case life 357 in 1892's and other levers.

[mickbr]

Just wondering how long other folks 357 brass lasts in lever actions with standard loads. 1892 specifically but interested in any reports. I dont use revolvers but would imagine cases will stretch less in them.

[Tycer]

I run full house Lil’Gun almost exclusively with 180 grain hardcast in my rifle in mixed brass. Never had any failures or stretch.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I don't experience any issues with mixed .357 brass in my Rossi 92. Been shooting a lot of the same brass for many years.

[JimT]

Been shooting the Rossi Paco gave me and using the same brass in the sixguns. Only "failures" I have had is the normal kind of wear and tear from resizing and neck expanding .. a few neck cracks now and then. Some of the brass I use has been reloaded over a period of more than 20 years, though how many times I have no idea.

[mickbr]

Thought so fellas, I havent had to reload many thus far and things were going well.

[COSteve]

Done

[JimT]

I called their CS and told them about my issue and the CS person admitted that some batches were a 'bit brittle' but he'd never seen them fail on the second firing.

I have had that happen on the first firing. Rarely. Sometimes brittle batches do get out unfortunately.

[mickbr]

Thanks for the info Costeve. So is JAG brass good quality? I notice its pretty cheap right where I am. I thought it might be budget level going by the price. But I might pick some up now.

[COSteve]

Done

[COSteve]

Done

[piller]

Thanks for the info on Starline's customer service shortcomings. I have some of their brass for a couple of calibers which I currently cannot get from anyone else.

[AJMD429]

Ten years or so ago, I had good customer service from Starline, although I can't remember the exact issue - I think it was some 32-20 cases that were damaged on arrival. They replaced them without question or return of the damaged ones being required.

Hopefully you just got a bad customer service rep on a bad day; I'd hate to see that become a trend...

[COSteve]

Done

[hondo1892]

Just bought a couple hundred rounds of 357 from Starline have some 44 spl too. Hope I don't have that problem with mine. I have plenty of 44 spl in Winchester brass but am light on .357 mag and it's hard to find any right now.

[mickbr]

Me too, in different lots. Hope they all work okay. Btw any thoughts on winchester , Remington and Hornady brass in 38sp and 357. Just found a store with all three, does one stand out over the others? The winchester is priced highest for the record.

[piller]

I bought Winchester brass years ago when I started loading for my .30-30. I still have all but a few pieces of the original brass. I lost a couple, and messed up a couple by not chamfering the mouth. As far as new brass, I do not know. My .44 Magnum brass is Remington, and less than 5 years old. About 10 reloading cycles on it, and it is still good. I have some that I really do not know how old it is or even how many times it has been loaded that is still working perfectly well.

[JimT]

Generally, case life depends more upon the chamber the cases are fired in and the dies they are resized in than it does the manufacturer.

If you have a chamber that is at the upper limits of dimensions and dies that are at the lower limits, you will work the cases when you expand them by firing and the shrink them back down when you size them. The brass will work-harden and separate sooner than if the chamber dimensions and die dimensions are close.

That difference causes more case failures than who made the cases.

Years ago the "internet wisdom" was that Remington .45 Colt cases were the most prone to separate. I took 100 R-P cases and loaded heavy loads of 2400 under my 300 gr. bullet and fired them. I stopped testing after 20 reloads. In 20 reloads of fairly high pressure loads I lost 10 cases to neck mouth cracks. Those come from belling and then crimping the case mouths, not from pressure. I lost no cases due to any type of separation of the case body. If I had annealed the case mouths at some point during the test I most likely would not have lost those.

Yes, brittle batches of cases do happen at times. I have had brand new cases split full length on the first firing. But that is extremely rare.