I would like to begin handloading .357 mag ( new brass from Starline). I plan to use cast bullets, LSWC or RN, so no hot loads, I just want to be able to use .357 mag effectively ( destroy what I'm shooting at). How many reloads can I expect from cases before they need to be thrown away? Thank you for your time and expertise.

A lot. I've never had a 357 case fail on me. Case failure should be low on your list of things to worry about, just shoot em.

If you do not over flare the case mouth for seating the bullet, they will last a looong time. The case mouth will eventually split if you over do it. Flare it just enough for the bullet to just start.

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Still Running Against the Wind

I have never had any case failures with .357 Mag brass, but ditto with flaring the case mouths. No need to make the ends look like a trumpet, just a little bit to get the bullet started.

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Shoot them till they crack. Don

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"Don't worry be happy"

Greetings
+1 on the above ... plus keep your sizing die reasonably clean and your cases will not get dep scratches which may weaken the sides.
I have some cases that have been with me more than 35 reloadings with my standard 7 grains Unique and a 158 swc cast. I imagine I will be shooting them a long time yet to come.

I don't count the reloads on handgun brass so I can't tell you exactly how many reloads I have on my .357 brass. I can tell you I have been reloading the same batch of 1000 cases for over 5 years now and haven't had to throw one in the scrap bucket yet. They are mixed Fed, Rem, Win and Speer cases. Same thing with the 1200 Rem .38 Special cases I have.

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Sometimes I have had ones which get enlarged primer holes after a LOT of reloads at max pressure. It's really nothing to worry about. Shoot em until this occurs or they crack. I've got ones I have had for 20 years at least.

If you don't get case mouth splits first, the cases will finally work-harden from sizing and shooting so much that they will eventually begin to stick in the chambers after firing. They are so hard that they don't spring back after firing. This is sometimes confused with high pressure, but, in fact, they've just been resized and shot so much they're "work-hardened." That's when you'll have no choice but to discard.

As technically possible to put it: Bunches and bunches of times!

I'm like the others, I don't count reloads on handgun brass. If they fail, which is very seldom, it is at the case mouth where I work them the most. Flare to crimp to fire to flare to crimp to fire to flare to crimp to fire, I think you get my drift!

That's what I do, too.

For last couple of years I have been reloading 100 38 special cases that had remanufactured loads in them. About one half were nickel-plated. Nearly all the nickel-plated cases split in first few reloadings I did, sometimes in body. Slowly, the non-Ni-plated cases have been getting small splits from belling. Who knows how many reloads those cases had seen before I got them. Number of reloading I have done is over 10.

Some Remington 38 special factory new brass has yet to have any fail from splits of any kind .. perhaps 7-9 reloadings. Loads were mostly 148 grain HBWC target loads.

Have yet to have any new 357 Mag cases fail. All were loaded with lead or gas checked bullets over 9,0 or more grains of Blue Dot. Muzzle velocities were 1150 to 1400 fps, depending mostly on which gun.

Niklas

I've never had a reload case fail yet, maybe I just ain't shot them enough. However Saturday I had a 75% case split - on new Remington 125 gn ammo. Sort of surprised me.

A better question would be: How many times do I have to rebuild my 357 trying to wear out my new starline brass?

I bought my 586 new in the 80's & still have alot of the origional 357 brass that I bought for it. I had my 586 rebuilt 4 years ago, the timing & forcing cone were wore out.

For the past 10 years or so I have been listing the number of reloads inside each box. Many of my current boxes show 15 to 20 reloads and they still reload fine.

Just this year I replaced several boxes of brass that are now showing several splits out of 50 rounds each time I reload. I bought these cases in 1977.

I do count reloads on brass.

With one lot of 50 Starline .357 Mag cases, I got the first split neck at reloading #31. With another lot of 50 .357 Mag Starline cases, the first split neck happened at reloading #25.

I'm still reloading both lots and retiring the cases with split necks. The first lot is now on reloading # 42 with 44 surviving cases.

The second lot is now on reloading #32 with 49 survivors.

I try to shoot a center-fire National Match Course (30 rounds) at least a couple of times each week so my practice brass lasts a long, long time.

By the way, I took the six cases with split necks, loaded them normally, and shot them for a group from sandbags. The 25-yard group with the split necks was no different that a group from cases with sound necks.

JMHO - YRMV

I remember reading of someone getting 110 reloads from a .38 case.

One split rim and one wall crack out of 100 Rem cases on the 13th reloading. Given, they've had a steady diet of 15.8 gr. of 2400 under 125 gr. JHP for around 1350 fps.

Back a long-long time ago when I had very little disposable income I would load the mag brass until the mouths got ratty and then trim 'em down to 38 special length and load 'em many more times as 38's.

I picked up all my original .357 brass from the Sharps Park range in the mid 80's. The .gov decided to close it down in the late 80's and I've been reloading that brass until last year when I bought all new single headstamp brass to see if it would have a bearing on accuracy.

I gave that brass to a friend and now he's reloading it.

Every so often one splits, no big deal.

Gota love these 18 month old threads brought back from the dead, no? Wouldn't a new thread be more relivent than one that's a year and a half old?

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SWCA #3437

What comes around, goes around, there are just so many questions that can be asked and answered over and over.

Just shows how long those pieces of brass can last, at least a year.

How about why is there no +P 357 Mag???

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Still Running Against the Wind

+1 on this. I have found that the Lyman "M" die is preferable for neck flaring (in every caliber I've tried) to the standard dies, much less work and stress of the case metal.

I have some .357 brass that is closing in on 40 years old. When a neck cracks it has to go. When the area ahead of the rim has grown to a point that it is hard to chamber it has to go. Otherwise it's good to use again and again.

I noted that at the last reload my 357 Mag Starline brass had been fired 13 times.

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SWCA 1646