Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

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COSteve
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Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by COSteve »

Done
Last edited by COSteve on Thu Dec 17, 2020 5:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by gamekeeper »

Useful link, thanks for sharing.. 8)
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Re: Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by Rimfire McNutjob »

Nice. FYI, your extractor links are backwards. The .38 links points to the .45 extractor and vice versa.
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Re: Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by earlmck »

Steve, I initiated a little discussion here last year about 38/357 case head separations viewtopic.php?f=1&t=72269 because I had never before seen a 357 case head separation. At that time we were suspicious of nickled cases in rifles but didn't get firmed up on the suspicion because one of the fellers had seen a separation in a brass case in a revolver.

Just outa' curiousity, do your separations fit into any pattern of brass cases vs. nickled? Rifle vs. revolver?
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Re: Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by COSteve »

Done
Last edited by COSteve on Thu Dec 17, 2020 5:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by AJMD429 »

Just on average, how many reloads would you guess you're getting starting with new Starline cases....?
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Re: Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by 1894c »

COSteve-- thanks for sharing that, that's a great concept and a good thing to own... :)
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Re: Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by Sixgun »

FYI...straight wall cases will separate just as easy as bottleneck cases will......if used in a rifle that has excessive headspace. The reason you don't see it in revolvers is because the recoil plate acts as "stop the case" and it's easier to notice when a revolver becomes sloppy, where in rifles, soft steel will allow wear and increased tolerances that are not as easy to notice. Pressures do not have to be high either....I've seen it in 38-55's and 45-70's that were well worn old guns. Forgot how many 44-40's and 38-40's I've had to dig out in old rifles...but never in a revolver.

It's not the brass, it's the gun.

I've made my own broken shell extractors that work on multiple cases.....nothing more than getting a piece of threaded stock and installing a thick rubber washer with two nuts.....you turn the nut until the rubber is squeezed and expands enough to grab the case.....having multiple "washers" in different thickness will work on the same tool in most guns.---6
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Re: Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by crs »

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Re: Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by COSteve »

Done
Last edited by COSteve on Thu Dec 17, 2020 5:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by Machado »

I had this problem a number of times with .38 SPL cases loaded to magnum pressures. The problem persisted until a new, slower powder was launched in the market. I switched powders and never found the problem again. I did, however, make a tool to remove the case ring that remained in the chamber without any fuss. It works very well in my Puma 92, and worked well in a friend's Taurus 40 caliber pistol firing adventurous loads.
Split case removal tool (1).jpg
Split case removal tool (2).jpg
Split case removal tool (3).jpg
Split case removal tool (4).jpg
Split case removal tool (5).jpg
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Re: Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by COSteve »

Done
Last edited by COSteve on Thu Dec 17, 2020 5:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by Machado »

Steve, the tool was made from mild, unhardened steel and the claw is polished. The chamber is much harder than the tool. I also made a tool for the Rossi 44 magnum, which I never used.
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Re: Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by COSteve »

Done
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Re: Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by mickbr »

So fellas will 38 special in a rossi 92 last long periods of time if pressures are kept reasonable? I run cases to about 25,000 PSI max with 5-6 grain loads of various powders. I like running minimal loads of powder and was hoping cases would last me a looong time. Would I have to be prepared for separations before long?
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Re: Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by COSteve »

Done
Last edited by COSteve on Thu Dec 17, 2020 5:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by mickbr »

In comparison to 357 brass at the same pressures is more what I was asking. At medium pressures would anyone predict a marked difference in case life between 38 and 357 brass in a 357 levers chamber?
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Re: Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by COSteve »

Done
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Re: Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by Machado »

Hefty loads in 38 SPL cases tend to expand primer pockets. Until recently, anything shooting-related in this country involved an uphill battle to obtain. I secured a number of Berdan-primed cases, punched the anvil out of them, loaded and fired them with 357 magnum loads (mostly Lyman's #358429 @ 1400+ FPS out of a 20"-barreled Rossi 92). Primer pockets soon opened up.
This was 30 years ago. I devised and had a set of tools machined - in LP and SP sizes - to crimp the primer pocket back. In those heroic days, losing a shell case was almost a catastrophe.
Pucker tool 1.jpg

I call this a "pucker tool".
Pucker tool sizer 2.jpg
This is a primer pocket uniformizer.
Pucker tool - crimped case.jpg
This is the puckered case. This one has been reloaded 11 times.
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Re: Full Power .357mag Loads, Battered Brass, and Broken Cases

Post by ywaltzucanrknrl »

Machado, they say laziness is the mother of invention, but in your case they should say necessity is the mother of invention. That is a neat tool. Guess it acts pretty much like a military crimp. I have a rifle or two that brass is hard to find or make. A tool like that would be nice for them. Or for any cartridge if things turn south for firearms ownership.

On the topic, I've yet to have a case head separation on a pistol cartridge case. I do find that stainless cases fail more often than brass and my failures are generally vertical splits or loose primer pockets. I've also observed that my Marlin rifles show more noticeable bulges on cases near the web than my Rossi's.
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