2 piece brass

[SlowFuse]

Just picked up some 380's made by Sierra. 90 grain HP, headstamp is "S3" and is a 2 piece design.

Anyone reloaded this type of brass, especially with standard dies? A quick read said there are special dies made for loading these and some warned of keeping an eye on OAL, apparently they can stretch a bit more than standard brass...

 

[bullseye308]

I believe it is shell shock brass and it is aluminum and stainless and requires their proprietary dies to reload it.

 

[fxvr5]

didn't know they were doing 380.

the 9mm has been out a little while.

https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2018/6/27/handloading-shell-shock-technologies-nas3-cases/

 

[SlowFuse]

Thanks for the link.

Doesn’t look like 380 is mentioned anywhere that I can find.

Interesting design, but having proprietary dies is a negative for me.

 

[fxvr5]

Where did you get this 380 ammo? Who made it? (inquiring minds want to know.) Pictures?

 

[BreechFace]

Never heard of this, outside of the newfangled 6.8 round that is being developed that utilizes a similar scenario for pressure handling. Looks like Sig borrowed the idea from someone.

 

[higgite]

Where did you find Sierra 380's? You do mean .380 ACP or Auto, right? I don't find any pistol caliber ammo on Sierra's website.

Does the box indicate that cases are S3 2-piece "brass" (which isn't brass) or is that left as a surprise when you open the box?

 

[SlowFuse]

These were at Academy.

No notation of case type on the box that I see.

 

[fxvr5]

These were at Academy.

No notation of case type on the box that I see.

Awesome, thanks!!

 

[fxvr5]

With that info I found this link:

https://www.sierrabullets.com/sportsmaster/

 

[higgite]

With that info I found this link:

https://www.sierrabullets.com/sportsmaster/

Ah, I didn't know to click on the Sports Master logo on their ammo web page when I was looking for pistol ammo. Thanks for the link.

 

[fxvr5]

Ah, I didn't know to click on the Sports Master logo on their ammo web page when I was looking for pistol ammo. Thanks for the link.

No problem. I found that link with a Google search. I overlooked it in my first search of their website as well.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Shell Shock Technologies S3 cases are considered stronger than "regular" brass cases....there is a video on YouTube where someone loaded them to +P+ pressure 35 times.

The body is a nickel alloy and the case head is plated aluminum. They aren't a press fit nor are they "glued" together. The body of the case is extruded into the primer pocket and flared to form the bottom of the pocket. If they aren't reloaded correctly, they'll pull apart.

I have a collection of about 20 that are range pick-ups

 

[243winxb]

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/the-new-sig-277-fury.863445/ See photo & patent , link.

"Brass" has been made from 2 units for a while. No line where its swaged together. "Brass" is soft.

Different method- Thanks for the link/info .

 

[Englishmn]

The only real difference in the dies is they use a polymer rod that compresses when the case is sized then pushes it back out of the sizing die.
If you really wanted to reload some pull your decapping rod and push the case back out with a dowel rod. Pulling the case out with the shell holder will destroy the case.
Also since these are steel cases you have to lube them.

 

[SlowFuse]

I have about 250 pieces of 380 acp brass to work with. This is a new caliber to me.

If I get snowed in (Alabama) I may looking onto processing them like @Englishmn said with the dowel.

 

[Dudedog]

HHmm, decap with a Universal decapper, then some kind of spring in the resize die, maybe pull the pin and secure the spring thru the pin hole?

 

[jmorris]

Two piece cases have been around for awhile, USAC tried it back in the 80’s. The special healed bullet required was just one factor in them bombing.



Much later was the NATEC PCA spectrum. The best thing I can say about them is they are fine in a single shot .223. In fact, they are so good at that, they will even turn a repeating .223 into a single shot...



Time will tell if the shell shock cases stick around, been a couple years so far, at least they can be culled with a magnet. Something one can’t say about SPP 45 ACP brass. So they’ve got that going for them.