A new-to-me adventure coming soon - Reloading for a revolver.

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someguy2800 said:
A note on crimping and plated bullets. Not saying this is good advice or bad advice, just reporting what I do. I roll crimp every 38 special I make, even plated bullets. Below is my usual 38 special load which is a 125 gr Berry's flat point. As you can see from the pulled bullet on the right it is heavily crimped. I've shot thousands of these and never seen any detrimental effect from doing it this way. I've even shot them into poplar logs and bags of wood pellets and the plating is still intact when recovered.
Click to expand...

Same here. I might crimp a little less than you show, but I roll crimp plated bullets. I, too, have recovered some fired bullets and been impressed that the crimp line doesn't seem to have done anything to compromise the plating fore or aft of it. In fairness, I am not a bullseye-grade-accuracy shooter, and it's possible there's some very small diminution in accuracy that I am unable to detect due to my skill limitations.
 
I have a number of revolvers and I use 38 Special cases so I can use the same target loads in all my .38s and .357s. That ring everyone is talking about can easily be dissolved with solvent, like Hoppe's No. 9. Let it soak for a while and then scrub it out. The chemicals will do the work!
 
RealGun said:
That die is not carbide. Is that a problem crimping? I am thinking I would only need to keep it clean.
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No problem. The carbide on the FCD is the resizing ring at the bottom, that will remove any bulges that might occur with the crimping process. The problem is that it will sometimes try to size down the cast bullets that might be slightly oversize (on purpose) and cause leading in barrels. as a result. The ring is not needed with a collet crimper, since there is no way that the collet will cause a bulge in the brass. Instead of pushing down on the brass to form a crimp, the collet squeezes the brass in from the side to form the crimp.
 
Handloading and Reloading
Walkalong said:
They are obviously holding up to the crimp just fine. Have you tested crimped vs uncrimped to see how it affects ES &SD numbers and accuracy? Or a light vs heavy crimp?
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I have not tested the ES or SD but I have tested the accuracy vs a light roll crimp and a taper crimp and could not tell any difference. This load shoots about 4-5" at 50 yards from a 4" barrel if I have a target I can see well enough. I don't need that much crimp but I like the look of it and the bullets don't seem to care so that's what I do.
 
Toprudder said:
No problem. The carbide on the FCD is the resizing ring at the bottom, that will remove any bulges that might occur with the crimping process. The problem is that it will sometimes try to size down the cast bullets that might be slightly oversize (on purpose) and cause leading in barrels. as a result. The ring is not needed with a collet crimper, since there is no way that the collet will cause a bulge in the brass. Instead of pushing down on the brass to form a crimp, the collet squeezes the brass in from the side to form the crimp.
Click to expand...

The only thing I don't like about the collet crimp die is it leaves a ring at the top of the brass which seams to get thinner and thinner the more times you use it. I don't know what it would have done after 10 reloadings, but I didn't like what it was doing to the brass after 3 or 4 so I went back to a roll crimp.
 
someguy2800 said:
The only thing I don't like about the collet crimp die is it leaves a ring at the top of the brass which seams to get thinner and thinner the more times you use it. I don't know what it would have done after 10 reloadings, but I didn't like what it was doing to the brass after 3 or 4 so I went back to a roll crimp.
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I have not noticed that to be a problem, but I don't have more than a few loads on any of my brass at this point.
 
someguy2800 said:
Handloading and Reloading


I have not tested the ES or SD but I have tested the accuracy vs a light roll crimp and a taper crimp and could not tell any difference. This load shoots about 4-5" at 50 yards from a 4" barrel if I have a target I can see well enough. I don't need that much crimp but I like the look of it and the bullets don't seem to care so that's what I do.
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That much crimp will overwork the brass and could cause premature splitting. The crimp you applied would be on the upper end of what I would apply for a .357 Magnum load.
 
someguy2800 said:
I've never found that to be a problem. I switch back and forth all the time and never scrub the cylinders. Perhaps a bigger deal with cast bullets?
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Not a bigger deal with lead. You will start to notice some restriction on a 357 case after 500 or so 38spls but as @Walkalong pointed out, a bore brush chucked in a drill makes quick work of cleaning them back out.
 
Walkalong said:
They are obviously holding up to the crimp just fine. Have you tested crimped vs uncrimped to see how it affects ES &SD numbers and accuracy? Or a light vs heavy crimp?
Click to expand...

I know how to calculate SD, but what is ES?
 
In this parlance, "ES" is just Extreme Spread - difference between highest and lowest recorded velocity (or other metric).
 
I stole this from TT and it is indeed a very good load. I went up to 7.5, but 7.3 was better.
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Walkalong, That's alright, I stole your idea of using the .010" spread for crimping bullets. You posted that years ago and I tried it and you were right, it works very well with roll crimping my loads. :)
That saved me a lot of work. Thank you!
 
OK, another dumb question. I hate to hijack this thread, but it is probably best to keep all the info in one place...

So, if I go with the .357 brass instead of the .38 spl brass, but I am loading to .38 spl pressures, what specs do I use for the final cartridge? Isn't the .357 brass slightly longer than the .38 spl brass?

  • I assume the COAL will be more like a .357 cartridge COAL, correct? I guess if I am loading with a cannelure, that makes it easy to figure out, but I do have some bullets that I ordered that does not have the cannelure.
  • Bullets are the same, correct?
  • Would the powder charge amount change from standard .38 spl loads when using the .357 brass?
  • Anything else I need to be aware of when using .357 brass loaded to .38 spl pressures?

I like to check my completed cartridges in a case gage, and now I am confused as to which case gage I would use. I assume that if I am using the .357 brass, I would use the .357 gage, and if I am using .38 spl brass, I would use the .38 gage. Duh! Right???

Maybe I am overthinking this??? :what:
 
Doublehelix said:
  • I assume the COAL will be more like a .357 cartridge COAL, correct? I guess if I am loading with a cannelure, that makes it easy to figure out, but I do have some bullets that I ordered that does not have the cannelure.
  • Bullets are the same, correct?
  • Would the powder charge amount change from standard .38 spl loads when using the .357 brass?
Click to expand...
Because you are generally going to stick with .357 external dimensions, you are increasing the internal case space for powder. Just as a reduction in case space raises pressures (think setback), an increase in available case space will generally marginally reduce them. FWIW, I have found bumping up the charge (on the powders that I have used and the bullets that I have used in my gun) by a couple of tenths seems to account for the extra space. If you are loading things that would be low-recoil 38 special rounds (like, say, wadcutter loads with small charges of AA#2 - as I often do), then you want to be mindful of stuck bullet risks as you first start building the loads. It is probably advisable to work down more than up in this case.... in a .357 and working in 38 load data ranges, you have lots of "room at the top" to handle extra pressure.
 
Doublehelix said:
OK, another dumb question. I hate to hijack this thread, but it is probably best to keep all the info in one place...

So, if I go with the .357 brass instead of the .38 spl brass, but I am loading to .38 spl pressures, what specs do I use for the final cartridge? Isn't the .357 brass slightly longer than the .38 spl brass?

  • I assume the COAL will be more like a .357 cartridge COAL, correct? I guess if I am loading with a cannelure, that makes it easy to figure out, but I do have some bullets that I ordered that does not have the cannelure.
  • Bullets are the same, correct?
  • Would the powder charge amount change from standard .38 spl loads when using the .357 brass?
  • Anything else I need to be aware of when using .357 brass loaded to .38 spl pressures?

I like to check my completed cartridges in a case gage, and now I am confused as to which case gage I would use. I assume that if I am using the .357 brass, I would use the .357 gage, and if I am using .38 spl brass, I would use the .38 gage. Duh! Right???

Maybe I am overthinking this??? :what:
Click to expand...
You will find a few instances where 38 +p and 357 Magnum data share a common powder. You can work with the gap between 38 +p and minimum 357 Magnum, as I have done with smaller frame Magnums using Magnum brass. You should be able to go lower than that, but it won't be a "magnum" shooting experience, nor will it ensure hollow point expansion and penetration in a defensive load. When a bullet does not have a crimp groove or any other indication of crimp location, just use the COL spec in the load data and check to see if it chambers okay in your gauge and gun(s).
 
RealGun said:
When a bullet does not have a crimp groove or any other indication of crimp location, just use the COL spec in the load data and check to see if it chambers okay in your gauge and gun(s).
Click to expand...

My last set of questions came from some responses in this thread that suggested to use .357 brass for .38 spl loads to reduce the burn rings created by using the shorter .38 spl brass. The recommendation was to use .357 brass and load to .38 spl specification.

My question is "Which COAL do I use, the .357 COAL or the .38 spl COAL when using .357 cases with .38 spl pressures (non +P)". I am assuming the .357 COAL is the correct answer.
 
Doublehelix said:
My last set of questions came from some responses in this thread that suggested to use .357 brass for .38 spl loads to reduce the burn rings created by using the shorter .38 spl brass. The recommendation was to use .357 brass and load to .38 spl specification.

My question is "Which COAL do I use, the .357 COAL or the .38 spl COAL when using .357 cases with .38 spl pressures (non +P)". I am assuming the .357 COAL is the correct answer.
Click to expand...
I don't think there is a wrong answer there. Either should work. If you do go to a 357 COL, then you will need to step up the 38spl charge slightly to compensate for the increased internal volume, and maintain the same velocity.

Don't over think this. Just work up a load in 357 brass that gives you the performance you are looking for.
 
To be slightly more specific, I often load 148 plated DEWC's in .357 brass to 38 target-load velocities. I load to near-flush with the case mouth, just as when I load the same projectiles in 38 cases. I use the same primer. I use the same powder.... just a little more of it to offset the extra case room.

There are other approaches one could take, but that's what I have done.
 
Doublehelix said:
My last set of questions came from some responses in this thread that suggested to use .357 brass for .38 spl loads to reduce the burn rings created by using the shorter .38 spl brass. The recommendation was to use .357 brass and load to .38 spl specification.

My question is "Which COAL do I use, the .357 COAL or the .38 spl COAL when using .357 cases with .38 spl pressures (non +P)". I am assuming the .357 COAL is the correct answer.
Click to expand...
Seating to 38 Special numbers would not be right, so advice to load to 38 Special specs would only be referring to the powder charge. In lieu of having a crimp groove to dictate the crimp location, you can find a .357 Magnum COL spec without matching the powder being used, but you do have to match the type of brass..
 
My question is "Which COAL do I use, the .357 COAL or the .38 spl COAL when using .357 cases with .38 spl pressures (non +P)". I am assuming the .357 COAL is the correct answer.
Click to expand...
Double Helix,
If your loading regular bullets, not wadcutters, and using .357mag brass and loading to .38 spl pressures than load to .357mag COAL and add a couple .10s of powder to make up for the longer case. That all you need to do. There is no such thing as a .38 spl pressure problem in a .357mag case if your using .38 spl recipes so you don't have to worry about what .38 spl load you start with in the .357mag case.
If your using wadcutters then seat them from flush to how ever much you want above the mouth of the case just like you would a .38 spl case but again adjust the powder to how you want them to shoot or adjust for accuracy.
It's that simple.
 
My Starline arrived today,,, So did the GP-100,,,

I'm off work till 2019,,,,

ETA on the LNL AP shellplate/dies/shellholder, etc is 'towards the end of next week'. :(

I caved to the pressure and bought some RCBS dies and 250 Hornady 148 lead HBWC's locally.

Docked the LNL AP and saddled up the RockChucker,,,

Decided to 'experiment' with my 38 spl brass before I dink up any of my Starline,,, (Sorted by head stamp)

Used '38 special' OAL data from Hornady,,, 2.7 gr of Bullseye,,,

Everything went very smooth,,, Biggest 'hiccup' I had was I couldn't find an RCBS shell holder today, (only a Hornady) My RCBS Hand primer won't work w/o an RCBS shellholder, so I had to dig around/find the 'never been used' OEM priming arm/cup that came with the 'Chucker and single stab primers with it,,,,

All I have to say about that is,,,,, I LOVE MY LNL AP's PRIMING SYSTEM!!!

Hope to head to the range tmrw,,,

We shall see,,,,,,,,,, :D
 
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