New Winchester 38 Spl +P 158 gr LSWCHP X38SPD

[38SPL HV]

Received a new box of Winchester 38 Spl +P 158 gr LSWCHP X38SPD for use in my J frame Airweight.

I checked the cartridges and they have no roll crimp!

Should I assume that Winchester is using some sort of sealant which sets the bullet in place in lieu of a roll crimp?

It seems that each lot of this ammo has varying degrees of crimp, roll, taper, but this batch has me baffled why there is no apparent roll crimp is beyond me.

I may have to send them through my Redding Profile Crimp die to avoid any potential for bullet creep when shooting them.

Why can’t Win/Rem/Fed use a firm roll crimp on their 38 Spl +P 158 gr LHP loads as Buffalo Bore and Underwood? You would think that Win/Rem/Fed have specifications for their respective loads which specifies a firm roll crimp.

Can’t expect quality or consistency anymore from these guys...only the smaller US ammo makers (BB, Underwood) seem to get it.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I suggest you contact Winchester and see what they say about this. Just might be an error they don't know about yet. (maybe)

 

[ddixie884]

They may be taper crimping. Shoot 4 and measure the last rnd for bullet creep. I would not hesitate to apply a good firm roll crimp, if needed.........

 

[38SPL HV]

I checked another box I have from 2018 manufacture and they all have a roll crimp.

I have since ran the uncrimped rounds through my Lee FCD (1/2 turn)...the resultant crimp is very similar to the crimp found on the Winchester 2018 manufacture rounds.

 

[Steve912]

I checked the cartridges and they have no roll crimp!

Should I assume that Winchester is using some sort of sealant which sets the bullet in place in lieu of a roll crimp?

Got a kinetic bullet-puller?

 

[M29since14]

Did you test any of these rounds before you modified them? I’d be curious to know how they performed before you crimped them - and maybe compared to afterwards.

 

[38SPL HV]

No, crimped them all. Federal did the same thing (no roll crimp) to their LE 38 Spl +P 158 gr LSWCHP...these bullets would move in my 642 Airweight, but not in a Ruger GP100.

Doesn’t Win/Fed know that the preponderous of 38 Special handguns today are smaller Airweight J frames and Ruger LCRs? They should crimp adequately to accommodate these lighter firearms...Buffalo Bore and Underwood seems to understand.

 

[Rule3]

Well if you "modified" them you have nothing to show to the offending Winchester.
A picture at least would have been nice.

 

[38SPL HV]

Yep, in any case, I sent them a notice regarding their uncrimped rounds. If they get back with a response, I’ll post it.

 

[Texas Star]

I think I'd switch to Speer Short Barrel Gold Dot ammo unless you get a good response.

Or, use BB or Underwood ammo.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

What did the case mouth measure before you modified Winchester factory ammo?

 

[transit]

I think I'd switch to Speer Short Barrel Gold Dot ammo unless you get a good response.

Or, use BB or Underwood ammo.

Or Federal 130g HST.

 

[38SPL HV]

Well, went to the range in the afternoon today, loaded five in my S&W 642, shot four, and the fifth unfired round didn’t have any discernible creep. This is after I crimped them in the Lee FCD, half turn. They are good to go and the crimps look all uniform after the FCD. By the way, forgot to say that standard velocity Remington 38 Spl 158 gr lrn exhibited no creep...they never do since they have a much firmer roll crimp.

I also have a box of Remington 38 Spl +P 158 gr LHP awaiting some testing. They too came with no crimp (2019 manufacture) and I ran them through the Lee FCD this evening. Guess this will be the protocol when using these type of loads in my Airweight...run them through the Lee FCD if they have no crimp. I’m due to supply up on some of these “FBI” loads soon and I’m curious to see how they will arrive. I doubt that Rem/Win/Fed will address my concerns with their factory ammo so I’ll just crimp them in the future if they are not roll crimped.

 

[rubiranch]

I bought 250 new .41 Mag rounds from LAX and had the same issue.

I gave them to a friend who re-seated and re-crimped all 250 rounds for me.

I said that he felt the bullets could have moved forward from the casing from the recoil causing the cylinder to jam.

It took forever trying to get a reply from LAX. Eventually after several emails and phone calls they contacted me by email but by then my friend had already taken care of it.

I doubt that I will ever purchase anything from LAX again.

 

[banger]

Well, went to the range in the afternoon today, loaded five in my S&W 642, shot four, and the fifth unfired round didn’t have any discernible creep. This is after I crimped them in the Lee FCD, half turn. They are good to go and the crimps look all uniform after the FCD. By the way, forgot to say that standard velocity Remington 38 Spl 158 gr lrn exhibited no creep...they never do since they have a much firmer roll crimp.

I also have a box of Remington 38 Spl +P 158 gr LHP awaiting some testing. They too came with no crimp (2019 manufacture) and I ran them through the Lee FCD this evening. Guess this will be the protocol when using these type of loads in my Airweight...run them through the Lee FCD if they have no crimp. I’m due to supply up on some of these “FBI” loads soon and I’m curious to see how they will arrive. I doubt that Rem/Win/Fed will address my concerns with their factory ammo so I’ll just crimp them in the future if they are not roll crimped.

Let me see if I've got this straight.

You bought factory ammunition....

You didn't like the way it looked...

You tested it...

You found it functioned properly...

Soooo you modified it anyway....

Is it possible the factory knew what it was doing?.

 

[38SPL HV]

No, pls reread the string. They were not crimped as purchased. I put a crimp on them with the Lee FCD, and then tested and there was no bullet creep in the Airweight. I was not going to risk shooting them without a crimp in the Airweight for fear of the bullet jumping the crimp; hence, I ran them first through the Lee FCD.

I’m sorry, I’m probably over complicating things...most be the engineer in me.