Life expectancy of 38spl brass

[mcb]

Just shake each handfuls of empty cases as you throw them in the case feeder. Split cases have a unique sound easy to hear and sort out.

 

[Bazoo]

Other than difficulty ejecting a split fired case from the cylinder is it dangerous to fire a split case if it gets past inspection? I prime single stage, by hand, on Lee classic 4 hole turret press as well as decap brass single stage so lots of opportunity to spot a split one.

Dangerous? No, but it can allow the bullet to walk forward under recoil from other shots, it's detrimental to accuracy when fired, isn't the best thing for your guns chamber, and doesn't seal the hot gases from blowback as well as an unsplit case.

I give a quick inspection to every round I make to make sure there are not split necks, primers are below flush, and overall nothing looks off.

 

[cfullgraf]

I load and shoot mostly wadcutter 38 Special ammunition. Alot of my cases were mixed head stamp and would last forever. The occasional neck or body split would occur and they would be scrapped.

In the last few years, I’ve gotten several 38 Special j-frames machined for moon clips. TK Custom make, or made at the time, two moon clips. One for Starline and R-P cases, the other for W-W and Hornady cases. I settled on the Starline/R-P moon clips as that was I had mostly on hand.

I’m planing to load hotter than target 38 Special loads when the spirit moves me. I expect the cases will not last as long.

P.S. I’ve reloaded some 38 Special nickel cases in target loads so many times, the nickel plating has worn off and the case is still going strong.

 

[slickracer]

I save Remington brass for loading wad cutters.

 

[Charlie98]

If it came to the point where every 3rd or 4th case was splitting, I'd toss the lot

That's my usual system as well. I'm looking for a trend, not an exception to the rule.

Back Home, Years Ago, when I was heavy into .38/.357, I bought a 1000cs lot of Midway brass, which at that time was actually Starline. I was getting case splits on the 2nd firing, and that with a typical mid-range .38SPC load... it was just bad brass. I wound up scrapping most of it. I had the same thing happen with some Midway-sourced 'Texas' headstamped .357 nickle brass... it lasted about 4 loadings before it all started to fall apart. Contrast that to the 1000cs lot of Midway .45ACP brass I bought at about the same time... I'm still using that brass today... so go figure. At this point, we are approaching scrap time... the ratio of split cases per 50 rounds is starting to increase.