[67DRESDA]

I did a search and did not turn up much info on the life of 38 supercomp brass loaded to major
powerfactor.How many loads can one expect to get before they should be thrown away.

What should I be looking for after the cases have been loaded a few times?Other than splits,crackes
or loose primer pockets are there any hidden signs of case fatigue that a new to 38 sc reloader should
be paying close attention to?

I have my first 38 sc open gun on the way and am trying to learn all I can.Sure would hate to blow
up my new toy from a case head separation.....Thanks

[openshooter]

I've found that i can reload sc brass just as many times as i pick it up. I probably have some thats been reloaded over ten times and i've never had a problem. And I know people that reload it a lot more times than I do

[whatmeworry]

I've reloaded mine 8 or 9 times. Generally, when I have one that takes no effort at all to seat a primer it goes bye bye. I shoot mainly local matches and mark mine with a red band in the extractor groove so I get 99.9% of it back.
CYa,
Pat

[M109R]

67DRESDA, on Oct 26 2009, 07:43 PM, said:

I did a search and did not turn up much info on the life of 38 supercomp brass loaded to major
powerfactor.How many loads can one expect to get before they should be thrown away.

What should I be looking for after the cases have been loaded a few times?Other than splits,crackes
or loose primer pockets are there any hidden signs of case fatigue that a new to 38 sc reloader should
be paying close attention to?

I have my first 38 sc open gun on the way and am trying to learn all I can.Sure would hate to blow
up my new toy from a case head separation.....Thanks

You will only get one time out of your brass because I am going along behind you and putting it in my pocket.

[67DRESDA]

M109R, on Oct 26 2009, 08:12 PM, said:

67DRESDA, on Oct 26 2009, 07:43 PM, said:

I did a search and did not turn up much info on the life of 38 supercomp brass loaded to major
powerfactor.How many loads can one expect to get before they should be thrown away.

What should I be looking for after the cases have been loaded a few times?Other than splits,crackes
or loose primer pockets are there any hidden signs of case fatigue that a new to 38 sc reloader should
be paying close attention to?

I have my first 38 sc open gun on the way and am trying to learn all I can.Sure would hate to blow
up my new toy from a case head separation.....Thanks

You will only get one time out of your brass because I am going along behind you and putting it in my pocket.

I wondered where all of my 40 brass was getting off to .I am going to have to keep an eye on you
Mr. Burner

[G-ManBart]

I've actually kept a rough count on one batch of brass and they're well over 10 times now...some might as high as 14-15. You'll find that the primer pockets tend to get loose before you'll get splits. Over time I have seen one or two splits in the sides and the case mouths, but no case head separations...they've beefed that area up on Supercomp so it's pretty strong.

When the primer pockets get just a touch loose with Win primers you can switch to Fed and get another two or three uses out of them....and they're still not normally splitting. Generally speaking I let them go after 8-10 uses, but kept one batch to see what happens. R,

[sideshowbob]

I have a batch that I am testing. So far, they have been loaded 11 times, primer pockets are still pretty tight. I will keep you posted.

[Ed Robinson]

Til I lose 'em!

[slidelock1]

I had the same question a couple of years ago. So, I picked-up 30 pcs. A&P, and 30 pcs. Starline in 38 SC. I loaded them to 1125 fps with 125gr. M.G. bullets. I stopped my experiment after I loaded each of them 30 times. During my experiment, I had five A&P cases split and three Starline cases split. After 30 reloads the primer pockets were still tight in all cases and accuracy was not affected. So, in conclusion I guess you can load them until the primers start falling out of the pocket or the case splits.

[joecichlid]

G-ManBart, on Oct 26 2009, 08:11 PM, said:

I've actually kept a rough count on one batch of brass and they're well over 10 times now...some might as high as 14-15. You'll find that the primer pockets tend to get loose before you'll get splits. Over time I have seen one or two splits in the sides and the case mouths, but no case head separations...they've beefed that area up on Supercomp so it's pretty strong.
When the primer pockets get just a touch loose with Win primers you can switch to Fed and get another two or three uses out of them....and they're still not normally splitting. Generally speaking I let them go after 8-10 uses, but kept one batch to see what happens. R,

I have a batch of Winchester .38 Super +P that has been through my gun 13 times and the primers are almost as tight as they were when new. I have had a few split at the mouth from being over worked (was loading plated bullets and had to bell a little more than with standard jacket). I always mark my brass so I can sort it out from the brass of others, this helps me keep my brass sorted so that I can keep track of the number of trips through the chamber.

Joe W.