Anybody *not* resize their .38SPL target brass?

[zxcvbob]

Last time I loaded a box of .38 Special wadcutters, I had 5 case mouths crack when I expanded them (they were already primed by the time I noticed, so I loaded them anyway and marked the cases with a Sharpie for disposal later.) I just use the same couple of hundred cases over and over and over until they fail.

So I got to thinking, the bullets I'm using are really tight and bulge the cases a little anyway, why not just deprime the brass and not resize it, so I don't work harden the brass as much?

I took a handful of clean polished fired cases and tried them in my gun with the tightest chambers a few minutes ago and they slid in just fine. So I think I'll swap out the sizer die with a .45 Colt die next time, so it only decaps w/o touching the sides...

 

[Walkalong]

I use my largest ID .38 sizer for plinking/target loads. I use a tighter one for performance stuff. Some serious target shooters do not resize the brass.

 

[MMCSRET]

I load R-P cases for target use with Remington HBWC. I load for 3 different target revolvers, all Colt Officers Models, but different variations. I size, fully, for all my target loads.

 

[918v]

I don't when I load HBWC. I push them in under finger pressure and taper crimp slightly. But for anything else, you have to size otherwise the bullets will pull out under recoil.

 

[kelbro]

Wouldn't your 'pull' or neck tension be all over the place? Along with your accuracy?

I like consistency. Brass is a reloading consumable.

 

[918v]

Accuracy is actually better. HBWC bullets are so oversize they sit nice and snug in fired cases. Consistency of bullet pull is determined by the consistency of the chambers. My guns are pretty consistent.

 

[rsrocket1]

I think you really need to at least size the bullet seating portion of the case. If you are loading light target loads, you can get away with not crimping the mouths. I think crimping and flaring together cause the most wear on revolver cases. I need to flare the mouths to prevent lead shaving, but maybe you can chamfer the mouth instead if you are using these particular cases just for light loads.

 

[918v]

If you dont flare youll shave lead when seating.

 

[zxcvbob]

I'm shooting my own cast DEWC's and i don't size them. (I should measure some of those bullets) The folks scoring my targets bitch about how big the holes are, so I tell them I'm shooting .39 Specials. Bullet tension will be fine whether I size the cases are not. But maybe I should be sizing the bullets just so I don't have to flare the case mouths as much...

 

[Black_Talon]

All my HBWC target loads are resized with a 38 S&W sizing die. This sizes them from a fired diameter of .379/.380" down to .377/.378". With a wall thickness of .010, and using the (oversize) .360" diameter Remington 148gr HBWCs, this gives me just a bit of consistent neck tension. These loads are super-accurate, and the brass is worked very, very little. My current lot of 100 pcs. of WW brass has been reloaded around 60-65 times so far, without losing even one to cracked mouths or bodies.

 

[zxcvbob]

Now there's an idea. (and I have a .38 S&W die already)

 

[Cosmoline]

The big problem I can see with not FLRing your specials is variation in chamber size from revolver to revolver. And potentially within the same revolver from chamber to chamber.

 

[zxcvbob]

I just tried it (using .38 S&W sizer.) With R-P brass, I didn't like the neck tension -- or lack thereof. I think it would be OK, but I don't trust it. With Winchester brass, they feel about perfect. But I only loaded 50 until I can try them out.

 

[kelbro]

Interesting. I asked the question because I have seen many revolvers with cylinders that mic'd all over the place. The throats on my DW have been reamed to uniform so I might give this idea a try.

 

[noylj]

I don't resize my .38 Special loads, but they are very light 148gn wadcutter loads. Using a Redding Profile Crimp die really works great.
However, you have to resize enough for the case to slip into the chamber.

 

[Hondo 60]

I load a lot of HSM plated 125 gr hp bullets.
If I don't resize the cases, there's no neck tension & the bullets just slop right in.

So for me, I'm going to continue sizing.

Just my 2¢ - of course YMMV

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I have been using the same 1,200 pieces of Remington .38 Special brass for well over 6 years now. IMO if your .38 Specials are becoming work hardened you are overworking the brass. Normal sizing and loading .38 Specials won't harm the cases in the least. Straight wall handgun brass is not like bottleneck rifle brass and really isn't effected by loading unless overworked. (especially low pressure cases like the .38 Special) Like I said, I've used the same 1,200 pieces and have not had to toss even one of them and I load them a lot. I shoot ~300 rounds of .38 Special each week for about 10 months of the year so that would put each of the 1,200 cases at more than 50 reloads each.

I have been told of reloaders loading .38 Special cases so long they can no longer read the headstamps... Actually, I think it was said by at least one of the reloaders on this forum as a matter of fact.

 

[Fishslayer]

Why in the world would you do that?

Sizing doesn't appreciably work the brass. Roll crimping & excess flare are what will split the cases. And there is no reason to roll crimp .38 Special.

'course, I don't really have a choice. My Lee dies incorporate sizing in the decapping die.

 

[918v]

because HBWC bullets are more accurate when fired from unsized brass

 

[GLOOB]

I just tried it (using .38 S&W sizer.) With R-P brass, I didn't like the neck tension -- or lack thereof.

I don't like the neck tension on R-P .38 special brass even after it's sized. OTOH, I have some cases that a wadcutter won't even fit in the cylinder without post sizing. (I'm sure that does nothing good for accuracy.) So I'm not surprised that some cases would work better than others, unsized.

 

[Walkalong]

'course, I don't really have a choice. My Lee dies incorporate sizing in the decapping die.

Use a universal decapper or a .44/.45 sizer.

 

[USSR]

Use a universal decapper...

Yep, a very handy die to have.

Don

 

[MMCSRET]

As I said in #3; I use R-P cases with Remington HBWC boolits. I size, full length, the case walls are the thinnest, consistantly, of any brand on the market. I get a consistant "pull" and then use a taper crimp to remove the flare just to easily chamber. I do it all on a single stage press and do it in 100 round batches. The procedure has proven itself in my Colts.

 

[USSR]

I use R-P cases with Remington HBWC boolits. I size, full length, the case walls are the thinnest, consistantly, of any brand on the market.

Yep. I use the R-P brass for low pressure target loads for that very reason.

Don

 

[918v]

Standard carbide sizers are designed to impart .002" of case tension on a .357" jacketed bullet. I want my sizer to impart .001" of case tension on a .359" lead bullet. See the problem? Even with R-P brass and the thinner case walls, standard sizers impart too much case tension. I had Lee make me an oversize sizer die. It sizes the brass .003" less than standard dies. It is the best compromise for shooting my loads in multiple revolvers.