Is Hornady 357 mag brass shorter than regular?

S

Shadow9mm

New member
according to my Hornady manual....

357 mag max length is 1.290, trim to length is 1.280.
38spl max mag length is a max of 1.155, trim to length of 1.145

My Hornady brass 357 magnum head stamp, 4 randomly selected pieces

1.244
1.244
1.248
1.245

I'm culling it from my mixed brass... Its just too short. But it seems really odd. Anyone else had this problem?
 
You can buy Hornady cartridges loaded with the XTP bullets to get normal case lengths. The FTX rubber tip needs the shorter case because it would otherwise have to be seated below the cannelure to avoid exceeding the maximum length accommodated by some lever gun carriers and 357 Magnum cylinders.

There is nothing to stop you from using those cases. If your gun also can shoot 38 Special, these cases are still longer than that. You will want to choose powder charges for your jacketed bullets that are intended for same-weight FTX bullets.
 
Unclenick said:
You can buy Hornady cartridges loaded with the XTP bullets to get normal case lengths. The FTX rubber tip needs the shorter case because it would otherwise have to be seated below the cannelure to avoid exceeding the maximum length accommodated by some lever gun carriers and 357 Magnum cylinders.

There is nothing to stop you from using those cases. If your gun also can shoot 38 Special, these cases are still longer than that. You will want to choose powder charges for your jacketed bullets that are intended for same-weight FTX bullets.
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But with the shortened cases it will reduce case capacity, meaning I would have to work up separate loads for that brass. Gonna keep it. But it will probably stay in a zip lock for emergencies and never get used.
 
You could always trim it to .38sp length, you’d just have to ignore the markings on the base and go by length when sorting in the future.
 
CAUTION: The following post (or a page linked to) includes or discusses loading data not covered by currently published sources of tested data for this cartridge (QuickLOAD or Gordon's Reloading Tool data is not professionally tested). USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The Firing Line, nor the staff of TFL assumes any liability for any damage or injury resulting from the use of this information.

Shadow9mm said:
But with the shortened cases it will reduce case capacity, meaning I would have to work up separate loads for that brass. Gonna keep it. But it will probably stay in a zip lock for emergencies and never get used.
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That's why I suggested using loads intended for those long flex-tipped FTX bullets, as they will already have been compensated for the difference in case length as you need the shorter cases to use them. However, when I looked some up and compared the Hornady load data for their 140-grain FTX in the short case to their 140-grain XTP in a full-length case, the powders in common were Accurate #7 and #9, and the #7 load was about 3% smaller in the short case with the FTX than in the standard case with the XTP, but the #9 load was actually 3% bigger in the short case with the FTX. No explanation. They just said this is what they developed.

So there may be some other things going on, like differences in jacket thickness and hardness or the primer unseating the longer bullet before the powder burn is fully established. But in QuickLOAD, just based on losing 0.05" off the powder space for standard bullets, I get the result that a 4-6% reduction in charge keeps peak pressure very constant with 158-grain to 110-grain bullets, respectively, and doing so with powder burn rates from 231 to 296. My conclusion is that if you take the starting load for a full-length case and multiply it by 0.95, you will have a safe starting load for the shorter case for about any normal bullet in that weight range. You can then work up, but you will likely find the maximum is also about 5% below book.
 
I won't be buying any hornady 357 ammo ever again.
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You should reconsider that decision. Hornady makes excellent ammo. And as Unclenick stated, their XTP line has regular length brass and is top notch. I'm a big fan of XTP ammo of all calibers.
 
Nick_C_S said:
You should reconsider that decision. Hornady makes excellent ammo. And as Unclenick stated, their XTP line has regular length brass and is top notch. I'm a big fan of XTP ammo of all calibers.
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I like the xtp bullets, and will be buying more, dont get me wrong. I'm just not going to buy their factory 357 ammo or brass. I don't want to waste money or end up with short brass I don't want to use. I will just keep reloading the xtp bullets.
 
Shadow9mm said:
I like the xtp bullets, and will be buying more, dont get me wrong. I'm just not going to buy their factory 357 ammo or brass. I don't want to waste money or end up with short brass I don't want to use. I will just keep reloading the xtp bullets.
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The way to avoid the shorter brass is to not buy their Lever Revolution ammunition. I also discovered this difference in my .41 magnum.
 
jetinteriorguy said:
The way to avoid the shorter brass is to not buy their Lever Revolution ammunition. I also discovered this difference in my .41 magnum.
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think they came in some once fired I bought. however I have fired 40 XTP's as well, that are currently loaded other places. I will be measuring all brass before loading in the future, and trimming as needed.
 
The difference in length is so small, that unless you are loading at or above max, your ammo will still be safe. The issue will be to keep those cases separate and not to intermix with standard length cases. This is not just keeping case capacity the same, but to keep your crimp proper too. I am surprised that Hornady did not identify those shortened cases by a slight different headstamp like some .45ACP small primer cases have.
 
You can buy the bullets that were designed for the shorter cases!
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And the Hornady manual has load data for the FTX bullets - complete with the shortened case trim length.

But yeah, practicality becomes the issue. Not many want to deal with loading one type of ammo (357 Mag) with two different case lengths.
 
Don't throw them away ... keep them for reloading the Hornady FTX bullet ...
never know when you might want to try the FTX and you wont have to "shorten" any of your good brass .
Gary
 
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