I just bought a large lot of reloading equipment and supplies at an estate sale, mostly dies and bullets, but included was approximately 1500 rounds of reloaded .38 Special. I pulled all of them, disposed of the powder and sorted the bullets for later use. There was no load info included, so I don't know what primers were use. Is there any reason to be wary of reloading these primed cases? I'd use them for light to mid-range loads to be safe, just wondering if there's something I'm not thinking of.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Unknown Primers
- Thread starter VHinch
- Start date
Yu should be fine loading the already primed cases with mid-range .38 Special loads. Just think about making sure they would not squib if the primer was really the weakest of regular primers, not get grossly over-pressure if it was one of the hottest magnum primers. That should leave you lots of room for choosing a load. And, if you are going to shoot them is a gun chambered for the .357 Magnum, then of course you would have LOTS of room for error with .38 Special loads on the hot side.
One issue that you might encounter if the primers are REALLY old is that some of the cups might crack when fired. I have had a few 30-year-old primers do that. It leaves a little ring of dark residue around the primer/case junction, like an over-pressure load might do. But, the primer pocket is not stretched, and there is no apparent flame-cutting on the recoil shield, so I don't think they do any significant harm. I have carefully decapped the few primers that showed the dark ring and examined them with a 10x loop, which clearly revealed the crack along the side of the primer cup that leaked the gases. You could check for cracks the same way if light loads leave some dark rings.
SL1
One issue that you might encounter if the primers are REALLY old is that some of the cups might crack when fired. I have had a few 30-year-old primers do that. It leaves a little ring of dark residue around the primer/case junction, like an over-pressure load might do. But, the primer pocket is not stretched, and there is no apparent flame-cutting on the recoil shield, so I don't think they do any significant harm. I have carefully decapped the few primers that showed the dark ring and examined them with a 10x loop, which clearly revealed the crack along the side of the primer cup that leaked the gases. You could check for cracks the same way if light loads leave some dark rings.
SL1
Some people use SPM primers for 38 spl instead of SP primers. It will depend on how long they have been sitting on the shelf. Me I would just deprime them and use the cases and bullets. While 1,500 primers are hard to throw away, I would feel better knowing exactly what went into my loads.
Just me.
Jim
Just me.
Jim
mongoose33
New member
I might try to work up some light loads w/ them, run them over a chronograph, and see what's what.
The only problem is knowing for sure that all the cases were primed with the same primer.
The only problem is knowing for sure that all the cases were primed with the same primer.
troy_mclure
New member
Id just load em up.
Uncle Buck
New member
I would just load a few case and test them out. Chances are you will not have a problem if the ammo had been stored properly.
I ran into almost the same situation with some .38 Special loads I bought. They were reloads and I had no idea how old they were or what they had been loaded with. Pulled the bullets, changed the powder and they fired off fine.
Good luck.
I ran into almost the same situation with some .38 Special loads I bought. They were reloads and I had no idea how old they were or what they had been loaded with. Pulled the bullets, changed the powder and they fired off fine.
Good luck.