357 Cases

[Frag Muppet]

Quick question

A friend gave me a shopping bag full of used 357 cases (in excess of 300).

He was given them when he purchase a second hand long barrelled 38 revolver?

I reload 357 Mag for my Uberti 1873.

I have previously only reloaded used factory ammo before, so I know how many time each case has been used!
(I understand you should only re use each case around 10/12 times before disposing of it.)

As I don't know how many times this shopping bag full of cases has already been shot, should I just bin them to be on the safe side?

Stuart

[Daryll]

Quick question

A friend gave me a shopping bag full of used 357 cases (in excess of 300).

He was given them when he purchase a second hand long barrelled 38 revolver?

I reload 357 Mag for my Uberti 1873.

I have previously only reloaded used factory ammo before, so I know how many time each case has been used!
(I understand you should only re use each case around 10/12 times before disposing of it.)

As I don't know how many times this shopping bag full of cases has already been shot, should I just bin them to be on the safe side?

Stuart

I would look at them for signs of stretching, thinning around the case head, that sort of thing that might indicate they've been reloaded with hot loads. If they look fine, and as long as you're only loading light target loads, go for it and enjoy...


The cases I reload for my Marlin are years old (I used to reload them for my S&W 686, so its at least 17 years!!), and I've no idea how many times they've been reloaded, but its certainly more than 12...

The only time I ditch one is if the primer pocket become loose.


HTH

Daryll.

[sarge4318]

I reload 44mag. I am still using the 500 or 600 cases I used to shoot back in the pistol days, they were reloaded more than a dozen times before the ban and many dozen of times since.
I fully intend to load them as many times as I can until they start to show signs of being worn out.
In the best part of 25 years shooting them I have lost more in long grass on the range than through being shot out.

I don't load up to 'full magnum spec', as some wag at the club suggested, but I have a good consistent load for putting a hole in paper at up to 50 yards. I reckon my load doesn't rate much more than a 44spl loading and doesn't stress the cases (or rifle and shooter) very much at all, and it groups well enough at these distances. When I have tried to up the load some the groups get bigger, so I leave it where it is.

In short keep loading them until they are shot out, ie; primer pocket loose, thin or split brass, etc.

[Simon_S]

Just send them all to me mate will test them for you

[DesG]

Just send them all to me mate will test them for you

Damn, you got in first!!

[bill]

As Serge mentions, I just keep reloading my 357 cases until they fall apart.

Well not literally but I'll use them until they show signs of stress or they split ( which is the usual thing that happens).

I am only using a lightish .38 load but I've been using some of my cases for fifteen years!

[JB101]

A few years ago gun world magazine did a test on this and got up to 138 reloads on a case,the case wall had split and they were still using it (in a test revolver).
Not recommended to go this far but does show that they last a long time,you are more likely to work harden the brass & cause it to split by full length resizing which most likely causes the most wear.

ATB
JAMES

[arsefactor]

^^^^^ what he said.

I've been shooting the same brass in .44mag and .357 with low power target loads for years.
.44 isn't crimped and all cases are still perfect with no signs of wear.
.357 has a very light crimp as they get used in a Marlin with a tube mag and again, show no signs of wearing out after dozens of reloads.

However - I did prematurely weaken a bunch of .357 cases when I first started to reload. I over-flared them and over-crimped them, this work hardened the brass and they started to split at the case mouth. Very easy to tell, cracked cases sound different when chucked into a box of other cases, plus the crack is usually noticeable when de-priming. So don't over-flare or crimp too much and you'll be fine.

[DaveC]

Some very interesting information there.

I started reloading years ago for handgun (.357) but only reloaded a couple of times before they took all the handguns away…

Anyway, just got back into it for use in my new Marlin, again, .357 and I always thought you could only use them 10/12 times and have been stocking up on empty cases buying them whenever I can. Now I think I can stop if they last this long I think I have enough to last me a life time.

I already flare the neck to an absolute minimum and crimp as light as I dare, so the 1000 odd cases I have should do me a bit longer than I thought….

[Frag Muppet]

Thanks for all the advice guys!

Would have been a shame to have binned them, will go through the bag & inspect them.

I am using 4.5gn of Unique in my Rifle Loads.
I don't flare the neck much just enough to get the bullet starting to seat & I only have a light crimp.
4.5gn is the top amount my guide book recommends for 357 Mag loads.
(I see some loads for handguns can go quite a bit above 8gn with different powder)

Less powder than 4.5gn gave me less accuracy.
I think this is a light load, has slightly less kick than the factory ammo I have shot.

Will switch to Vihtavuori powder when the Unique is gone.
Think this will be more suited to my Under lever Rifle.

[DaveC]

Will switch to Vihtavuori powder when the Unique is gone.
Think this will be more suited to my Under lever Rifle.

Try some Bullseye, I use 4.3g and get very good results in the Marlin with a 158g hard cast TC.

[Simon_S]

I would not bin them anyway mate, Its worth taking to the scrap man