38 SPECIAL +P brass
- Thread starter HIGHRPM
- Start date
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- calgary alberta
Not at all. The reason the headstamp is marked +P is to differentiate the hotter powder charge when issued from factory. Some of the very old 38 SP revolvers were not safe to shoot the hotter loads in.
Wall thickness is pretty much the same even in the 357 casings as it is in 38 SP.
If using a .357 revolver you can load pretty close to .357 ballistics with any .38 cases as long as you put some time working up safely. Comes from the fact all are made on the same equipment, to the same specs aside from length.
Too true, that is exactly why I stick with .357 brass for .357 loads.
I have not done what Ganderite suggests and weighed the cases but my experience been this. When I load my cast 38 wadcutters (sized to .358) in Winchester 38 Special +P nickel cases the cases bulge where the base of the bullet is to the point where the rounds will not fully drop into a cartridge case gauge nor will they fully chamber in the gun's cylinder. With the same bullets I noticed little to no bulge in the following cases: Winchester 38 Special, Federal 38 Special, Federal 38 Special +P, Remington 38 Special, Remington 38 Special +P. Furthermore, they all dropped into the case gauge.
It is obvious that the Winchester +P cases are thicker towards the web than the other brands including standard Winchester 38 Special cases. This might not present a problem if loading semi-wadcutters that do not extend as far into the case but it made the cases unusable for the 38 Special wadcutter loads I use in PPC.
It is obvious that the Winchester +P cases are thicker towards the web than the other brands including standard Winchester 38 Special cases. This might not present a problem if loading semi-wadcutters that do not extend as far into the case but it made the cases unusable for the 38 Special wadcutter loads I use in PPC.
hatman1793
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
The guy above is right. There is a difference but it is mostly attributed to nickel Winchester +P brass.
My .38Spl brass system contains cases from just about every case manufacturer. I never sort cases with one exception, the dreaded Win +P nickel brass.
My .38Spl brass system contains cases from just about every case manufacturer. I never sort cases with one exception, the dreaded Win +P nickel brass.
I bought a box of factory Winchester .38 special lead round noses several years ago that had a mixture of .38 special and .38 +p headstamps. I called Winchester about this and they said it is probably regular .38 and we’re very uninterested...
But back on topic I have seen no difference in cases. It is a marking.
But back on topic I have seen no difference in cases. It is a marking.
I was reloading and put a small sampling on the scale. The brass has been fired several times, was dry tumble and de-primed. I reload .357 lead HBWC and have not experience ted's problem, I guess I luck out. Unit of measure is in grain.
Remington brass: 67.4, 67.7, 66.1, 66.3, 67.1
Winchester brass 65.4, 66.2, 66.6, 65.9, 66.6
Winchester Nickel 61.7, 61.4, 63.0, 62.3, 64.2
Winchester Nickel +P 72.5, 72.8, 72.4, 71.8, 72.6
Remington brass: 67.4, 67.7, 66.1, 66.3, 67.1
Winchester brass 65.4, 66.2, 66.6, 65.9, 66.6
Winchester Nickel 61.7, 61.4, 63.0, 62.3, 64.2
Winchester Nickel +P 72.5, 72.8, 72.4, 71.8, 72.6
It appears so, and I could only speculate that the case head might be heavier.
Starline says this about their +P brass: 38 SPL+P has no difference from the standard 38 SPL, other than headstamp designation for load segregation. This is due to the fact that our standard case design will handle +P pressures with no problems.
Starline says this about their +P brass: 38 SPL+P has no difference from the standard 38 SPL, other than headstamp designation for load segregation. This is due to the fact that our standard case design will handle +P pressures with no problems.
Would a Lee factory crimp die help in this situation? From what I read the die will resize the case after the full loading sequence to ensure it will chamber in all firearms.
I'm guessing it will be sized below or at minimum SAAMI specs.
Yes it will. I ran the bulged rounds through a FCD and then they would chamber. However, they were obviously reducing the diameter of the bullet which I would have to think may have some effect on accuracy.
Only a guess on my part but my bullets are not hollow base so would be less likely to compress in the base area where the bulging appeared. if you are using HBWC I am guessing that the cases are slightly compressing the hollow base rather than the base expanding the cases as in my situation. Might be interesting to pull one of your bullets and see if the base diameter of the pulled bullet is smaller than the base diameter of a bullet that had not been seated.
