Buffalo Bore .357 or Handload?

[GotLead]

I just bough a buddies dad's S&W 327 Night Guard and it came with some ammo... There were 20 rounds of what I was told was Buffalo Bore, but no box. It has Starline Brass and a half jacketed HP bullet. I cannot find this on the Buffalo Bore website...

Anyways I shot only one round of it and it was loud and recoil heavy. I noticed I couldn't not fire another round... The brass was pushed back just a little enough so that it could not turn the cylinder. I was able to open the cylinder after some force, and was not able to extract the casing. I tapped out the casing and found the primer is very flattened and there are 2 bulges in the case. This was pretty damn hot of a load, and wanted to find the specs on it... Anyone know anything about this ammo? Do you think it is just a reload that was too hot? The gun seems fine, but I was wondering if there is anything I should be looking for as far as damage?

Thanks very much for your time.

 

[David LaPell]

No matter who loaded it, it is too hot and I wouldn't shoot another. Starline brass can be bought by anyone so it might not be Buffalo Bore ammo. To be honest, I only bought Buffalo Bore ammunition one time and had problems with it, for some reason the cases would not seat in my Ruger .41 Magnum. If it were me, I would pull every load you have and reload them myself. Never trust anyone elses reloads especially when you are not sure where they came from.

 

[Missionary]

Greetings
+1 on the above. I personally would tear down that ammo and reload it with something safe for that handgun.

 

[badguybuster]

Dang!! Definitely not buffalo bore. If you know a good reloader have them tear it down. ^what he said

 

[Treeman]

Actually nothing looks particularly extreme about that fired case except the reduced diameter at the mouth. I suspect you have a dirty chamber from someone(s) firing .38 specials through the gun and failing to clean up after themselves. Brush it out good and try some ammo of known origin.

 

[Rule3]

It could very well be BB ammo, but you do not know is the question. How much of it do you have? Is it worth more than your gun? "When in doubt, throw it out"

Looks pretty much like this:

Buffalo Bore Ammunition 357 Magnum 158 Grain Semi-Jacketed Hollow Point High Velocity Box of 20 - MidwayUSA

But why take the chance?????

 

[acl864]

"When in doubt, throw it out"

Yep, 20 rounds of ammo is not worth the risk.

 

[Rule3]

If you reload, break it down. If not, for 20 rounds why risk it?

BB ammo is loaded to brutal max levels, so as I said it probably is. I shot some of there "FBI" 158 gr LSWC 38 +P in a alloy 442 and it felt like a full house 357, so I imagine the 357 out of the Night Guard would be similar. I have no need to subject myself or my guns to that when other loads will do the same job.

 

[GotLead]

Thanks very much for the replies guys. So you think the gun is ok after that round being fired? Anything to look for as far as damage? I am just going to disassemble the remaining 19 rounds...

 

[Rule3]

Thanks very much for the replies guys. So you think the gun is ok after that round being fired? Anything to look for as far as damage? I am just going to disassemble the remaining 19 rounds...

Without seeing the gun, impossible to say but I doubt it.

Break the rounds down and get a oversize 40 or 45 cal bronze brush and scrub out the cylinders.

If you are reloader, resize a 357 case, slightly flare it a little over so it's hard to put in the cylinders, tap it in each one with a mallet. This will act like a scraper and clean out any carbon build up if a lot of 38's had been fired in the gun. Then brush it out and clean with solvent.

Load some new 357 or even buy a box of regular Rem or Winchester, whatever and try them. The BB is full house + loads.

I had some stick in my M&P R8 (M327) the other day and they were light Magnum loads, turns out the brass had split and was at the end of it's reloading days.