.357 Mag COL question (with some backstory)

[efelton]

Yeah it's ceetainly possible that the bullet is undersized. What brand of bullet/weight? Just curious.

If you found these at the range and they have sharpie marks on them, it could be brass that's been fired a lot? I'd just scrap that case that's giving you problems.

Bullet: XTreme 158 Grain Plated.

I was given a 5-gallon bucket of 38/357 when I joined my local gun club. This stuff might have been collecting for a while. All of the other cases functioned as expected. So I'm not emotionally attached to any of it. And I'm still in the small-batch stage of learning how to reload (thus a 74-round run).

I'm trying to err on the side of caution and sharing my experiences just in case this syndrome is indicative of some deeper issue (e.g. bad die, mis-configured press, etc.). But it sounds like this sort of experience is within "normal" of what I should expect.

Thanks again.

 

[NavelOfficer]

...I'm trying to err on the side of caution...

The .38 Special could be the most dangerous cartridge to reload, due to the small volume of powder relative to case capacity. Be very mindful of only charging once, because it could take six or more charges of powder to become visible w/o looking directly into a charged case. In other words, don't get distracted while reloading (applies to all calibers, of course).

Back to .357 Magnum, although not directly related to you original post...

I doubt you run many plain-base cast bullets with your full-tilt .357 Magnum loads, but I see quite a few loads in the Lyman Pistol & Revolver Handbook (3rd Edition). There usually isn't much data for cast bullets with the magnum powders, but this book does go there. For example, the Lyman #358311 (160g) is listed with max. loads of 16.5g of H110 for 1463 fps (4" barrel). The 170g #358429 over 15.0g H110 clocks at 1285 fps. Even the 120g #356402 is listed at 1565 fps with 19.5g of 2400 and at 1564 fps with 13.0g Blue Dot (all maximum loads shown).
Compare that to 17.0g H110 at 1309 fps and 14.5g at 1101 fps for the 158g JHP and 180g JTC Sil respectively.
Sadly, no loads listed with Lil' Gun nor 300-MP.
FWIW...

Also, be mindful that range brass may not be what it seems, regarding head stamps and such. Many reloaders form one caliber into another, so that .30-06 Springfield case may actually be 7.65 Argentine or 7.7x58mm Jap. Likewise I've trimmed .357 Magnums to .38 Special and .38 Specials to .38 S&W, etc.
Enjoy!