Question about Winchester Ranger T +p 38 special

[SteadyD]

A year or two ago I bought some 50 round boxes of Winchester Ranger ammo 38 special +p. Some of the bullets are seated to a different depth, so my question is, which of these are properly seated, and would any of the ones improperly seated cause over pressure in a +p 442?

 

[mcb]

IMHO none of those are of worry to me. You can see the cannelure (crimp groove) in all of them.

 

[SteadyD]

I mistakenly said Ranger T, it is actually just Ranger.

 

[SteadyD]

IMHO none of those are of worry to me. You can see the cannelure (crimp groove) in all of them.

which ones look correct? For purposes of performing properly with regards to expansion?

 

[mcb]

which ones look correct? For purposes of performing properly with regards to expansion?

They all look fine. There is slight variation in length but not enough to worry about.

 

[Gordon]

Well I'd send them back, depending on your intended use. Ranger Ammo is not supposed to be civilian Wally Mart white box ammo.The Ranger line is generally supposed to be Law enforcement DUTY ammo and loaded to the highest standards possible by the manufacturer. Maybe the batch of Ranger ammo you have did not make the cut for duty quality ammo and was sold therefore on the civilian market. I am appaled by the quality control on alot of todays price leader ammo. Seating depth variation like that just shouldn't be on premium grade ammo. Being it is +P .010" deeper might just raise the pressure a few thousand pounds , but the longer ones might pull and tie up the gun because they are loose or vice versa. I guarantee the old Winchester Black Talon 20+ years ago didn't look like that !

 

[RevolvingGarbage]

Well I'd send them back, depending on your intended use. Ranger Ammo is not supposed to be civilian Wally Mart white box ammo.The Ranger line is generally supposed to be Law enforcement DUTY ammo and loaded to the highest standards possible by the manufacturer. Maybe the batch of Ranger ammo you have did not make the cut for duty quality ammo and was sold therefore on the civilian market. I am appaled by the quality control on alot of todays price leader ammo. Seating depth variation like that just shouldn't be on premium grade ammo. Being it is *P .010" deeper might just raise the pressure a few thousand pounds , but the longer ones might pull and tie up the gun because they are loose or vice versa. I guarantee the old Winchester Black Talon 20 years ago didn't look like that !

It's the same bullet as the PDX1 and probably comes off the same line. Every box of PDX1 .38spl I've ever bought had fluctuating oal like this and all those rounds fired normally. The rounds I tested for expansion a decade or more ago in my old RG did great.

I wouldn't worry about it as long as the crimp is generally in the cannelure.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Have you measured them and determined what the differences are in OAL?

If I saw what you're seeing in a box of ammo, I'd suspect that it was due to variances in case length

 

[Obturation]

I'd suspect that it was due to variances in case length

I think so too. I've seen some loose tolerances in winchester rimmed brass. Case length, rim diameter and OD near the case head are variances I've seen recently. All in different calibers, different lots and made many years apart. I'd wager OAL is all the same.
In this case it's not enough difference to matter.

 

[SteadyD]

Have you measured them and determined what the differences are in OAL?

If I saw what you're seeing in a box of ammo, I'd suspect that it was due to variances in case length

No I haven’t. I don’t own calipers so I don’t have any means of doing so accurately, unfortunately.

 

[Riomouse911]

Loading thousands of rounds a day on several machines with multiple automated seating stations could surely lead to variances in OAL. I agree that if they’re crimped in the cannelure you’ll be fine, if deeper or shallower than that I’d stay away from them and send them back.

The PDX/SXT bullets are really nasty when they open up. Lots of little “talons” are wicked moving through flesh.

Stay safe.

 

[Obturation]

No I haven’t. I don’t own calipers so I don’t have any means of doing so accurately, unfortunately.

Just check it by putting them standing up on a flat surface and put a straight edge across the top. if the one with only a sliver of cannalure is touching and so is the one with most of the cannalure showing, they're generally the same length. Just a comparison, precise numbers are needed .

 

[SteadyD]

So is the general consensus that all the rounds pictured are seated suitably? I’ve got 200 rounds to choose from, so which seating depth would be best for carry and which should I relegate to target practice only?

 

[Riomouse911]

I think you’ll be ok with any of them. Plan ahead, pick the ones you want... and, in all honesty, hope you’ll never need to fire one of them to protect yourself.

Stay safe.

 

[SteadyD]

Have you measured them and determined what the differences are in OAL?

If I saw what you're seeing in a box of ammo, I'd suspect that it was due to variances in case length

So I eyeballed them and it appears that the cases are the same length and the OAL for the deeper seated bullets is shorter.

 

[SteadyD]

So if you were to chronograph this ammo would you predict higher velocities from the deeper seated bullets due to a perhaps slight increase in pressure?

 

[Riomouse911]

That I don’t have any experience with, maybe someone had done an experiment with some bullet/charge and different seating depths?

Stay safe.

 

[Obturation]

So if you were to chronograph this ammo would you predict higher velocities from the deeper seated bullets due to a perhaps slight increase in pressure?

Hard to say, if the ammo is that inconsistent who knows about the powder charges . all things being equal , the same amount of powder in a smaller space will generate higher pressure , this variance is minor in your case and I personally would just shoot what you've got and get some better (more consistant) ammo. If it looks screwy from the outside I'm sure it's screwy on the inside too.