.38 spl Brass with Cannelure? What?

[XR400R]

I just started reloading very recently so please excuse or ignore if this question seems ignorant.

I shoot/reload .38 spl & 9mm only and like most posters here, I usually leave the range with more brass than I arrived with. In scavenging for spent .38 spl cases recently, I ran across quite a few that appeared to have a cannelure cut into the case. These were Federal cases (R-P) and the Federal factory ammo I frequently purchase has nothing like this. I attempted to attach a photo of a few of the cases. Not sure if it's clear enough.

My questions for those far more knowledgeable than I (which includes just about everyone here) are, what's going on with this brass, and is it safe to full-case resize & reload?

Thanks guys.

XR

 

[BullsEye10x]

R-P headstamp brass is made by Remington, not Federal. The crimp grooves will not hurt anything when reloading. In my experience, that type of brass seems to wear out faster than others without grooves (splits right at the case mouth). Just look them over good before hand and you'll be fine.

Incidentally, I've had sizing issues with several R-P cases because they are thinner walled than other brands. What happens is they do not provide enough neck tension to hold the bullet, even post crimp. I'd suggest trying to load a few and checking for setback by pushing the bullet end down on a hard surface. If it moves back at all in the case (use a micrometer to check OAL before/after), then you may need to get an undersized die for acceptable results.

 

[Sunray]

"...is it safe..." Yep. It's just one of many "improvements" to cases that have been marketed over the years. In this case, it's a factory crimp.
Using range pick up brass isn't a great idea. You have no idea how many times it's been loaded, with what or by who.

 

[Bboomer]

The cases will be just fine to shoot and reload.

I shoot them until the case cracks then toss 'em. If it were not for range brass I couldn't shoot near as much as I do. Thats part of going to the range is to scrounge for range brass, lead and factory cartons.

Don't take me wrong, I'm not a strong brass picker upper advocate. In that, it leaves more for us that do .

 

[XR400R]

Thanks guys.

You're right, it is Remington & not Federal. My mistake.

Thanks for advice, I feel better about using it. The Remington factory loads I've purchased recently do not have this crimp so I was afraid it might be a weird wildcat load.

I collect about all my brass by scavenging the range at 6 am on Sunday mornings. Ive worried about not knowing how many times it's been reloaded, but I'm such a skin-flint, I can't resist. I do inspect closely prior to reloading, as Bullseye suggests.

Thanks again for advice/input.

XR

 

[Jim Watson]

Some cannelures are to reinforce the crimp and keep the bullet from shifting under recoil. Some cannelures are for identification of different loads.

None affect the reloadability of the brass. The usual failure of a worn out .38 Special case is by mouth splits, nothing at the cannelure.

 

[scrat]

Yep just like others reload and shoot. i am in the process of reloading some 45 Colt with R&P cases. Same thing. No worries be happy

 

[lgbloader]

Guys... what are you saying???...

XR, You shouldn't reload them, you should send them to me and I'll "properly dispose of them" for you. I know this is a huge thing I am doing for you but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

 

[FlyinBryan]

no, dont send them to lgbloader.

he has given me and others great advice on this board, and i wouldnt want to see him get hurt, or his firearms damaged.

send them to me and i will take one for the team. >

 

[XR400R]

Lgbloader, I'll certianly bear that in mind - but don't hold your breath!

Before the DC v Heller decision, I was concerned it might go the other way so I started hoarding .38 spl factory ammo. I've got 1000+ rounds of Remington & almost that much Winchester, and none of them have this cannelure on the brass.

It just stopped me. I had not seen a cannelure on brass before.

 

[strat81]

I just got in 500 pieces of .38 Special Winchester brass from Brassman and they have the cannelure too. The WWB .38 I have from Wal-Mart does not. Go figure.

 

[Walkalong]

Some does, some doesn't. No big deal.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

The knurl on the brass is usually added to rounds which are loaded with a lead bullet. Since you don't want to crimp lead too heavily the manufacturer adds a knurl which is just at the bottom of the bullet and what it does in effect is crimp the bullet in two places. Like said above, it's to prevent bullet setback and it works well. I have well over 1,000 Rem .38 Special cases and I would guess 1/4 of them have the same knurl. I also have some with 2 knurls which originally held a Wadcutter bullet and were originally Factory Target rounds.

If you play around with one of the cases a little and put a 158gr LSWC bullet in the case mouth and set it to the bullet crimp depth you will see the knurl is right at the bottom of the bullet's base.

I've reloaded those brass cases at least 10X and none have failed yet.

 

[evan price]

Wit hrespect to the fella who said picking up range brass is bad because you don't know how many times it's reloaded- pshaw and piffle. Straight wall pistol cases can be reloaded dozens of times with no problems, in the case of a revolver, all the case does is hold the components in place, the cylinder bears the pressure of the round firing. You'll see a split at the mouth one day, but unless you are loading monster +P+ type stuff the brass may outlive you if you go easy on the flare and crimp.

Every single .38 SPL, .357 Mag and .44 Mag case I own was range pickup and I have thousands. All you need to do is visually inspect the cases at some point between pickup and loading. I do it as I take them out of the tumbler- dump in the media separator and shake out the walnut, then take them out one by one and look at them and drop them in the proper bucket.

 

[Dumpster Baby]

I used to work in cop shops from 1969-1977, when revolvers were king. We sold tons of .38 wadcutter reloads and took back literally drums of fired .38 brass. Some of that brass had been reloaded at least a dozen times, judging by the lengthwise scratches on the cases from dirty sizing dies. Very little of that brass had to be discarded for neck splits. The usual reason for the reload company rejecting a case was because it got stepped on before getting picked up.

I have about 1K of .38 reloads, all using "ufo" cases. Some cases I could tell were once fired and some had obviously been loaded many times before. I'm not the slightest bit afraid of any of it, nor the .357 and 9mm pickups and "ufo's".

I get more picky with rifle cases due to the higher stakes involved.