Speer 357 SIG brass - very small flash holes

[Littlewolf]

I have observed the primer flash holes in Speer 357 SIG brass to be very small compared to other brands. Is there a reason for this? Should this flash holes be enlarged to proper size? What consequences could occur from reloading this brass with the smaller holes?

 

[chris in va]

They fired fine as-is in factory form, so I wouldn't mess with it.

 

[ReloaderFred]

They will probably have a small "s" on the headstamp, which means they were made by Starline for Speer. I've encountered a lot of those, and the only decapping pin that I had that would work was in my Redding dies. You can forget getting a Dillon decapping pin through them. I just put them aside and drilled out the flash holes when I had enough to mess with.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Littlewolf]

Thanks all. I feel better with the standard size flash hole.

 

[beatledog7]

Speer .357 Sig "s" brass is apparently very solid, as it takes a lot of effort to size. I've just been through a bunch of this, both plain and nickel plated, sizing with a carbide RCBS .40cal die. Even after adding a proper application of One-Shot, it takes a lot to size these.

Most are of the small flash hole variety, but that's not the major issue, as even after decapping a few with a universal, the sizing remains hard. It's easier, oddly enough, with a Lee .357 Sig FL sizing die.

Is the RCBS die tight? Or is Speer .357 Sig brass just hard to size?

 

[david_r]

Wait until you get some R-P that pulls the decapping pin out If you miss that it happened, you have to resort all your brass to find the one with the pin stuck in it and all the ones that still have a primer in them.

 

[beatledog7]

David R, it was a Speer for me. Pulled my Lee FL sizer pin apart. The pin pushed out the primer them hung in the flash hole. It was immediately apparent as I work on a Hornady SS, and the next piece's primer didn't go pphht into the bin (as 95% of them do). But I'm prepared--three spare Lee pins on hand.

I used a .074 bit to drill out a batch of 50, and will eventually do them all, but only as I need them.

 

[david_r]

Thank you for the info. I'll keep an eye on the Speer too.

 

[kutter]

Or you could just chuck the resize pin into a drill and take it down a couple of thousandths. That is what I did and have not had a single problem since then, a lot easier than drilling out 2000 cases.

 

[beatledog7]

True, but I use three different dies to decap .357 Sig, so that would be three pins. Two of these I also use for other cases, and that includes some with crimped primers. The pins are fragile enough as it is.

It takes a few seconds per round to fix the holes, and it's a one-time thing. For me, it beats constantly breaking pins.

 

[david_r]

Then you have all your primer holes the same size. I can't imagine that is a bad thing, especially with 357sig where if you aren't loading near max, you may as well be shooting 9mm

 

[kutter]

I suppose if I ever got around to using my carbide 40 dies to decap I might have that issue, but since it is a bottleneck round and have to use lube I never bothered with it and just use the steel dies for it.

 

[kutter]

All of my primer holes are uniform, I only use Speer brass.

I load with 12.5gr of AA #9 under a 124gr Berry bullet. Not max but certainly a lot hotter than 9mm velocities.

 

[beatledog7]

with 357sig where if you aren't loading near max, you may as well be shooting 9mm

Actually, very reasonable mid-range loads of HS-6, which is quickly becoming my favorite .357 Sig powder, push a 124gr XTP to about 1270 FPS, roughly 9% faster than the 9mm max (which I don't even bother with since I also shoot .40S&W). I'll happily take that 9%.

Pushed to the HS-6 max, the .357 Sig tops the 9mm by close to 15% in velocity.

 

[david_r]

Bd,
You missed the wink on the end there. I want to try some VV powder in my 357sig just to see what it can do

 

[beatledog7]

david_r,

I didn't miss it, just wanted to note the difference for anyone who's ever thought the Sig has no advantage.

Have you tried HS-6? I think it beat all over AA#9 and is more economical to use.

 

[david_r]

I will definitely add it to my list. I'm looking for Power Pistol in stock and now HS-6.

 

[jetace51]

sizing speer brass

I have a ton of speer 357 sig brass left on the range by homeland security or some government agency. I tried sizing it in a .40 redding GRX die to make sure there was no bulge or other problem with the cases. Problem was I couldn't force it through the die. I lubed with the wax lube that came with the die and even tried RCBS lube. Any suggestions ? I got a few through the die but it was only about 25% and the rest had to be pounded out with a drift punch.
I have 1000's of rounds so it seems like a waste not to use this brass.
Any suggestions ?

 

[Elkins45]

I have a ton of speer 357 sig brass left on the range by homeland security or some government agency. I tried sizing it in a .40 redding GRX die to make sure there was no bulge or other problem with the cases. Problem was I couldn't force it through the die. I lubed with the wax lube that came with the die and even tried RCBS lube. Any suggestions ? I got a few through the die but it was only about 25% and the rest had to be pounded out with a drift punch.
I have 1000's of rounds so it seems like a waste not to use this brass.
Any suggestions ?

Don't use the Redding die?


Seriously, full length size them in a carbide 40 S&W or 10mm die, then lube them up and run them thru the bulge remover.

Do you even need a bulge remover for 357? It's a bottlenecked round so most guns have fully supported chambers. I've shot quite a bit of 357 and have never seen a 'glocked' case.

 

[Littlewolf]

I agree, run them through a 40 S & W carbide sizing die. If you want to determine if the small flash hole is the main obstacle, consider using a decapping die to remove only the primer. If you meet a lot of resistance with the decapper, then the resistance issue is with the flash hole, not the brass.

Little wolf

 

[Edarnold]

Maybe this ammunition is being loaded by Speer and other makers with a very small diameter ball powder? Getting powder into the primer pocket could

A: cause an over pressure in the pocket, pushing the primer out before pressure rises in the case. With a bottle-neck case like the .357 SIG, this could result in an excess headspace condition, with the problems associated with that condition.

B: getting some powder into the primer pocket could also cushion the striker impact, resulting in misfires.

The canister powders we use are large enough diameter that these conditions don't occur. Ammunition makers use the blended powders that give them the results they want, so there might be some special powders where a large flash hole could create problems.

IMHO

 

[d'Artagnan]

Speer found their boxer-primed 357 SIG was better with a small flashhole. To denote this they added the "S" to the headstamp. Starline-made SPEER-headstamped cases, as well as Starline-made HORNADY-headstamped cases, will have a colon ":" in the caliber designation, i.e. 380:AUTO 9MM:LUGER 40:S&W 45:AUTO. I have not seen a Starline-made SPEER-headstamped 357 SIG case; just Speer-made SPEER-headstamped cases.

 

[cmhellie]

Just started loading .357, I notice some resistance in the decal/resize process. I thought it was the sizing giving me resistance. Will I notice external damage if I look at the flash hole? If I read this post correctly, the head stamp to watch for is Speer follows by a small "s"? What about PMC or others?

 

[ReloaderFred]

Speer had 357 Sig brass made by Starline approximately 10 years ago, when they couldn't meet the demand for it from several law enforcement agencies who placed large orders for their new guns. This is according to the Speer reps I talked to at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas about the smaller flash hole in their brass with the additional small "s" on the headstamp.

Dillon decapping pins are the largest of the domestic manufacturers, and if the small flash hole brass is sized in a Dillon 357 Sig die, the decapping pin will contact the sides of the flash hole and resistance will be felt, or the case will stop at that point.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[cmhellie]

Just grabbed a handful of brass I purchase about 10 years ago...ugh. Every single one of them had the little "s" on the headstamp. Then I looked at a deprimed case and the flash hole is flared outward. I'm assuming this is bad. Please comment if so.

So I am faced with drilling out 1000 cases or machining down my decap pin. Neither one of which is high on my list of fun projects. I have a progressive Dillon 550, if I remove the pin, is there a hand deprimer on the market or do I need the leverage of a press? I know this sounds like a newbie question, but this D^mn caliber is giving me so much trouble I feel like a newbie tripping all over myself.