Are all 38 spl brass compatible with the same primers?

B

BondoBob

New member
Well, my first batch with the wet tumble looks great! I did notice that there is a design difference in the 38 spl cases from Federal vs Winchester. It seems that on the inside primer flash hole the Federal brass seems to have a 2mm circle or rivet in the brass. Whereas the Winchester brass is just flat at the base inside. Any reason to worry or not mix these when processing for reloading. Would they require different brand/type primers? Or, just standard small pistol primers. The outside primer and pockets look identical.

FederalWinchester (2).jpg
 
Are you sure you don't mean the Winchester has that feature but not the Federal? That is what is called a semi-balloon head. Winchester started using them in .308 brass to maximize case capacity and it migrated to most of their brass, presumably because it also saves a little bit of brass cost. I've never seen any evidence that it isn't strong enough for normal pressure. It does increase the case capacity slightly.

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Small Pistol Primer

.38 Specials all take Small Pistol Primers.

Changing components changes your result. I observed that if I kept my petload the same and changed primer brands, my point of impact moved, all other components were the same.

I've read a Reloader's comment that he changed his primer from CCI to Remington and the MV didn't change. With the same MV, I'd assume the point of impact would be the same.

Can someone chime in on your findings?
 
Thank you both, that Image is great, now I get it.. And knowing all the pistol primers are compatible sets my mind at ease. I'll go ahead and load all of them all the same, but keep them in separate batches so I can observe any difference in point of impact.
 
In theory, with a little more room, the semi-balloon head should require slightly more powder to match velocities, but as a practical matter, powder measures throw pistol size charges with enough variation that you are likely going to have a hard time discerning the difference.
 
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