FrankenMauser
New member
It's interesting that the author in that link assumes the colors other-than-white were rare, since he never saw one "in the wild". At one point in time, my "collection" had at least 50 of the plastic .38 cases... ...mostly black (not shot shells, though most of the shot shells were black, as well). There were even a few of the red and (light) blue cases in the mix, and orange under a different brand.
Perhaps I just happened to clean up after the only shooter in the Western U.S., that had some of the other colors...
I also find it interesting, that those photos don't show anything, and the author never says anything about the printing that was present on the cases I had (I distinctly remember the USAC head stamp on the white, black, and red cases). The plastic body had been printed in black, for white, red, and blue cases; and had been printed in white, for black cases. All it was, was the type of bullet. I don't recall if they used abbreviations or full words, but it would have been something like, "158 GR SWC" or "158 GR RN".
But, as I said before; they became very brittle over time. The cases (and pieces) were slowly thrown away, until the last 15-20 were just aluminum case heads floating around in a bag of plastic chips. ...Which was unceremoniously tossed into the trash can.
Plastic cases can be acceptable for single-use loads, at a (seemingly) low price, in low pressure cartridges. But they don't hold up well, over time; and most types are not reloadable.
The plastic-cased .223 stuff is another example of the issues plastics present. They had to mold the case neck around the bullet (with an extra-deep cannelure), to keep the neck thin enough to chamber. The case was then charged from the rear, and had the case head "snapped" into place. That's why many shooters that used it had quite a few case heads pull off; leaving the plastic body in the chamber of their rifle. Poor reliability is not an attribute most people look for in ammunition. ....And chambering one of the plastic cases in a hot rifle is a whole 'nother problem.
Perhaps I just happened to clean up after the only shooter in the Western U.S., that had some of the other colors...
I also find it interesting, that those photos don't show anything, and the author never says anything about the printing that was present on the cases I had (I distinctly remember the USAC head stamp on the white, black, and red cases). The plastic body had been printed in black, for white, red, and blue cases; and had been printed in white, for black cases. All it was, was the type of bullet. I don't recall if they used abbreviations or full words, but it would have been something like, "158 GR SWC" or "158 GR RN".
But, as I said before; they became very brittle over time. The cases (and pieces) were slowly thrown away, until the last 15-20 were just aluminum case heads floating around in a bag of plastic chips. ...Which was unceremoniously tossed into the trash can.
Plastic cases can be acceptable for single-use loads, at a (seemingly) low price, in low pressure cartridges. But they don't hold up well, over time; and most types are not reloadable.
The plastic-cased .223 stuff is another example of the issues plastics present. They had to mold the case neck around the bullet (with an extra-deep cannelure), to keep the neck thin enough to chamber. The case was then charged from the rear, and had the case head "snapped" into place. That's why many shooters that used it had quite a few case heads pull off; leaving the plastic body in the chamber of their rifle. Poor reliability is not an attribute most people look for in ammunition. ....And chambering one of the plastic cases in a hot rifle is a whole 'nother problem.
