Question on brass.

[Kyhunt]

I'm still pretty new to reloading. Only have loaded a couple hundred rounds. My question is on some brass I have. I have some Rem 38 sp target master from my wife shooting the other day. I noticed on the brass it has for lack of better words rings around the center on all the brass even the unfired ones. Is this stuff reloadable? I'm going to attempt to post a picture to try to show what I mean.

Also my wife's Taurus .357 snubbie shot these extremely low from 7-10 yrds. Any suggestions.

 

[Kanook]

It's good to reload. Been using some for reloading myself. Not sure what the ring is for, but it fine to reload.

 

[Kyhunt]

Thanks. I really didnt notice it until after I started sorting brass the other night and the flag went up to check on it before I proceeded. Thanks again because I bought 6 boxes of this stuff at Cabelas about a year ago for $12 bx.

 

[Chief 101]

The canalure on the case is there to keep the slug from being pushed deeper into the case. You don't have it in all cases but with wadcutters there is no canalure at the business end to of the slug thus the canalure in the case. No problem with reloadability. Chief aka Maxx Load

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Man, how many zillion rounds of that stuff have we blown thru paper . . . and reloaded a zillion times?!

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

As noted, those rings are cannelures to stop rearward motion of the bullet. You may find other brass that has a single cannelure, some none. I've seen all three variants in the same brand when scrounging range brass, so I use 'em when sorting by headstamp just for ID purposes. And, as also noted already, they have no effect on the loadability...

Rick C

 

[Yosemite Sam]

Man, how many zillion rounds of that stuff have we blown thru paper . . . and reloaded a zillion times?!

I have to admit: I have never fired a single full wadcutter. I shoot semi wadcutters all the time, but have never even seen one of those "flush with the case" rounds in the flesh.

But now I know why some cases have the little ring around the middle. (Other than belted magnum rifle cases, of course...)

-- Sam

 

[Jimbo357mag]

...and it shoots low because it is weak. But great for targets.

...Jimbo

 

[mattsbox99]

The canalure on the case is there to keep the slug from being pushed deeper into the case. You don't have it in all cases but with wadcutters there is no canalure at the business end to of the slug thus the canalure in the case. No problem with reloadability. Chief aka Maxx Load

I want to clarify something here, revolvers pull bullets out, semi autos push bullets in. The bullet in question does indeed have a cannelure to stop bullet movement, its just at the nose of the bullet, not in the middle like most other revolver bullets. Additionally, S&W made a semi auto pistol that was designed to shoot these rounds called the 52. It was a target gun made specifically for NRA Bullseye, it only handles these particular cartridges.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Bullets loaded into tube magazines can get pushed into the cases. In fact every cartridge should be loaded so that the bullet can not be pushed into the case as that could be catastrophic. The wad cutter because the crimp is over the top of the bullet needs a well cannelured case to prevent the bullet being inadvertently pushed into the case.

...Jimbo

 

[Rick Courtright]

I want to clarify something here, revolvers pull bullets out, semi autos push bullets in.

Hi,

ALL my factory loaded revolver rounds have a CRIMP, supposedly to keep the bullet IN. (As does the round in the OP's pic.) Dunno if I have any to refer to, but I've had some of them that ALSO had that "mid-brass" cannelure, which I'm pretty certain I read about in a mfr's info sheet many years ago.

What am I missing? (For real, not being a smart-arse.)

Rick C

 

[WESHOOT2]

Certain companies use the cannelure as a locator for bullet adhesive.
Some cartridges get crimp to aid in combustion timing.

But 'revolver' cartridges pull 'out' under recoil; 'auto' cartridges can push bullets 'in' as they travel along their feed path.

Inertia vs ramming speed........

 

[Yosemite Sam]

...
Inertia vs ramming speed........

All ahead full!

-- Sam

 

[Dale53]

The factory uses the mid case cannelure to avoid deep seating the wad cutters when they LOAD the cases. It is also an identifier to identify the case for wadcutter loads.

Wadcutter cases are different from normal .38 Special cases. They have thinner walls towards the rear of the case so as not to interfere with deep seated wadcutters.

I shoot a lot of wadcutter loads and prize those cases. Depending on the brand of cases, sometimes using "standard" .38 Special cases when seating wadcutters the thicker walls will cause a bulge in the case giving chambering problems.

FWIW
Dale53

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

With all due respect, the cannelures on most modern cases will do NOTHING to prevent a bullet from sliding further into the case. Take a look sometime inside such a case. They are usually very lightly engraved onto the case. The cannelure barely extends at all inside the case. Given just a little bit of a shove, any bullet will slide right past it. I have a big collection of old 38 Sp brass, every brand under the sun, some has cannelures in various positions, some does not. My press will easily shove a bullet right past a modern cannelure.

Now here's a picture of an effective cannelure. These are three old 38-40 rounds, the one in the center is an old Winchester soft point round. Look carefully and you will see a cannelure on the bullet jacket, just barely peeking out of the case mouth. The case mouth has been crimped into the bullet cannelure, and that great big cannelure ain't gonna let that bullet move noplace.

P.S. Bullets stacked into the tubular magazine of a lever rifle often get set back into the case. It does not happen from the constant spring pressure, it happens as a round gets stripped out of the magazine and the entire column of rounds is quickly shoved back by the magazine spring. When the new first round in line reaches the cartridge stop, they all stop at once, and the sudden slam of the follower against the row of cartridges can shove bullets back in. That center 38-40 round was set up that way for a lever rifle.

I have dummy rounds that I run through some of my rifles and I have seen bullets set back many times. That's one of the good things about loading Black Powder rounds. With Black Powder, the case is completely filled with powder and the powder is slightly compressed. When the cartridges all slam to a sudden stop in the tube magazine, the compressed powder stops any of them from sliding back. Not the same with a Smokeless load, trust me on this. There is plenty of airspace and only the crimp is holding the bullets from sliding back. No matter how good your crimp, if you run the rounds through the gun a few times, you will probably get some bullets setting back. Not a good thing with Smokeless.

 

[Merlinspop]

Was about to ask the same question before I found this thread. The brass I was questioning is Am. eagle (Federal Headstamp) with a pretty deep cannelure.

 

[happy1]

That's why I use a heavy crimp for heavy loads.

Paul