ensure I have minimum flare on the case mouth and to only flatten that flare back out. I have found aggressive case mouth flare and hard crimp greatly reduce case live.
Any experinced handgunner will likely own a 10mm. The 10mm leaps beyond the traditional pistol ctgs. The 10mm can and often does have case failures. Is this because the 10mm can generate such power from a handgun? We also know reducing the maximum loads extends the life of any handgun cartridges .
Shadow said: "crkckr, with the soft loads you are using which are well under the upper 10mm pressure limits is why you are getting great case life."
Oh no, Shadow, I believe you misunderstood me or more than likely I just wasn't clear. The 7.0/231 165 PHP loads are just my practice loads. The loads I was using in my test cases were mostly starting at, or very near to, max levels for the various bullets I'm going to load! These cases were, in essence, seriously abused! I wouldn't admit in public to going over the published maximum figures stated in the manuals but let's just say I'm pushing things a bit. If I had wanted 40S&W levels I'd a bought one! Most of the loads were tested in my Glock 40, which I find to be a very smooth shooting pistol even with max loads. I do have a few factory loads, mostly Underwood with the Lehigh bullets, which tend to be lower recoil than most bullets due to their low weight (100 and 115 Xtreme Defense). I have fired a few out of my 29 which brings the fun meter up a notch or three. Truth be told I haven't even sighted either pistol in as yet because I want to settle on a defense load first. They both hit close enough not to shoot my chrono but that's all so far. Due to the lack of available Speer 165 Gold Dots I'm loading some 180 gr. factory reject bullets (I've yet to figure out what brand they are, thanks Midway!). I also broke down and bought a couple hundred 180 XTP's to load. I figure just about any 180 gr. bullet should be a decent defensive load but I would much prefer tge Gold Dots, my favorite "second string" bullets. The Lehigh's just went up at Midway, too, dang it! Sigh, I shpuld have gotten into this 10mm stuff 30 years ago instead of waiting as long as I did. Rats!
Cheers,
crkckr
I really like the XTP 180?s, they just get expensive. The XTP?s were one of my primary bullets for a long time, then I switched over to the 180gr HAP, which still work really well, and are a bit less
isn't the HAP the target version of the XTP? I don't think they were designed to expand like a hunting or S.D. bullet.
Nope, just an overpriced target bullet. I?ve moved to far more economical bullets the last few years
Quote from: Kenk on September 30 2022 06:50:58 PM MDT
I really like the XTP 180?s, they just get expensive. The XTP?s were one of my primary bullets for a long time, then I switched over to the 180gr HAP, which still work really well, and are a bit less
Very similar here... starting running loads with the XTPs and then moved over to Xtreme 10/40-180 RNFP HPCB ( heavy plate concave base )
They are cheaper and hold up to higher speed load
The XTP and HAP bullets make for some great accuracy, but with all the more inexpensive options, it seemed kind of silly to keep using them.
about the only jacketed bullets I can afford anymore are the "blems" and pulled bullets. I cast for most of the calibers that I shoot a lot. the rest I just buy some of the cast or plated bullets mentioned above.
Absolutely, plus they are way way more economical
I CAST MY 10MM BULLETS AND POWDER COAT. THERE IS A SHORTAGE HERE OF FACTORY BULLETS.