How to tell if shell is reloaded

[Ronniefromalabama]

So today, I am sorting and counting some 1960's .38 AMU brass and come across a loaded round. I kept looking and eventually found 11 loaded rounds among the casings.

If these are truly original unfired .38 AMU cartridges, they could be somewhat valuable.

I'm certain that the fellow who had this brass originally, even though he is now deceased, was a reloader because of all the other reloading materials I got in the auction lot when I purchased the brass.

Is there a way to definitively determine whether or not a shell is factory or hand loaded???

 

[cfullgraf]

On a resized case, sometimes you can see some burnishing where the sizer touched the brass. It will not go all the way to the case head some the part just above the rim will look a little different.

But, if the case was tumbled or polished, it probably would polish out the burnishing.

Also, there may a ring, or sizing discountinuity near the case head where the sizing stopped. But, I do not think regular 38 Special resizing shows this normally. 9x19 and 380 ACP usually show a sizing ring when resized as an example.

If the primer is laquer sealed, that would most probably indicate a new round but as a rule, most commercial hand gun ammunition does not have the primer sealed. But 38 AMU is a rare bird developed by the Army so who knows.

Maybe some others will chime in with better information than I have.

 

[blahpony]

I can tell my friends 9mm reloads as the primer is silver instead of brass colored.

 

[Rule3]

Here is a short thread on it with some pictures you can compare.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/ammo/199017-38-amu-ammo-if-you-have-not-seen.html

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I can tell my friends 9mm reloads as the primer is silver instead of brass colored.

That used to be a way to tell but now that the Winchester primers are yellow brass that method is gone.

 

[WestKentucky]

I can always tell with a straight edge. If your case is straight then it's factory. Reloading dies take cases just slightly below the normal diameter when resized and then when a bullet is seated into the case it swells back out to a size slightly larger than the rest of your case.

 

[rcmodel]

I'd say if the reloader knew what he was doing, and polished between sizing and loading .38 AMU?

There is no way to tell, unless you can fing an extractor mark on the inside edge of the case rim with a magnifying glass.

Soft lead, 148 grain hollow base wad-cutters used in that caliber will never show a bullet expansion in the case wall.

At least I hope not!!

Rc

 

[loose noose]

What RC just said, I doubt seriously that you can tell the difference between my jacketed and a factory round of the same type, now the rifle casings with a home cast, I do believe you could tell the difference; as I'm not aware of anybody making lead bullets in rifle casings, however I could be wrong.

 

[berettaprofessor]

Do you know, or can you find out if the old guy had dies for reloading that caliber? If he did, I'd assume those were reloads. If not, there's a fair chance that they're original. Not everybody reloads every caliber they shoot. I sure don't....8mm for example, 7.62 X 39 for another.

 

[rcmodel]

If he had dies for .38 Special, he had dies for .38 AMU.

Same case, same dies, just rimless, or semi-rimmed so it used a different shell holder.

rc