.38 Special-Special? Cutting Down .38 Cases

[average_shooter]

Something I've been wondering for a while now; would it be possible to cut down .38 Special cases to remove small case-neck splits and safely reload the case? I have a fair amount of .38 brass I've sorted out due to small splits in the neck, and I'd like to be able to use the brass, but i'm not sure if it's worth it.

If so, how short could one go and still safely load the case? Of course if possible, I'd want to make all the cut-down cases a uniform length.

Similarly, would there be any problems from cutting split .357 Mag brass to .38 SPL dimensions assuming all if the split is removed?

Just to clarify, I'm not talking about going to extremes here and cutting it down to a 1/4 inch long, just removing small splits in the case mouth that prevent me from loading them as they are.

 

[Jim Watson]

This used to be commonly recommended.
After all, there is no real difference except length from .357 Magnum to .38 Special to .38 Long Colt to .38 Short Colt.
Just load appropriately to the case length.

 

[ants]

I've avoided trimming cases too short because I wish to take care of the chamber walls. My loads are not hot at all, but all gunpowder gasses eventually erode the steel in front of the chamber. In my personal belief, 38 Special brass isn't valuable enough to short load the chamber. Your opinon may vary. Many 357 Mag owners use 38 Spec brass in their chambers with no problem. You use your own judgement. Each of us makes his/her own choices.

 

[Walkalong]

Can be done, and is done.

You will have to clean your chambers more often. Excessive use might even hurt the chambers, but I would think it would take a great deal of shooting.

OF .38 brass is still one of the cheapest to buy.

Trimming past the split is a pain, and it will split again soon.

148 Gr WC's may not work with some thick brass, being deeper in the case than normal.

The most cost conscious among us would definitely do it. I tried it back when I was so broke that if it had cost a dime to crap I would have had to throw up. Not any more.

 

[Zeke/PA]

Save yourself the effort .
At my shooting club. .38 Special stuff is available for pickup OFF THE GROUND.
Simply put, there are tons of .38 Special brass out there that can be SAFELY reloaded without ANY internal balistics concern.
Safe reloading???
Stick to published data!

 

[average_shooter]

Many 357 Mag owners use 38 Spec brass in their chambers with no problem.

And truthfully that's what I do. I like the idea of having the option for shooting .357 Mag through my revolver, and load .357 when I'm carrying at the cabin, but I mostly shoot .38's anyway.

So an addendum to the original question, given this idea of messing up the chambers; what about loading with Black Powder (or substitutes) since you basically just fill the case to the bottom of the bullet? Would the BP produce less pressure and reduce the possibility of chamber erosion?

I've started loading BP (well, Pyrodex) .38 Spl. and am going to load up some BP .357. Would it still work in a shortened .38 Spl?

I'll have to hit the books again and compare the dimensions of all the .38-xxx type cases.

 

[rcmodel]

I'm here to tell you that most of use won't live long enough to ever see or experience chamber erosion with any .38 Spl., regardless of the case length.

It just don't happen.

I doubt it even happens in standard magnum calibers like .357 or .44 Mag.
At least I have never seen it in almost 50 years of shooting & cleaning them.

It is supposedly a concern with the .454 Casull, but it runs 65,000 PSI, or four times more then a .38, and nearly twice as much as a .357.
It also burns more powder every shot then a lot of rifle cartridges.

As for trimming split cases so you can continue using them?

Not worth the effort if accuracy is of any importence.

Trimming a .38 Spl to .38 S&W length gives the bullet a .380" free-bore to rattle around in until it finally gets to the .357" chamber throats.

rc

 

[jcwit]

This may seem to be a stupid question but then I'm known for------------------won't go there.

So here's the question. If one is shortening 38 spec. cases to get past the split would it not be OK to just load the case with the split? I do realize the ability to crimp would be lost. Never done it, just wondering, refer to beginning sentence.

 

[rcmodel]

No.
A split case has no neck tension to keep the bullet from falling out or pulling out due to recoil.
A crimp won't do any good either as there is zero neck tension even with a crimp.

rc

 

[average_shooter]

If one is shortening 38 spec. cases to get past the split would it not be OK to just load the case with the split?

Well, in my limited experience, if you leave the small split (a weak point = path of least resistance = potential to grow) there and stress the material, the small split will grow. However, if you interrupt the split or remove it back to solid material then the material is equally strong again all the way around.

 

[rcmodel]

The problem is, unless you trim all your .38 Spl to the same length, the crimp die will not crimp the short ones unless you adjust it to crimp the short ones.

Then, it won't crimp the long ones, and will probably buckle the cases so they won't chamber.

So, you would have to measure and segregate all your cases from now on, every time you fire them, and adjust the die every time you change case length's.

As long as .38 Spl brass is still plentiful and cheap, it is a total waste of time to fool around with salvaging split cases.

rc

 

[ReloaderFred]

Wait for the scrap price for brass to go back up and then sell the split cases (which is what I do). Then use that money to buy more once fired .38 brass.

The time and effort spent trimming a lot of split .38 brass just isn't worth it.

Loading split cases also isn't a good practice for the reasons mentioned by RC. No neck tension equals poor burn of the powder and the possibility of bullets working out under recoil with warm loads and locking up the cylinder.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[jcwit]

Well I did mention the loss of the ability to crimp, but forgot to mention the neck tension.

Wait for the scrap price for brass to go back up and then sell the split cases (which is what I do). Then use that money to buy more once fired .38 brass

Right, this is what I do do with bad brass and Berdan primed range P/U's.

Our indoor range just turned in our stash of .22 rimfire cases and got $1000 for our treasury.

Thanks for the answers,might help someone else down the road.

This may seem to be a stupid question but then I'm known for------------------won't go there.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Considering .38 Special brass is still available and still fairly cheap when bought 1X fired do you really need to trim split brass?