The pinnacle of my collection has come home !

shoebox1.1 said:
Typically speaking how long does straight wall pistol brass last? Does the crimp shorted the brass over time? 7-8 reloads per casing?
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I have not shot my 44 Special cases enough to get an idea of life.

But, my 45 Colt cases at standard 45 Colt levels, they last a loooong time. I generally taper crimp them.

38 Special loads last near forever at target level loads.

357 Mag cases at full power loads have a shorter life. I don’t have a number but they do last a while but not as long as 38 Special.

So, generally speaking, low pressure cartridges, the cases last a long time. Cases last so long, cost per use per case becomes irrelevant. Magnum cartridges have a shorter measurable case life.

All bets are off if you “hot rod” the cartridges.

For semi-auto pistol cases, I lose them before they fail. Darn the Bermuda Triangle.
 
My 624 4" was my moneymaker in pin shoots thirty years ago. Still has a place of honor in the safe.
429421, .430, 6.5 Unique for target/pins. 7.5 for the woods.
 
As far as case life, you should get in excess of 20 reloads. There have been tests where people have loaded a single 38 special case past 50 times, and in two instances I recall, one went 80 and another over 100.

There is a lot of talk about belling the case mouth minimally to make your cases last longer. So much so, that many people give so little bell that they cannot get the bullets to start without a lot of frustration. You have too much bell if when you go to crimp, the belled mouth scrapes the inside of the crimp die. There is nothing wrong with giving the cases a bit more bell than the barest minimum to aid in loading ease though.

Here is a test I did a while back with 30-30 that you might find interesting: https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/30-30-case-life-test.896133/ I got 22 reloads on a single case, and that is with considerable shoulder movement and a much higher pressure than 44 Special.

Take note, that if you start getting into some higher numbers of reloads, say past 8-10, you can also anneal your case mouths to make them last longer. If you anneal the case mouths, you can essentially reload them almost indefinitely.
 
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To add, if you chamfer the inside edge of the case mouth you can lower the amount of mouth expanding and minimize/eliminate shaving lead from the bullet.

If you do not trim cases, chamfering is a one time thing.
 
cfullgraf said:
To add, if you chamfer the inside edge of the case mouth you can lower the amount of mouth expanding and minimize/eliminate shaving lead from the bullet.

If you do not trim cases, chamfering is a one time thing.
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Chamfering is a one time thing if you do trim cases too. Since 44 Special cases will not grow in length when fired/reloaded like bottle necked rifle cartridges do.
 
You can add my name to the "Lee Hand Press Fan Club" Roster. I've used one for I don't know. Over twenty years I suppose. Finished up 300 rounds of 38 wadcutters yesterday with mine, although I don't know what the lock pin is you're talking about is, so I guess mine doesn't have it. I used Berry's bullets, and Winchester 231 for powder. Nothing fancy. Just enough power to punch a hole in a paper target.

001-4.jpg
 
Cajun it looks like a black button at the breech bushing. You push it to rotate out. Supposedly if you don’t have it the bushing can move on you or something.. or you need one for each die?
 
I love the Lee Hand Press. I had one for quite a while and swapped it off, and now looking to get another. I do not care for some Lee products, such as their dies. I currently am using an old Lee Challenger press, I like the angle it has. Hornady has a similar press with that angle, the Lock n Load Classic.
 
Bazoo said:
Very nice, congratulations. It takes a nice picture too.

I know you aren't planning on hot rodding it, but it can take loads stronger than the SAAMI 15,500 PSI for 44 Special if you ever decide to.

Here is an article you might find interesting. https://www.handloadermagazine.com/44-s-w-special-p Handloader magazine has a wealth of knowledge to be shared.
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That’s the link to the 44 Special +P Pet Loads. Here’s the link to the standard velocity Pet Loads as well.
 
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