38 special short

[bobcat93]

Any one playing around with this.
Can i cut down old 38spl brass to make short cases..my 38's are about spent at the neck of the case.
Ive even carefully annealed my 38spl brass.
Haha..just to see if i could..yep it can be done..doesnt tale much to make them to soft
Anyways i would like to cut some down into 38short and plink away.
Can i do this. Any one have load information
Thanks

 

[oldman1951]

look for load date on 38 Colt..

 

[Hoser]

A while back I cut down a bunch of 38 Long Colt to 38 Super length. Right between 38 Short Colt and 38 Long Colt. I named it the 38 Medium Colt.

I used a Dillon RT-1200/1500 trimmer for this. 2,000 cases cut down in just over an hour.

I use 38 Super load data and it is working out fine.

 

[divingin]

Wouldn't see why not. A lot of people shoot .38Spl out of .357 Mag handguns (and rifles, I guess.) You'd be doing essentially the same thing. Watch your pressures, and I would think it would be fine.

 

[243winxb]

Trimming back 357 brass gets into the thicker case walls. Can be a problem when trying to chamber the rounds, in some guns.

i have annealed 44mag brass. To keep any case head from getting to hot, its held with a wet sponge. .

223 in photo.

 

[divingin]

Trimming back 357 brass gets into the thicker case walls. Can be a problem when trying to chamber the rounds, in some guns.

i have annealed 44mag brass. To keep any case head from getting to hot, its held with a wet sponge. .

Good point on the thickness. using a HBWC (or HB anything) should alleviate a lot of the problems there.

Are you handheld annealing, or using a machine? I tried annealing 38 Spl in a AnnealEez - while it sort of worked, I don't recommend it. I now consider the brass for 38 an expendable commodity.

 

[243winxb]

Are you handheld annealing

A candle. Just playing around. Stress relieving more than annealing, i think? When the water in the sponge sizzles, brass done.

I get 20,22 firing out of my preped 243 win brass, no annealing. Winchester brand. The Redding type S bushing die doesnt overwork the necks.

 

[divingin]

Water boils at 212F. Brass starts to change at something between 400 and 500F. You can anneal brass at 450F, but it takes hours, if not days, at that temp. Not really sure (that's facetious by the way) a candle is worth the effort. But if you makes you feel good about it, who cares?

 

[bobcat93]

Trimming back 357 brass gets into the thicker case walls. Can be a problem when trying to chamber the rounds, in some guns.

i have annealed 44mag brass. To keep any case head from getting to hot, its held with a wet sponge. .

223 in photo.

That was what i was thinking.
Can i cut 38spl brass to 38 colt short length or will i start cutting into the case web.
I havent even sat down at the bench with calipers or looked at 38 colt short load data. I figured id ask those who know before i waist my time .

To be honest while reading just now, through the comments i have learned the cartridge im talking about is called the 38 colt short. I didnt know that..
Thats why im here hahaha
It can get dicey annealing those short cases..i like the sponge idea

 

[243winxb]

Can i cut 38spl brass to 38 colt short length or will i start cutting into the case web.

I dont know.

The 38 short colt uses a healed bullet. New brass and bullets are available online. Ammoseek & Google for bullets.
I didnt look for load data. Or dies?

Ammo is $.75 per round. @Ammoseek.

 

[243winxb]

facetious

Google said-
"The temperature of a candle flame varies depending on the zone of the flame, but generally ranges from 1,000°C (1,832°F) to 1,400°C (2,552°F). The hottest part of the flame, the outer blue zone, can reach around 1,400°C (2,552°F), while the inner, luminous yellow zone is slightly cooler, around 1,200°C (2,192°F). "

 

[Hoser]

I would cut a few 357 cases and find out if they actually get thicker. Some brands do, some dont.

Its like the old tale that 357 brass is thicker at the web, that is the only way it can handle that much pressure. Cutting a few 38 and 357 cases revealed that isnt true...