Reloading Safari Ammunition-New or Once Fired Brass???

[uplander01]

I've done things many different ways at the reloading bench over the years, (some good, some bad things,LOL), but have always wondered what other opinions are on a basic issue when it comes to getting your ammunition ready for Safari. It's pretty well established that once brass has been fire-formed in your rifles chamber and then taken through the reloading process you will end up with brass that is identical length, has more uniform concentricity, and ultimately will produce more consistent accuracy. So, when you are preparing for your safari, do you stick to using brand new unfired brass, or do you fireform and then load your ammunition? Looking forward to hearing some fellow handloaders opinions- Thanks

 

[JimP]

If I have new brass I'll use it. Other than that I consider brass as brass.

I will however full length size my hunting brass along with clambering each and every round in the rifle that I am going to use just to make sure that there are no problems.

I've seen way too many who have had problems with their loads when out hunting to not do as I do.

When that shot opportunity comes along you want to eliminate any problem that might show up.

 

[Tex .416]

Brass that has been fired in that specific rifle and then correctly resized always will provide more reliable ignition along with better accuracy.

Correctly resized means using head space gauges to make sure the shoulder is set back 0.002” - 0.003”, and absolutely no more than 0.005”.

If it is a belted mag, some dies will not do a good job of sizing the area in front of the belt and a bulge develops. There are dies made specifically for resizing that area in front of the belt, if needed.

For a final quality control check, point the muzzle toward the ground and drop a round into the chamber. It should drop all the way in without having to use the bolt to push it in. This check also can reveal a need for cleaning in that area or burrs.

The problem with some new brass or an incorrectly adjusted sizing die is there is too much room between the shoulder and the chamber wall, which is what is meant by excessive headspace. When the firing pin hits the primer, the firing pin pushes the cartridge forward until it hits the chamber wall and only then does the firing pin begin to indent the primer. Excessive headspace causes a weak indention of the primer and potential ignition problems.

On rimmed cartridges, the rim controls headspace.

On belted mags, originally the belt was created to act like the rim on a rimmed cartridge and provide the stop just as the rim does on a rimmed cartridge. SAAMI and CIP specs for many/most belted cartridges still use the belts for headspace measurements. On .300 Win Mag as just one common example, new brass will have 0.010” of space forward of the shoulder, but it still fires fine because the belt keeps the cartridge from moving forward - that is the reason for the belt. The belt really was needed back when the .300 H&H was created because of its long gently sloping shoulder to assure reliable ignition.

Modern cartridge designs like the .300 Win Mag with sharper shoulders, but which still have belts, really benefit from using fired brass resized to headspace off of the shoulder rather than the belt.

 

[ftrovato]

I personally don't think it matters.

I've hunted with new and used brass.

But if I am reloading, I insure that said ammo with that lot of brass fires & groups in my rifle as intended.

However, what does matter is cycling every round through your rifle before you go into the field.
For me that includes factory loaded ammo.

 

[deewayne2003]

For the .470 on tuskless I used new Jamison, but wouldn’t hesitate to use once fired.

For the .300win I used on Impala & bushbuck it was once fired.

 

[Firebird]

Just for fun go to the range and compare new against once or multiple fired brass. Use a chronograph and see what you find as far as velocity and accuracy differential. It’s hunting accuracy and not even long range so I don’t think it will matter but your rifle might say otherwise-