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Old November 1, 2013, 08:46 AM   #1
der koenig
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.38 special S&B brass

Do they work at all? There is a funny looking stamped stripe on them - what´s that about? They don´t appear popular at my range, so I´m getting suspicious..

Seems people have problems with the primer pockets being too small. I was thinking of getting a reamer (Dillon) for 9mm anyway.. But the stripes man? What are those?

Have been posting this in another forum - will reply info here if I get intel from them.

Thanks,
Fred
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Old November 1, 2013, 09:12 AM   #2
steveno
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I have loaded the S & B 38 special brass and once you get by the tight primer pockets it seems to last as long as any other brand. some of the wadcutter ammo had a groove in the case about where the bullet ends and that ain't a problem. if you shoot them enough it will disappear
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Old November 1, 2013, 09:28 AM   #3
jag2
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Are referring to what looks a dotted going around the case? I've seen an explanation about that before but it escapes me know. Just remember it was no big deal. I've had 9mm with the same thing also. Yes their primer pockets are tight but I never felt any need to try and change them. I use the Lee Auto Prime and can tell they are a little tighter, just need a little more squeeze.
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Old November 1, 2013, 09:28 AM   #4
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If you're referring to the knurled ring around the case at about where the base of the bullet is, it's intended to prevent the bullet being set back further in the case, due to . . . well, I'm not sure exactly what - feeding from the magazine in autoloaders, perhaps? But there aren't exactly a lot of .38 Special semi-autos out there. The observation that many, perhaps most, ammo makers don't bother with it leads me to believe it's not really necessary. As for S&B brass, I've got some unknown number of cases in my regular .38 Special rotation and can't say I've noticed any great difference between them and all the others.
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Old November 1, 2013, 11:15 AM   #5
der koenig
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Yup, referring to the line. Makes sense. I will try them out now. I sure have plenty. Thanks guys, great forum.
Not even told to search...

...I did.
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Old November 1, 2013, 12:13 PM   #6
rodfac
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Over the years I've had a multitude of problems attempting to reload S&B brass...small primer pockets being the foremost of them, especially in 9mm and .38 Spl. Most of my brass in those two calibers comes from LEO use, once fired by our local dept's. I pick out any and all S&B brass from the lots I've been given, and only wish I'd saved it for the recyclers over the years...Best Regards, Rod
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Old November 1, 2013, 02:34 PM   #7
Real Gun
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S&B cases do not have small primer pockets. The pockets simply lack chamfering, which I have done successfully with a pocket reamer. I used to pitch such things, but now considering cases as real money on the ground, I keep them. MAYBE, someday I will be willing to salvage some of them as sort of my version of whittling, for lack of anything else to do while brain dead.
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Old November 2, 2013, 03:37 AM   #8
Sevens
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I came in to a supply of S&B .38 Special at a discount for a decent sized lot, so I took them in.

About 5-6% of the brass gave me a problem that I couldn't find a way to overcome-- the original factory primer cup was extremely fragile and using my sizing die & it's decapping rod, the rod was punching the anvil clean through the primer cup while the cup itself was -NOT- popping out of the pocket, but rather the guts were being pushed through it and the primer would peel open.

Those pieces are all sitting in a ziploc bag as a curiosity, I haven't the energy or idea of how to attempt to properly remove what is left of the primer. The other 90-94% of the brass does re-prime a little sticky due to the known primer pocket, and I find that the brass itself is -NOT- high quality and long lasting, but it does otherwise work.

My primary use for this brass? Hot .38 Special+P loads to run through my Coonan with it's accessory 10-lb spring. Not such a big loss when I lose the S&B .38 brass, where I would miss other brass much more if I lost it.
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Old November 2, 2013, 08:38 AM   #9
m&p45acp10+1
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Other than having crimped primer pockets it works just fine. I use a Lyman reamer. A few twist, and they are good to go. The primer pockets are not tight, they are crimped. So far as my experience goes ALL S&B brass has crimped primers.

As for the cannulure in in the brass it corresponds to use of an optical laser process for QC for powder fill, and bullet seating, as far as I was told.

Remove the crimp in the primer pocket, and reload them like normal. Use them till the case mouth splits.
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Old November 2, 2013, 08:51 AM   #10
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S&B is excellent brass. It is one of my favorites because it lasts and I get many loadings from it. The biggest reason is the tight pocket. Much of my brass is no longer loadable because it will no longer hold a primer. At first you have to be a little more careful seating the primer but after the first loading or so, this is no longer a problem. S&B is now owned by the CBC group of Brazil. S&B is located in the Czech Republic and is one of the oldest ammo manufacturers in the world. Started in 1825. IIRC. Incidentally, the pocket are not crimped merely tight with a sealer and oftentimes not chamfered. The only crimped S&B brass I have come across was loaded under contract for NATO and it was crimped as is military ammo.
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Old November 2, 2013, 11:22 AM   #11
FlyFish
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Here are a few more guesses at why cases have cannelures:

http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=179718

and a few more here:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloadi...annelures.html

and yet more here:

http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/i.../t-597912.html

Anybody out there work for an ammo manufacturer and can say for sure??
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Old November 2, 2013, 12:34 PM   #12
Sevens
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Quote:
S&B is excellent brass. It is one of my favorites because it lasts and I get many loadings from it. The biggest reason is the tight pocket. Much of my brass is no longer loadable because it will no longer hold a primer.
Are you talking about .38 Special brass or something different? If you could give a bit more info, I'd find it interesting.

What I'm saying is that... if you are running .38 Special brass some how, some way, where your end result is a primer pocket that won't hold a primer, I'd like to hear some details of exactly what you are loading and what you are shooting.

I am still running some .38 Special brass that I got from the Feds who burned up taxpayer ammo at my sportsman's club range when I was in high school in the 80s. It'll split at the mouth on occasion, but I've loaded some of this stuff 25+ times and have never, NEVER, not once ever distorted or otherwise worn out a primer pocket, or even close.

Perhaps you are talking about a different round than .38 Special?
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Old November 2, 2013, 01:02 PM   #13
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I've used a lot of S&B 38 Special brass over the years, other than a little more effort to seat the primer I've had no problems. Good brass overall. Now on one lot of Russian 9MM brass, the primers would seat by finger pressure and fall out on their own in the tumbler. Needless to say that brass was quickly segregated and scraped. Oops, are we even allowed to use the word segregated in our new P C world??
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Old November 2, 2013, 01:54 PM   #14
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I will agree that S&B brass is very good. I had been using that exclusively for .44Mag until the point that I ordered some Starline, and even then I am still mainly using the S&B.

I have also been using their .38Spl brass.

Should you avoid buying it? Certainly not.
Should you buy it specifically? No more so than any other decent brand.
Should you pick it up at the range? Of course!!
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