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petej88 · April 5, 2000, 10:44 AM

I just received a bunch of once fired 357 SIG brass. I grabbed a few cases from each brass type (Speer, Remington, FC, & Hornady).

I was surprised that the Hornady could not pass the thumb pressure test. Using a weighing scale, the bullet would slip into the case at a mere 20 pounds of pressure -- 50 lbs is ideal.

So I tightened up the taper crimp, which turned it into a partial roll crimp. Although, you could still see the mouth edge and tweak it with a thumb nail. At any rate, it's a strong, but not a deforming crimp.

The Hornady brass did a tiny bit better but the bullet would still slip into the case 50% of the time.

So I pulled out my old cannulure tool and put some cannulure grooves into some Rainier 124 grain plated bullets. I then found that the Hornady brass could hold the bullets to over 50 pounds of pressure, consistently.

As a safety measure, I'm now thinking of having a cannulure groove on all my 357 SIG bullets as a safety measure. In my case, the Hornady brass was the lowest common denominator. If the bullet can hold in a Hornady case, the other brands are a piece of cake.

Comments and other experience is welcome.

April 5, 2000, 10:44 AM	#1
petej88 Senior Member Join Date: November 7, 1999 Location: US Posts: 510	I just received a bunch of once fired 357 SIG brass. I grabbed a few cases from each brass type (Speer, Remington, FC, & Hornady). I was surprised that the Hornady could not pass the thumb pressure test. Using a weighing scale, the bullet would slip into the case at a mere 20 pounds of pressure -- 50 lbs is ideal. So I tightened up the taper crimp, which turned it into a partial roll crimp. Although, you could still see the mouth edge and tweak it with a thumb nail. At any rate, it's a strong, but not a deforming crimp. The Hornady brass did a tiny bit better but the bullet would still slip into the case 50% of the time. So I pulled out my old cannulure tool and put some cannulure grooves into some Rainier 124 grain plated bullets. I then found that the Hornady brass could hold the bullets to over 50 pounds of pressure, consistently. As a safety measure, I'm now thinking of having a cannulure groove on all my 357 SIG bullets as a safety measure. In my case, the Hornady brass was the lowest common denominator. If the bullet can hold in a Hornady case, the other brands are a piece of cake. Comments and other experience is welcome.