Shooting my first reloads.

[CHEVYINLINE6]

So yesterday I drove about 45 minutes to a local mountain area I have been going to for years. I found three new areas to shoot where others have been before me. My handgun of the day was a New Model Ruger Blackhawk with a 6-1/2 inch barrel. My first reloads were R/P 38 Special brass cases with CCI small pistol primers #500. 4 grains of Unique powder with a 158 grain Hunters Supply SWC lead bullet Accuracy was good with mild recoil and the empty cases ejected easily with a mild tap of the ejector rod. Fired primers looked normal. Very happy with that. My second reloads were R/P 357 Magnum brass cases with Federal small pistol magnum primers #GM200M, 7 grains of Unique powder with a 158 grain Speer JSP Bullet #4217. Accuracy was good with more recoil and the empty cases had to be ejected using a little more force than the 38 Special cases required, but not hard to do. The primers were flattened. I have read several places this can happen with Federal primers and recoil was not bad. The next 357 magnums I reload, I will reduce the powder to 6 grains of Unique. Also at the three new place there was lots of brass cases everywhere. It was mostly 45ACP cases, 9mm cases, 223 cases, 12 gauge shotgun shells and 22 rimfire cases. No center fire revolver cases of any kind. I picked up appox 150 45ACP cases for future reloads, but left the others. I don't have anything that shoots 223 and 9mm is so cheap to buy at the moment, it's not worth my time to reload and I don't shoot it that often. I left behind hundreds and hundreds of cases just because my old heart don't like it when I bend over very long.

CHEVYINLINE6.

 

[Johnnu2]

Just a thought for you: maybe your 357 cases were a little tight when extracting, could be because you had been shooting 38Spls before the 357's, and the residue from the shorter cases was built up enough to slightly spike the pressures in your 357's (?)
I do know that Freedom Arms used to say: "never" shoot 45Colt bullets in the 454 Casul cylinder (because most people don't scrub out the chambers well enough to prevent dangerous pressure spikes in the BIG 454's.

J.

 

[CHEVYINLINE6]

Just a thought for you: maybe your 357 cases were a little tight when extracting, could be because you had been shooting 38Spls before the 357's, and the residue from the shorter cases was built up enough to slightly spike the pressures in your 357's (?)
I do know that Freedom Arms used to say: "never" shoot 45Colt bullets in the 454 Casul cylinder (because most people don't scrub out the chambers well enough to prevent dangerous pressure spikes in the BIG 454's.

J.

I had forgotten about that. I will inspect and clean the revolver before shooting it again. I shoot mostly 38 Specials in it and it probably needs a good cleaning anyway.

CHEVYINLINE6.

 

[NC FNS]

Nothing like rolling your own! I took a hand press and enough supplies to make a few 9mm rounds when visiting my sister and her husband. Walked them through making a few of their own 9mm rounds, then we went out and shot them. Smiles all around.

 

[contender]

Welcome to the wonderful world of reloading. And kudos on your first time at the range with YOUR ammo.

I'd consider getting more of that .45 acp brass,, as it's a bit harder to find than 9mm & .223.

 

[Pál_K]

... the residue from the shorter cases was built up enough to slightly spike the pressures in your 357's (?)

In everything I've read about shooting .38's in .357mag and .44's in .44mag, the issue with built up residue is with chambering, not pressure.

What happens is that if many (many hundreds?) of rounds are fired from the shorter cases without cleaning the cylinder chambers, then a residue of carbon builds up just forward of that shorter case mouth. When you then switch to the longer case (.357mag, .44mag), it is difficult to insert the longer case fully into the chamber because of the carbon buildup. So the cases won't go in fully and the cylinder won't close.

I suppose an argument could be made that if you push hard enough to get the longer case past the ring of carbon buildup, then that ring of carbon squeezes the case mouth more tightly. But I think if you could push it in, the carbon ring isn't so significant that it would increase pressure through gripping the case mouth.

In situations of heavy carbon buildup, people have been known to remove the cylinder and use a brush on an electric drill to clean the carbon out.

Lesson is: clean your chambers.

 

[CHEVYINLINE6]

Welcome to the wonderful world of reloading. And kudos on your first time at the range with YOUR ammo.

I'd consider getting more of that .45 acp brass,, as it's a bit harder to find than 9mm & .223.

I hope to get out again later this week. I have about 700 empty 45ACP cases now and I will pick up more when I go out again. I have about the same amount of unloaded 38 Special brass. I would to find some more 357 Magnum brass. I have about 200 cases of it, mostly nickel plated.

CHEVYINLINE6.

 

[kmoore]

Just a thought for you: maybe your 357 cases were a little tight when extracting, could be because you had been shooting 38Spls before the 357's, and the residue from the shorter cases was built up enough to slightly spike the pressures in your 357's (?)
I do know that Freedom Arms used to say: "never" shoot 45Colt bullets in the 454 Casul cylinder (because most people don't scrub out the chambers well enough to prevent dangerous pressure spikes in the BIG 454's.

J.

Post #6 beat me to most of my advice. Put a cleaning rod section in a cordless drill. Use a .40 cal bronze brush and go at it in the inside of the cylinder. Thats for the cylinder only, won't hurt a thing and save time.

 

[craig45]

So yesterday I drove about 45 minutes to a local mountain area I have been going to for years. I found three new areas to shoot where others have been before me. My handgun of the day was a New Model Ruger Blackhawk with a 6-1/2 inch barrel. My first reloads were R/P 38 Special brass cases with CCI small pistol primers #500. 4 grains of Unique powder with a 158 grain Hunters Supply SWC lead bullet Accuracy was good with mild recoil and the empty cases ejected easily with a mild tap of the ejector rod. Fired primers looked normal. Very happy with that. My second reloads were R/P 357 Magnum brass cases with Federal small pistol magnum primers #GM200M, 7 grains of Unique powder with a 158 grain Speer JSP Bullet #4217. Accuracy was good with more recoil and the empty cases had to be ejected using a little more force than the 38 Special cases required, but not hard to do. The primers were flattened. I have read several places this can happen with Federal primers and recoil was not bad. The next 357 magnums I reload, I will reduce the powder to 6 grains of Unique. Also at the three new place there was lots of brass cases everywhere. It was mostly 45ACP cases, 9mm cases, 223 cases, 12 gauge shotgun shells and 22 rimfire cases. No center fire revolver cases of any kind. I picked up appox 150 45ACP cases for future reloads, but left the others. I don't have anything that shoots 223 and 9mm is so cheap to buy at the moment, it's not worth my time to reload and I don't shoot it that often. I left behind hundreds and hundreds of cases just because my old heart don't like it when I bend over very long.

CHEVYINLINE6.

Good for you ! Welcome to the Rabbit hole !!

 

[rotor]

Check out these guys...

Slixprings, LLC

Safely remove carbon and lead that collects in the chambers and cylinders of 327 Fed Mag, 357 Mag, 44 Mag, 10MM, 45 colt and 460 Mag revolvers and rifles

www.slixprings.com

 

[jimbo1096]

Number one I would pick up all the brass. Other people leave it bet and it's pollution trash and not good to leave laying around

Number two. You can always save up the brass and when you get a bucket full take it to the recyclers and get enough money to buy some of your reloading supplies.

My last thought is why magnum large pistol primers with unique. I don't think it's really necessary.

 

[CHEVYINLINE6]

I picked all the brass I could. My bad heart does not like me bending over much, I only picked up what I could use. There was hundreds more 45ACP pieces of brass, but I get tired very easy. I know the value of scrap metal having worked in several scrap metal yards for over 35 years. I would loved to have gotten more of the brass and maybe in the future traded it for something I could use. I used magnum primers because that is what several reloading manuals I have said to use for 357 Magnum loads. I will load of some 357 Magnum rounds using just plain small pistol primers. Of the three places I went the other day that were all in the same area, I didn't see any revolver brass in any caliber. I would keep the 38 / 357 brass for myself and I have a friend that reloads and shoots 44 Special and 44 Magnum.

CHEVYINLINE6.

 

[contender]

There are tools used to pick up brass that can prevent a lot of bending & such.
Or carry a stool & a bucket & take your time.

As noted,, lots of good reasons to pick up brass.

 

[Bigbore5]

Magnum primers are only really needed in the 357mag when shooting slow powders like 4227, 300MP, or H-110. Medium powders like Unique, Universal, power pistol, or even #9 really don't need it and they can raise pressures over a regular primer.

 

[jgt]

Welcome to the fold. Sounds like you are doing things at the bench in a safe manner. I got myself a wire roller basket on a stick made for picking up brass. Looks like they got the idea from the ones made for picking up pecans. These let you pick up more and bend over less. When I was a kid I picked up bottles and cashed them in for ammo. Today it's brass for reloading or for selling and buying reloading supplies. Anyway, ya done good ! Atta boy!