Picked up some fired range brass for 6c EA mixed head stamp. Noticed different knurled banding on the brass/nickel cases. What are the bands for and how do they affect the reloading of these cases? Some are where I would expect the base of bullet to be, some are far down the case where I would expect a flush wad cutter to be, but with 2 stripes. One knurled and one with sharp crimp in the case. Will post pic if needed. good to load?
Knurling bands on 38 special cases
- Thread starter 308Loader
- Start date
The was a time when deep case grooves were meant to stop lubricated lead bullets from pushing deeper into the case. I've heard others say it was a bullet stop for the 19th-century factory back when a factory was basically a collection of lady handloaders loading cartridges and seating bullets with crude tools. I've also heard it was just insurance for when a lever rifle with a full magazine was dropped and the crimp needed extra help to keep the bullet from being forced deeper into the case. I don't know which if either or both were true.
Today's case cannelures are a sort of one-bar barcode for cartridges, telling the manufacturer at a glance which load is in the case. They don't seem to be universal among brands and they may only be used when the bullet nose shapes of otherwise-different loads are the same so you can't tell the load by that alone. Probably best to call the maker for a definitive answer, but I know the knurl near the head on a round of LC M852 match brass was there for quick visual identification. At the time they still made M852, the hollow point in the SMK bullet was not allowed in combat and that knurl helped indicate it was a non-combat round. When the AG reversed that for SMKs, declaring them non-expanding hollow points so the 175-grain version could be used in sniper ammo (Mk 316 Mod 0), the brass cannelure disappeared.
IME, repeated loading simply tends to iron those marks out, and they become less distinct. Never completely gone, but fairly flat.
Today's case cannelures are a sort of one-bar barcode for cartridges, telling the manufacturer at a glance which load is in the case. They don't seem to be universal among brands and they may only be used when the bullet nose shapes of otherwise-different loads are the same so you can't tell the load by that alone. Probably best to call the maker for a definitive answer, but I know the knurl near the head on a round of LC M852 match brass was there for quick visual identification. At the time they still made M852, the hollow point in the SMK bullet was not allowed in combat and that knurl helped indicate it was a non-combat round. When the AG reversed that for SMKs, declaring them non-expanding hollow points so the 175-grain version could be used in sniper ammo (Mk 316 Mod 0), the brass cannelure disappeared.
IME, repeated loading simply tends to iron those marks out, and they become less distinct. Never completely gone, but fairly flat.
Basically they were added to hold bullets in place . The soft 148 gr. swaged lead hollow base target wadcutter is usually seated flush with the case mouth , there isn't much to crimp the bullet on ... so the knurling and sharp crimps on the body were the factory's way of holding the bullets firmly in place .
Different factories had these in different locations ... some had two lines .
A few appear to be at the base of the bullet but the rest don't seem to follow a set pattern that I could figgure out ...so makers did it one way , other makers did it another .
Bottom line ...resize and reload them like normal . Once the cases have been fired they will be ironed out from the inside and after resizing you can load any bullet you wish .
Some claim the case knurlings and crimping lines shorten case life ...that may be so but you still get plenty reloads out of them .
Gary
Different factories had these in different locations ... some had two lines .
A few appear to be at the base of the bullet but the rest don't seem to follow a set pattern that I could figgure out ...so makers did it one way , other makers did it another .
Bottom line ...resize and reload them like normal . Once the cases have been fired they will be ironed out from the inside and after resizing you can load any bullet you wish .
Some claim the case knurlings and crimping lines shorten case life ...that may be so but you still get plenty reloads out of them .
Gary
Last edited:
Yep. No practical difference that I've noticed either.
Here's a link to a photo of the light cannelure on M852 brass that was used to distinguish it from a combat-legal load originally.
Here's a link to a photo of the light cannelure on M852 brass that was used to distinguish it from a combat-legal load originally.