Henry Rifle Forums

Any of you folks seeing .357 cases stretching in your Henry's? I've measured about 20 Federal cases after only two firings and they came in at 1.285" to over 1.290". All other brass stays at 1.280". Even after several loadings[4-6]. Thinking its the Federal brass. Don't see it as being the rifle. Thoughts?

I'm only at about 3 firings on any of my brass, but I'll go see what I'm measuring. I don't have any Federal, so I many not do you much good, Tom, other than a check-in.

I'm dealing with some brand new Hornady brass and some once-fired (now 2-3 times) Fiocchi.

That aside, doesn't seem like it would be stretching in length in the chamber of the rifle, but maybe more likely being re-distributed in your re-sizing process? Firing makes the casing expand in diameter in the rifle (right?), but not length. If it's a softer brass, when it gets squished back to the right diameter, maybe the die presses a bit of brass toward the mouth of casing? I'm too new at this to guess beyond that, and that was "over my skis" speculation right there, as it is!

Let's see what the more seasoned members of this Reloading Group have to say...

Evan, measurements from those other cases will tell a lot. I measured eighty other cases, PPU and R-P. Even after re-sizing, they are ALL at 1.280". Which is where they should be. Its only the Federal that this shows up in. I've measured Fed factory rounds as best I could and came up with 1.288"-1.290". That is at max case length already. Not sure how accurate that measurement is with a loaded factory round tho. Maybe this is nothing. Like you mentioned, others here will chime in. Thanks Evan.

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I would think that as a bullet leaves the casing it would stretch some. Isn't that part of why one trims a casing when reloading?

ESquared wrote:... doesn't seem like it would be stretching in length in the chamber of the rifle....

Hardly ever at all in straight wall cases. I've never trimmed cases for my .357 Blackhawk. Even after 10, 11, or 12 firings.
But, being fairly new to lever guns, this caught me by surprise. Still leaning towards "softer" Federal brass. We'll see.

Pistol cartridges seldom need trimming. I've read posts from guys who shoot 357 cases 8-10 times before they fail for one reason or another, but length doesn't seem to be a reason anyone throws them away.

Again, I'll go out on a limb I maybe shouldn't be on, but I think rifle casings are different in terms of gaining length upon firing is due to the necked down shape of the case and what happens at rifle type pressures...

I have reloaded 357 for a revolver for 40 years and could use the cases at least 7-10 times without an issue. Have been shooting and reloading for a BBS in 357 for 2 years. Monitor your cases, especially if you are at max loads. The cases will stretch. After 3-4 reloads case/head separation is a possibility. You should be able to see a line begin to form on the case and that is the time to discard that case. This same point was brought up in an article regarding top end loads for the 357 in a rifle/carbine.

ESquared wrote: Again, I'll go out on a limb I maybe shouldn't be on, but I think rifle casings are different in terms of gaining length upon firing is due to the necked down shape of the case and what happens at rifle type pressures...

As far as lever gun pressures go 357 mag is right up there.
Accurate, Hogdon give pressure in their load data.

Federal is softer brass than other MFG I have seen the same thing. I mostly purchase Starline brass for all my guns.

I am experiencing some case stretching with Federal brass as well. My brass originated from inexpensive Federal American Eagle ammunition, so I am not really surprised. CP.

CP: wrote:I am experiencing some case stretching with Federal brass as well. My brass originated from inexpensive Federal American Eagle ammunition, so I am not really surprised. CP.

And that is exactly the factory ammo I've been using. What CP and a few others have mentioned, it seems the Federal brass has a history of being softer and stretching. Guess I might be buying Starline mighty soon. Dang!

Rifletom wrote:Guess I might be buying Starline mighty soon. Dang!

I still have and load late 60's early 70's 357 brass ... mostly Winchester and Remington .... biggest issue has proven to be with nickle plated brass that eventually eventually has easily observable cracks from the open end .... we now only purchase Starline brass .... Starline's walls don't seem to be as thick and certainly not as stiff as the old Winchester and Remington brass but the serve really well

Copy that JEBar. The others I've measured haven't stretched. Only Federal brass seems to be doing this.

**Update** Went to the desert Wed and shot a good number of .357 and .45 Colt rounds. All handloads. All the .357 rounds shot very good with a couple of different powders AND different cases. The Federal cases stretched again to 1.290" +.
The PPU and R-P cases, not at all, staying at 1.280". The Colt all had Starline brass and behaved as I had hoped. Both rifles were very accurate at the measured 75 yards hitting the steel gongs. Those dang Federal cases are giving me fits. But, I'm pretty sure it is NOT the rifle. Starline brass for the .357 coming up.

Late up-date here. I talked to Jeff at Henry Arms Monday and he said that as long as the cases are in spec, I'm good to go
As per Henry's policy, he did not recommend handloads, but, understands that a number of shooters do just that. So, I'll trim these Federal cases once and see what they do after a couple times. At least it isn't the rifle!

I have reloaded my Federal America Eagle 357 brass three times and have no pressure rings or lose primer pockets with any of the pieces. But, I had to trim on the first and third loading. CP.

CP: wrote:I have reloaded my Federal America Eagle 357 brass three times and have no pressure rings or lose primer pockets with any of the pieces. But, I had to trim on the first and third loading. CP.

How hot were the loads?

158 gr. XPTs over 15.5 grs. of H110...

CP: wrote:158 gr. XPTs over 15.5 grs. of H110...

That is Hornady's max but more that a grain below the max for Hodgdon.

I am aware of Hodgson’s and other max H-110 loading numbers, but running 15.5 grs suits my needs just fine.