Are slighlty buckled .357 reloaded cases safe to shoot?

[Tim Smith]

I am fairly new to reloading and I am using a Lee turret press to reload my .357 mag rounds. While tweaking the seating and crimping die I managed to slightly buckle a half dozen cases, the damage does not look severe and I am wondering if it is safe to fire these rounds in my Classic S&W model 27 revolver or would it be better to err on the side of safety and discard the damaged rounds? These loads are Hornady 158JHP XTP#35750, Alliant 2400 12.5g, CCI 550 small pistol primers. Thank you for any input.

 

[bryanf23]

Most likely they will not fit into the cylinder of the revolver, but to be safe I would discard them to be safe. Half a dozen rounds are a lot cheaper than a possible damaged gun or worse injury to yourself.

 

[-06]

Why not disassemble them, back off the deprimer, resize, and reload them. Do not think I would force them into my shooter-just a bit more of a chance than I would be willing to take.

 

[Bighouse Doc]

It is safer to simply toss them!

-Doc

 

[hazard123]

A simple no go guage will let you know if they fit. But like food, "When in doubt, throw it out."

 

[cgiven1]

Would you really want to trust your gun or your life to anything done less than 100% correctly?

 

[Keykutter]

Just throw them out if you even raise a question about them.

KK

 

[The_Outlaw]

Throw them out...Better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Warbirds]

Why don't you post some pics so other new loaders can better understand what you are saying?

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk

 

[Tim Smith]

Pic of slightly buckled .357 cases

Per Warbird's suggestion I am posting a pic of my crumpled cases.

 

[Glock Fan]

Per Warbird's suggestion I am posting a pic of my crumpled cases.

I'd highly suggest you pull the bullets and toss the cases and powder. Though they may fire OK, there is more of a "risk" than benefit in attempting to fire them.

Looks like your bullets are seated funny. Double check your settings and read all of the instructions so you completely understand your reloading equipment. There are subtle differences between reloading presses that could result in improper loading.

Good luck!

 

[Warbirds]

Thx Tim... much appreciated. Here are my questions/thoughts

Do you think it is an issue of not flaring the case enough, or is the spacing between the ram and the die not enough?

Are the bullets too large a diameter? The cases almost look wider at the top than the bottom. That could explain the buckling.

What reloading book are you using? And what bullets? I will have to see if my book mentions anything like this.

 

[wooddoctor]

Per Warbird's suggestion I am posting a pic of my crumpled cases.

I would not fire those rounds! It looks as though the crimp is heavier then it needs to be. How do you have your die sequence set up? Over crimping and forced seating will cause the case to buckle as viewed. Pay careful attention to the COAL. Normally the crimp is in the canalure area. Take your time and make your settings carefully.