S&B Headstamp on .38 Special

erjdriver
Member

Posts: 173

S&B Headstamp on .38 Special Aug 25, 2014 13:04:27 GMT -5

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Post by erjdriver on Aug 25, 2014 13:04:27 GMT -5

Well I got to the bench this morning all fat, dumb, and happy ready to load up some more .38 Special w/Wad Cutter. About 15 cases into the cycle, I got to a case that didn't really "feel right" when I primed it, so I removed it from the shell plate and inspected it. The primer DEFINITELY didn't seat in the primer pocket and had indentations from the primer plug.

Headstamp:
S&B - Sellier & Bellot, Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) Factory in Vlasim

It would appear these primer pockets contain a crimp or are very small. Has anyone else reloaded these cases and found it necessary to process the primer pocket in some fashion? Maybe ream it out??

Thanks!

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hacker54
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S&B Headstamp on .38 Special Aug 25, 2014 16:51:47 GMT -5

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Post by hacker54 on Aug 25, 2014 16:51:47 GMT -5

erjdriver,
A question first. When looking inside from the case mouth do you see one or two flash holes? If you see two then these were Berdan primed. You can reload Berdan primed brass but need special decapping tool to remove the primers. If one flash hole then it might be crimped. Usually European primers are a slight largee that the USA primers by a couple ten thousandths.

Big fan of the 7mm-08 Rem.

erjdriver
Member

Posts: 173

S&B Headstamp on .38 Special Aug 25, 2014 19:48:09 GMT -5

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Post by erjdriver on Aug 25, 2014 19:48:09 GMT -5

No...it's not Berdan, though I did find one in the batch of 1,000 that I de-primed. My Lee Universal Primer wouldn't punch the primer out (for obvious reasons) and when I shined a light inside the case, saw the two flash holes and realized it was a Berdan...tossed it into the recycle bucket.

When looking closely at the primer pocket on these S&B's, it just seems there's no bevel into the pocket itself like you see on a Winchester or Federal case, for example. These will be OK...I'll just hook up my Case Prep Center and ream the primer pocket just a hair to put a nice bevel on the lip.

Thanks hacker!!

Last Edit: Aug 25, 2014 19:50:57 GMT -5 by erjdriver

bob:

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