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  • MyEmptyWallet

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    Aug 21, 2018
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    We are relatively new to reloading but have studied it for several years before we were able to start. I have always thought that Starline is high quality brass however there 44 mag brass is 33% cheeper than Hornady, Winchester, and Remington, does that mean it is lower quality. Also we started with 200 cases of Starline and some are splitting at the neck after 3 or 4 low to medium-heavy loads, is this normal? Thanks in advance for your advice.
    Texas SOT
     

    orbitup

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    I couldn't tell you how many loads mine have endured but that should last longer than that. Maybe you have a loose chamber? What are you shooting?
     

    MyEmptyWallet

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    Ordinance technology SSP-86, it's a single shot pistol. Using Hi-Tek coated bullets from Missouri bullet Co. and Bayou bullets, started with 165gr but using 215gr and 240gr mostly. The bore diameter is .431 so we have to get oversized bullets should we get a larger expander so we don't have to flair the mouth so much (for hi-tek coated bullets you have to flair the mouth enough so it doesn't scrape the coating off).
     

    TheMailMan

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    Starline is top quality brass. In fact they make brass for many other companies.

    Your problem is not in the brass. Do you have an expander like a Lyman M die or just some tool that flares the brass?
     

    deemus

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    I've had great luck with Starline. 38, 44 Mag, 458 SOCOM, and others.
     

    benenglish

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    Summary: Starline brass is almost universally excellent. Make sure you're not overworking the brass by belling it too much.

    Long Version:
    We have the Lee die that flairs the case.
    It's easy to adjust the expander incorrectly, having it flare the case too much. So far...
    You could be overworking the brass depending on how much you bell the brass before the bullet is seated and then crimped.
    Overworking it makes it hard and brittle and then will split.
    ...lonestardiver is, IME, likely closest to the source of the problem.

    You'd be surprised how little flare is required to get the job done. When you're shaving lead off the base of a cast bullet, you don't have enough. Adjust the expander up sensibly and stop when you're just the smallest amount possible above shaving bullets.

    In your case, that's more difficult because you're trying to preserve the coating. It might be worthwhile to experiment with uncoated bullets. For your "low to medium-heavy" loads, the advantages of coated bullets might be outweighed by savings on brass.
    should we get a larger expander
    That's one of the first things I'd try.

    If you could post pictures, that would help. I'd be curious as to whether you're seeing small cracks at the case mouth or serious splits.

    This could get complicated, though. The amount of expansion and belling used can be called excessive only in relative terms. It's compared to wherever the case mouth started. If you're using oversize bullets, you'll need more expansion. Given a fully resized case, the relative difference between a resized case mouth and how large you must bell the case mouth to accept the oversized bullet can be sufficiently large that you overwork the brass.

    At that point, you have to start looking for deeper solutions. That thinking will run along the lines of -
    • Is the chamber oversize, too?
    • If the chamber is oversize, how much sizing to I really need?
    • Am I willing to establish a reloading regimen and set of tools unique to this pistol?
    • Am I willing to invest in custom dies?
    The SSP is a seriously cool pistol but if it's sufficiently off specs, you need to ask yourself if it's worth adapting to or if you'd do better off by moving on. OTOH, if it's the only pistol you want to reload for, do whatever it takes.

    In between those two extremes, in-between solutions are indicated.

    Like I said, it could get a bit complicated.

    Take solace in the fact that no matter how complicated it gets, fixing this is nowhere near "complicated" compared to many reloading projects you may consider in the future. Your problem may be fixed with a different expander but some reloading projects have bedeviled folks for decades. Talk to the 38-55 guys who tore their hair out for decades until Starline stepped up and saved them.
     

    benenglish

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    it's just small cracks at the case mouth and I don't know how to load pictures on here
    Understood. I suggest you get the bigger expander, carefully adjust it so that you bell the case mouths as little as possible, and see what sort of results you get. Let us know if that works.
     

    MyEmptyWallet

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    How much difference between a loaded case and the chamber is considered oversized. Can I measure the neck of a fired case or do I need to make a chamber cast.
     

    benenglish

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    Can I measure the neck of a fired case or do I need to make a chamber cast.
    Measuring the neck of a case is useful info but it doesn't tell you what you need to know in this case. Brass springs back a bit from the dimensions it's blown out to when it's fired. If it didn't shrink a little, it would wedge tight in the chamber and nothing would ever extract. In your case, you can't get the info you need because you don't know exactly how much your brass is contracting after firing. Every batch of brass is different by just a little.

    You'll learn that uncontrolled variables that change "just a little" can drive you nuts. :)
     
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