Straight wall pistol brass care

[mr surveyor]

.30-30 is fairly short lived too

[Model 52]

For self defense loads, I load into new brass, or if I'm in a bit of a pinch, once fired brass, but I won't trust it past that for an SD load. I also sort the cases by head stamp if I'm using once fired brass as consistency in velocity is very important.

My major purpose for hand loading a self defense round is when I need to get a specific velocity in my pistol from a hollow point that will ensure it gets optimum penetration.

[Missionary]

Greetings
I segregate brass to revolvers. I use my revolvers for hunting and as back up hunting. So I want all I can have as far as accuracy and reliability is concerned. I like to have 100 per revolver but some only get 50 like the 414 Supermag Dan Wesson.
Auto loaders get my standard load. Most are 1911's and they all seem to like about the same thing.
ILLinois now has CC so my Compact 1911 will get 100 pieces of new Starline brass segregated to it. Also have a caliber 41 mag Titanium Taurus that will get 100 new brass. It already has it's own brass supply but those for CC will be new. The first instance I see any case fault those 100 will get shifted to practice and 100 more new Starline will get segregated.
Mike in Peru

[Steve]

For self defense loads, I load into new brass, or if I'm in a bit of a pinch, once fired brass, but I won't trust it past that for an SD load. I also sort the cases by head stamp if I'm using once fired brass as consistency in velocity is very important.

My major purpose for hand loading a self defense round is when I need to get a specific velocity in my pistol from a hollow point that will ensure it gets optimum penetration.

I took the legal advice long ago not to carry reloads for self defense, because of how that could be used against you in civil court. I carry "Federal Guard Dog Home Defense". The words "Home Defense" sound better to the elderly lady in the jury box, that never heard about reloading in her life, than something like hollow point.

Made good sense to me so I like to pass on the advice. If I lived in bear country I would feel different about it.

[akuser47]

I see your point, i dont agree as no matter the instance in which you discharge the weapon in defense it is on you to prove the threat was relevant. To the force used. I think if any of us ever end up in such a case the ammo would be a weak link to put us away unless the threat is unable to be determined as deadly by the assailant

[Model 52]

For self defense loads, I load into new brass, or if I'm in a bit of a pinch, once fired brass, but I won't trust it past that for an SD load. I also sort the cases by head stamp if I'm using once fired brass as consistency in velocity is very important.

My major purpose for hand loading a self defense round is when I need to get a specific velocity in my pistol from a hollow point that will ensure it gets optimum penetration.

I took the legal advice long ago not to carry reloads for self defense, because of how that could be used against you in civil court. I carry "Federal Guard Dog Home Defense". The words "Home Defense" sound better to the elderly lady in the jury box, that never heard about reloading in her life, than something like hollow point.

Made good sense to me so I like to pass on the advice. If I lived in bear country I would feel different about it.

Massad Ayoob pushed that point pretty hard, but the only case I've ever heard about where it was a problem was a case where a guys wife committed suicide with his revolver. The forensic analysis noted a lack of the expected level of powder residue given the range and suspected she was shot from a greater distance. The issue was that she'd used a very light target load, rather than the full power load they assumed given the lack of other rounds (or different rounds - I forget which) in the other cylinders and the defense had to demonstrate how a lighter load would have given the lower amount of powder residue at self inflicted ranges that was consistent with the evidence collected.

The thing is, that had absolutely nothing to do with reloaded self defense ammo. The problem was he had lightly loaded target reloads in the house that she shot herself with. So in order for me to avoid that potential pitfall, I'd have to give up all reloading and ensure I only had self defense rounds in the house.

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What is good advice is to clearly label your self defense ammo as self defense ammo, and only carry ammo out of that box (or boxes) so that you have a sample on hand that they can use for a comparative analysis.

The reality is that the only time it's even going to be an issue is if you've been involved in a questionable shoot.

----

My reasons for hand loading self defense ammo generally revolve around availability of suitable factory self defense ammo or the need to have a load that will perform optimally. .32 ACP and .380 ACP in particular are very problematic calibers due to the marginal nature of the rounds for effective self defense and 9mm Para can present similar challenges in a sub compact 9mm due to the short barrel and related velocity loss.

The .380 ACP for example can consistently achieve 12" of penetration in ballistic gel (the more or less FBI gold standard) with a well designed hollow point, but you have to keep the velocity within a fairly narrow range.

For example, the 90 gr Hornady XTP will meet the 12" standard consistently as it is a moderately expanding bullet that works well in the .32 ACP and .380 ACP, but it needs to be kept between about 850 fps and 1000 fps. Much slower and it will start to exhibit poor expansion in a heavy clothing test, and much faster and it will prematurely expand and under penetrate.

A less flexible example is the Remington 102 grain Golden Saber. It is a massively expanding bullet design and will give you between 10" and 11" of penetration and expand to about .60 caliber, but only when it is launched at between 850 and 900 fps in .380 ACP. Too slow and it may not expand at all, and too fast and it will prematurely expand and under penetrate.

This weekend I loaded up 150 rounds of 90 gr XTPs for use in my PP and developed the load for an average of 1000 fps. The chrono results gave a mean velocity of 1002 fps and a standard deviation of only 14 fps - very good for a pistol round, especially in a 3.9" barrel. In comparison the 102 gr GS factory load I replaced had an average velocity of 887 fps (which was fine), and an SD of 38 fps (which was not so fine). That higher SD equates to 67% of the rounds falling in a velocity range of 849 fps to 925 fps, which is ok. However, it also means that 13% of the rounds will fall between 926 fps and 963 fps, and another 13% will fall between 849 fps and 811 fps, meaning about 1 in 4 rounds will not give optimum expansion and penetration, with the other 7% being even faster or slower.

In that regard, I much prefer a quality hand load tailored to my specific pistol as it ensures optimum performance. That's actually a less lethal approach as the more rounds you put in an assailant to get immediate incapacitation and stop the attack, the more likely the shoot is to be fatal.

[akuser47]

Well put model52

[mr surveyor]

I have absolutely NO fear of carrying what I hand load, hypothetical legal implications or not.

I do tend to carry hand loads in my "Sunday best" brass though, but I'm not one to push the limits even near book max loads anyway, or use the latest "fad bullets".

Never seen or heard of a "good shoot" case in Texas that hinged on the ammo used.

And, as for straight walled brass care .... in general I shoot it till it either splits at the case mouth or looks too thin to push ... if too thin, it gets light loads until it splits. The new or better brass is reserved for the heavier loads.

[Missionary]

Good Morning
The official policy here in Peru, so I would think also with the (lousy) UN, is that a lead bullet is old technology and will cause far less internal damage than those Nasty expanding modern projectiles designed for hunting. I hope they keep on thinking that.
I carry my own reloads down here (21 years now) and will so in ILLinois (finally) when I return. 40-1, even 30-1 will expand at any velocity over 700 fps. At 950 fps it will near double it's diameter. That is what I want. Complete energy dump. No exit. I am not hunting. All I need is to disrupt the vitals. Soft lead delivers every time. And I am never without a full box(s) due to scarcity of factory ammo.
Mike in Peru

[Ranch Dog]

I have absolutely NO fear of carrying what I hand load, hypothetical legal implications or not.

I do tend to carry hand loads in my "Sunday best" brass though, but I'm not one to push the limits even near book max loads anyway, or use the latest "fad bullets".

Never seen or heard of a "good shoot" case in Texas that hinged on the ammo used.

And, as for straight walled brass care .... in general I shoot it till it either splits at the case mouth or looks too thin to push ... if too thin, it gets light loads until it splits. The new or better brass is reserved for the heavier loads.

Me either! The two legal defense funds I subscribe to, lawyers on call, have no problems with it. As far as lead bullets go, I have personally tested my 32 ACP, 380 Auto (both bullets), 9mm Luger, 9mm Makarov, and 45 ACP designs on feral hogs at 21 feet with shots through the rib cage. Never lost one. The two that I have shot with the Taurus 732 TCP using the TL314-70-RF was pretty amazing, at impact they both had the same reaction. They stopped walking and fell over dead. I've killed over a dozen hogs with the 380 Auto using the TL358-100-RF and TL358-125-RF, the later being the bullet I also shoot from my Rossi 351 38 Spl. I've killed a coyote with my TL255-50-RF but haven't had a feral hog walk through the confines of my "test range" yet.

The "test range" is on the outside of a lighted feeder pen at the house. Hogs feed on the outside of the pen first. As the feeder feeds, the corn hits the the panel fence around the feeder, landing immediately outside the fence. As they work their way around the circular pin the very low tripod I placed puts me exactly 21' from them as they come around the back. The lighting at the feeder, three "full moon" lights, allow use of the handgun sights, and I try to select hogs that are over 160 pounds. I actually started on smaller hogs as I was not sure what the results would be but moved quickly to large hogs.

A round, flat nose, lead bullet is devastating!