.357 SIG Brass Reloading?

[Thumb]

I just started shooting 357 sig and am getting ready to reload some of my brass and was wondering since this brass has a neck like most rifle cases if there is a limit on how many time they can be reloaded? FYI, I load on the light side so maybe I can get a few more reloads but maybe not. Anyone out there have any experience on reloading these 357 sigs?

 

[bigedp51]

Read below, the author debates headspacing on the case mouth and headspacing on the shoulder. It appears you can over resize the case and shorten the case life meaning over resizing the shoulder neck area. For practice I see nothing wrong with moving the shoulder forward and below the author discusses "Determining a functional cartridge headspace range" And he took .005 off the shell holder for minimum shoulder bump. You will see some of the factory ammunition had .020 head clearance and would be hard on the brass. Using the Hornady cartridge case headspace gauge you could measure your fired cases to adjust the shoulder bump.

So again this is fine for reloading and practice but I would still use factory rounds for serious work.


Overthinking the 357 SIG....again Part I
http://www.realguns.com/Commentary/comar65.htm

Overthinking the 357 SIG....again - Part II Conclusion
http://www.realguns.com/Commentary/comar65.htm

 

[Ringostar]

I used to reload 357 Sig. Another thing to watch for is flaring the case mouth, to seat bullets. You don't want to over work them. Getting enough crimp on the bullet, so they don't move while chambering also is something to set up for. With the short case neck they have. I ended up buying the Lee factory crimp die.

 

[AckleymanII]

Brass that has been fired in a Glock is bulged at the base to begin with, so I shoot my 40's once and leave it lay...it is cheap enough.

You have multiple issues with the .357 Sig, I would remove the barrel using the barrel as a "checker". Smoke a few cases with a cigarette lighter checking cases for contact on the shoulder. Then keep sizing just a tad more to the point to where you can not see any soot being removed from the case when you drop it in the barrel.

Try shooting the brass at this amount of sizing before you go over board on pushing the shoulder back.

Hint: when adjusting your die down, go down in 1/16 turn increments only or less.

If you actually want to measure the amount of the shoulder set back, measure the dia of the neck and order an over size ogive gage that will fit over the neck of the case and it will contact the shoulder.

Good luck

 

[Thumb]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I do have all the tools everyone mentioned for measuring headspace and the like and also am using the Lee dies. As for the Glock 'Bulge' on the 40's I don't get that with mine since I have a KKM barrel for the 40 and a LW barrel for the 357 sig. When I start these I'll make sure I don't 'over' size the case mouth and also will check for stretching of the neck.

 

[Thumb]

Just an update on these reloads. I loaded up 5 test rounds and have shot and reloaded them 10 times now and have had no problems at all with them. Now I'm loading on the light side which I usually do anyway just for shooting paper.

FYI, I've been using N105 powder which I thought was a rifle powder but in the Speer data book(I believe) it had load data for the 357 sig so I decided to use it. I tried out test loads with it from 8.7gr up to 9.5gr and all shot very well and very snappy. So much so that I am testing out some 8.6gr loads today which is below the minimum just to see if it works. I'm using 125gr FN @ 1.135" OAL btw.

 

[people]

Hum I guess I never noticed a bulge in the 40 cassings I have used. I did notice it with some idiot who was trying to make a 40 a 10mm. In that case come on you bought a 10mm short deal with it.

 

[madderg]

I've been shooting and reloading this round since it came out. Very easy to reload if you use a powder that fills the case...less chance of bullet set back. And NEVER resize 40 cal. brass to 357 Sig!! The Sig is built for heavy pressures, the 40 is not. Great round, and very accurate. My duty and carry gun is a duo-tone P 226, I'll never get any other.

 

[VaniB]

Do whatever you like as long as your brass neck is staying strong and not allowing bullet setback.

I buy 500 once fired Speer cases for about $45-$50 shipped. To avoid concerns about bullet setback, I load them once, fire them, and then discard the brass. I do NOT chamber the same live cartrige more then once either, unless I manually power stroke the slide to slowly escort it into the chamber.

I do not have any issues at the firing range and I am able to group tight 1" clusters at 21 feet. However, this cartridge is fussy about bullet grip and requires attention that none of my other hanguns have required.

There are some tell tale signs if you compare you sized brass with unfired factory cartridges. I compared Speer factory cartridges with my handloads. What I observed was that the sizing die is NOT pushing the brass shoulder back quite as far. Thus, the new and unfired Speer cartridges have a slightly longer neck to grip the bullet by maybe 1/16" . That minimally longer neck makes a positive difference in helping to grip the bullet and prevent bullet setback I'm sure. I'm not about to try different dies, as my Wilson gage indicates that the headspace of my reloads are just dandy and pistol function is 100% reliable. The bottom line is that the 357Sig has a shallow neck to grip the bullet, and this round just requires more TLC.