The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Are Hard To Eject Casings A Sign Of Too High Pressures?

UtopiaTexasG19 · August 3, 2011, 01:21 PM

Today I loaded up some new to me .357Mag. bullets in 5 powder stages from lowest grain recommended to highest grain recommended. About 2 minutes cooling between shooting sessions. There were 6 bullets in each batch and when I finally shot the last 6 at the highest grain recommended the fired casings were stuck in the cylinder and almost impossible to get out. Once they cooled they did finally manually eject but were still a bit stubborn. All loads slipped into the cylinder very easily before being ignited. Is the extreme expansion of the brass an indication of too high pressures and should I not use this amount in the future? The formula for the over expanded casings was.....
Dan Wesson .357 Magnum (1974)
Winchester .357 Casings (New)
Winchester WSPM Primers
H-110 at 16.7 grains
Missouri Bullet Company .38 Match/.358 Diameter/158 Grain/LSWC/Brinell 12

I am still waiting on the replacement chronograph I accidentally shot last week so I do not know the fps though the Hodgdon chart shows 1591fps.
I would like to experiment with this higher load unless someone indicates the over expanded casings are a no go.

I cleaned the pistol afterwards and there was abosolutely no leading in the barrel.
Thanks...

August 3, 2011, 01:21 PM	#1
UtopiaTexasG19 Senior Member Join Date: July 3, 2011 Location: S.E. Texas Gulf Coast Posts: 743	Are Hard To Eject Casings A Sign Of Too High Pressures? Today I loaded up some new to me .357Mag. bullets in 5 powder stages from lowest grain recommended to highest grain recommended. About 2 minutes cooling between shooting sessions. There were 6 bullets in each batch and when I finally shot the last 6 at the highest grain recommended the fired casings were stuck in the cylinder and almost impossible to get out. Once they cooled they did finally manually eject but were still a bit stubborn. All loads slipped into the cylinder very easily before being ignited. Is the extreme expansion of the brass an indication of too high pressures and should I not use this amount in the future? The formula for the over expanded casings was..... Dan Wesson .357 Magnum (1974) Winchester .357 Casings (New) Winchester WSPM Primers H-110 at 16.7 grains Missouri Bullet Company .38 Match/.358 Diameter/158 Grain/LSWC/Brinell 12 I am still waiting on the replacement chronograph I accidentally shot last week so I do not know the fps though the Hodgdon chart shows 1591fps. I would like to experiment with this higher load unless someone indicates the over expanded casings are a no go. I cleaned the pistol afterwards and there was abosolutely no leading in the barrel. Thanks...