38 Special with Remington brass

[Will2]

I have been reloading 38 Special only with Winchester brass. I use a Lee classic turret press, 4 piece Lee die set, Berry 125 gr plated FP bullets, 3.2 gr 700x powder. I slightly flair the Winchester case, the Berry bullet fits snugly in the case and I use a light crimp with the Lee FCD die. This has worked well, no bullet creep with my 649.

I tried reloading in once fired Remington 38 spl brass. With a slight flair, the Berry bullet is fairly loose in the case. It does not drop down. The bullets measure at least 357 with my digital caliper.

I used a harder crimp, results in a definite line on the bullet, but bullet is easier to move with my inertia puller than with the Winchester brass. Will this be enough to hold the bullet? I have only loaded 10 cartridges with the 3.2 gr 700x, and haven't gone to the range yet.

 

[Titegroups]

Be careful of overcrimping those plated bullets, you can cut through the thin plating and it will tear off. I would guess they will stay put as long as you can't move them with your fingers, some things you just have to experiment with, thats what makes loading your own fun.

 

[310Pilot]

I would try a little less flare on the case. Possibly a slightly larger i.d. on the Remington brass to begin with, or it may be just a little longer, allowing more flare as the mouth goes a bit higher on the expander ball.

 

[RidgwayCO]

Or the Remington brass is thinner at the case mouth, so it can't be sized down enough with standard dies to hold the bullet snugly with neck tension alone. This was my experience with Remington brass in .357 Magnum as well...

 

[Will2]

Titegroups - breaking through the plating was my first concern, I've pulled a few bullets and I think I'm okay so far... thanks for confirming my caution.

310Pilot - I'll try less flare, that should help some. I was trying to keep as many as my Winchester brass settings as possible... but, I should have reduced the flare some, thank you.

 

[Fkimble]

I have a similar situation on another pistol caliber, where one brand is a little shorter than the other. I keep the lockring locked but just back it off approx half a turn for the longer cases. Once set for the longer cases I put a mark on the die and can switch back and forth real easily.

 

[Will2]

Fkimble - Marking the die setting is a good idea. That will make it much easier for me to keep the adjustments consistent. Thank you.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Even though Remington brass is slightly thinner I've been using the same 1200 pieces of .38 Special for the past 6 years without issues. They all seen to shoot well even though they aren't as tight as Winchester or Federal brass.

 

[bamacisa]

The only problem that I have ever had with Remington brass was with 45 ACP nickel plated cases. They were thinner and would not hold cast bullets tight enough even with strong crimping. If you used a 452 diameter bullet rather than a 451 diameter bullet the problem would go away. I guess that you should be using 452 diameter cast bullets to begin with.

 

[TacticalBacon]

I have the exact same problem. Also using Remington (umc) brass. It's not the berrys bullets as it happens with Hornady bullets as well. The brass is definitely thinner and if you try to crimp too much on a bullet with no cannalure, you can actually kink (wrinkle) the case in the middle. This happened to me last weekend and luckily I noticed it after the first few loaded cases and backed out the die to reduce the amount of crimp.
I don't have this problem with Winchester brass. It is thicker.

 

[W.E.G.]

Get one of these and you can solve any problems you may be having from using a roll-crimp die.

Lee 38 Special/357 Mag Carbide Factory Crimp Die - Natchez Shooters Supplies

 

[TacticalBacon]

Get one of these and you can solve any problems you may be having from using a roll-crimp die.

Lee 38 Special/357 Mag Carbide Factory Crimp Die - Natchez Shooters Supplies

What exactly does this do differently? What is a "factory crimp" vs. a roll crimp?

 

[dickttx]

According to the Lee website as quoted below, the forth die in a four die pistol set IS the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die. Is that not correct?

"Combines the world's most popular carbide three-die set with the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die at a great price. No other die set at any price will produce more reliable or accurate ammo.

By separating the seating and crimping operation, you will benefit by a greatly simplified adjustment. More importantly, the Carbide Factory Crimp Die post sizes your case assuring you that any round that passes through the die will chamber properly in your gun. This-plus all the other exclusive features that come standard with our pistol dies, make this the best die set money can buy.

Packed in our new flat four die box, air tight cover keeps your precision machined dies in perfect condition."

 

[ArchAngelCD]

What exactly does this do differently? What is a "factory crimp" vs. a roll crimp?

On revolver rounds like the .38 Special and .357 Magnum the Factory Crimp die applies a roll crimp. On ammo meant for a semi-auto like the 9mm, 40 S&W and 45 Auto the Factory Crimp die applies a taper crimp.

 

[Will2]

No luck with the 125 FP Berry bullet and Rem brass...

I crimped a box of Berry bullets as much as I dared and went to the range with my 649. I checked after two shots and the remaining bullets moved in the case. I did this with a few cylinder and gave up. I shot the remaining rounds, loading one round in the cylinder. (They shot good, just took a while to empty the box.)

The good news, this gives me the incentive to purchase some lead bullets. Hopefully the larger diameter will work. I plan on ordering Missouri bullets, .358 158 gr with a Brinell of 12 since i'm only using 3.2 gr of 700x.

I appreciate all your comments and suggestions, thank you... Will

 

[TSQUARED]

I have been reloading 38 Special only with Winchester brass. I use a Lee classic turret press, 4 piece Lee die set, Berry 125 gr plated FP bullets, 3.2 gr 700x powder. I slightly flair the Winchester case, the Berry bullet fits snugly in the case and I use a light crimp with the Lee FCD die. This has worked well, no bullet creep with my 649.

I tried reloading in once fired Remington 38 spl brass. With a slight flair, the Berry bullet is fairly loose in the case. It does not drop down. The bullets measure at least 357 with my digital caliper.

I used a harder crimp, results in a definite line on the bullet, but bullet is easier to move with my inertia puller than with the Winchester brass. Will this be enough to hold the bullet? I have only loaded 10 cartridges with the 3.2 gr 700x, and haven't gone to the range yet.

You will find out if you have sufficiet bullet tension when you go to the range.
As a rule remington brass is "softer" than Winchester brass.