Can this brass be loaded?

[Axis II]

So I was given about 100-150 pieces of Herter's brand 38spl and they have knurling slightly below the case mouth. I've never seen this before on any brass so I'm wondering if its even reloadable? I remember messing with some Herter's a year or so ago and it felt soft when resizing and flaring so I tossed them cause it was only about 10-15pc.

 

[Walkalong]

Handgun brass? They are fine, unless they have any normal issues that would rule them out.

 

[Axis II]

Handgun brass? They are fine, unless they have any normal issues that would rule them out.

Yes, sorry it is 38spl for a smith and Wesson wheel gun.

For the sake of not making a new thread.... the person said the brass felt very sticky in the cylinder as it wouldn't fall out on its own. I fired the gun and the brass wouldn't come out with the ejector as it was very tight and I had to pick it out by hand. I then had some light loaded 38spl for my air weight and fired those thinking the Herter's were too hot and expanding and they too felt very sticky in the cylinder. I just chalked it up to a new gun and tight cylinder.

 

[dagger dog]

The cannelure is there to keep the bullet from setting back in the case.

 

[Axis II]

The cannelure is there to keep the bullet from setting back in the case.

Cannelure on the brass? I know why it’s on a bullet but never seen it used on brass. So far this stuffs junk! I’ve had 4 not be able to take a s&b spp. Going to try cci now and if it continues it’s not worth the headache!

 

[kmw1954]

I've come across a good number of Herters 9mm brass and haven't had any trouble reloading it. Same with the cannelure brass. no troubles.

 

[Texas10mm]

It's posts like this that amaze some of us older farts and make us shake our heads.

1. Not knowing what a cannelure is.
2. Saying it's the first time they've seen it.
3. Being concerned because it's there.

Us old farts grew up with wheelguns and seeing the cannelure on much of the factory loaded ammo. Some of us might even remember seeing dual cannelures on some wadcutter brass.

 

[cheygriz]

Back in the fifties, darn near all brass was cannelured.

 

[cfullgraf]

Cannelure on the brass?

The last cannelure that I've seen on brass was on some 38 Special wadcutter target ammunition. And that has been within the last couple years.

I'm sure some other lead ammunition still has cannelures but I do not buy much factory ammunition or once fired cases these days.

It's posts like this that amaze some of us older farts and make us shake our heads.

1. Not knowing what a cannelure is.
2. Saying it's the first time they've seen it.
3. Being concerned because it's there.

Us old farts grew up with wheelguns and seeing the cannelure on much of the factory loaded ammo. Some of us might even remember seeing dual cannelures on some wadcutter brass.

Right, makes me feel old or like a knowledgeable sage--nah, just old.

 

[FROGO207]

Well it's good that we old farts are around to keep the youngn's straight. At least these folks are asking the questions about stuff rather than making mistakes IMHO. This shows me how using revolvers and the assortment of factory ammo available has changed over the years. Some of that brass with the dual canalures I have has been shot so much the head stamp has been peened off. It sounds like the Herters brass is quite soft if the primer pocket has expanded that much on the first firing to me. I also would be inclined to scrap it if that is the case.

 

[kcofohio]

Cannelure on the brass? I know why it’s on a bullet but never seen it used on brass. So far this stuffs junk! I’ve had 4 not be able to take a s&b spp. Going to try cci now and if it continues it’s not worth the headache!

Take a look at the primer pockets. They may not have a chamfer edge, making it hard to get the primer started into the pocket.

 

[Rule3]

does it look anything like these (brass not nickle)??

 

[ArchAngelCD]

The cannelure is there to keep the bullet from setting back in the case.

Exactly, and not only on Herter's brass, also in Winchester, Remington, Federal and many others too. It is not junk, it's an older ammo company brought back when Cabela's made it it's house brand.

It's posts like this that amaze some of us older farts and make us shake our heads.

1. Not knowing what a cannelure is.
2. Saying it's the first time they've seen it.
3. Being concerned because it's there.

Us old farts grew up with wheelguns and seeing the cannelure on much of the factory loaded ammo. Some of us might even remember seeing dual cannelures on some wadcutter brass.

I resemble that! lol It is a little amazing how fast the young ones lost the knowledge of revolver ammo, especially with cast bullets. I would guess about 20% of my revolver brass has a cannelure, maybe more.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

does it look anything like these (brass not nickle)??

View attachment 809483

Ummmm, that first case looks like it has a crack, or is it just a shadow?

 

[FROGO207]

When the OP said soft brass I thought the primers were loose. Yes if they are tight then a slight chamfer of the mouth of the primer pocket for the first time and you are good to go. So far I have not encountered any Herters brass yet. I wonder if it is made by someone like CBC or S&B. They both make good quality brass from what I can see.

 

[mdi]

Hard extraction of revolver brass is an indication of either high pressure or dirty/rough chambers (I started loading 38 Specials in '69 and haven't experienced hard extraction with a clean gun and "normal" loads). Check your loads against a good reloading manual and make sure the brass and cylinders are clean. I'm not sure of who manufacturers Herters brass, but a lot of S&B cases have very little to no chamfer on the primer pocket mouths. I normally use a countersink or reloading chamfer tool to put a little taper in the primer pocket mouth. Fixes every "tight" primer pocket I've encountered...

 

[Rule3]

Ummmm, that first case looks like it has a crack, or is it just a shadow?

Not my brass, stolen off the internet, yes it looks like a crack.

As the OP didn't post a picture I posted these to see if that is what he is asking about,

 

[Axis II]

Take a look at the primer pockets. They may not have a chamfer edge, making it hard to get the primer started into the pocket.

The S&b do have a square or flat edge. I only had issues with those few cases and no issues with about 50more.

 

[Axis II]

does it look anything like these (brass not nickle)??

View attachment 809483

They look like the far left.

 

[Axis II]

Hard extraction of revolver brass is an indication of either high pressure or dirty/rough chambers (I started loading 38 Specials in '69 and haven't experienced hard extraction with a clean gun and "normal" loads). Check your loads against a good reloading manual and make sure the brass and cylinders are clean. I'm not sure of who manufacturers Herters brass, but a lot of S&B cases have very little to no chamfer on the primer pocket mouths. I normally use a countersink or reloading chamfer tool to put a little taper in the primer pocket mouth. Fixes every "tight" primer pocket I've encountered...

The factory rounds were hard to extract and I figured they were just hot 158gr loads so I put 5 125gr with about 4.0-4.2gr of hp38 in the gun and same thing. 357 was also the same as far as trying to eject them. I didn’t look cause it was getting late but I don’t think she cleaned it since last 150rd range session.

 

[Axis II]

When I mentioned it was soft from what I remember was it took very little if any effort when glaring and sizing so I tossed them. These ones feel a lot better.

 

[kcofohio]

The S&b do have a square or flat edge. I only had issues with those few cases and no issues with about 50more.

If the primer hole has little to no chamfer, there is an increased change of primer and hole not aligning well. As mentioned, a little added chamfer will help seating.

 

[Rule3]

28 special FULL lead wad cutter ammo has the cannelures
I use them in my SW M 52

 

[Walkalong]

You can see cannelures on some of these loaded rounds.

 

[Kp321]

There is old Herters and new Herters. As already stated, Cabelas bought the Herters name and are putting it on imported ammo. From the few I have seen, the quality is not great. It is blasting ammo. The old Herters also put the name on imported ammo. They were like Sears, They didn't make everything themselves but bought from sub contractors and put their name on it. However, their quality was very good. Since Herters has been out of business for 20+ years, the odds are you have some of the Cabelas marketed ammo.