Dents in .38 casing from revolver

[weasleish]

Hey guys, i was shooting my S/W 686 .357 last week and had some troubles with a few rounds. I reload my own .38 special and use those, i had one case split completely and a few more that showed dents to the tip. I read up that the dents can happen with semi's due to the ejector, but what is causing it with my revolver? Would they still be safe to reload, guessing the brass will go back to correct size while i'm reloading it but wanted to make sure. Anything i can do or focus on to stop the splits or the dents? I've attached two pictures to show what i mean.

[rc42]

Is this happening on all chambers in the cylinder or just one?

In order to deform outwards there must be a cavity of some sort for the brass to expand into, splitting is generally caused by the brass expanding too far before reaching the chamber wall when the huge detonation pressure goes off inside it.
Old brass can split in a normal chamber if its been re-used too many times as the cycling makes it more brittle but that dent really does seem to indicate that there is a chamber problem.

[trekin]

I would stop shooting with that pistol, immediately, until you have had the chambers checked for spliting/cracks, and until the covid 19 restrictions are lifted and your allowed back to the range.

[Blr243]

Never seen that before. Weird. Would love to see some good close up pics of the condition of the inside of the cylinders ( ubviously from front of cylinder)

[No1Mk3]

G'day weasleish,
Welcome to the forum. I have had dents exactly like yours as a result of insufficient case flare during reloading and also from too much flare causing the seating die to gouge the case mouth. The split case is a consequence of the dent from where it propagated. Have you carefully checked all your reloads for case mouth damage, it does not need much to cause the problem I see. Another possibility would be a carbon build up in one or more chambers, this should be easy to see with a torch and a magnifying glass. It is a common problem with constant use of 38spl in a 357mag, and one of my Pythons wouldn't accept 357 rounds after a few months of 38's and needed the chambers scrubbed with a stainless brush and carbon solvent. If all looks good with your ammo, and you can't see any defect in your cylinders, then a visit to a revolver experienced gunsmitth is your next step, Cheers.

[weasleish]

Attached some pictures of the cylinder. This is as was after shooting, haven't cleaned it yet. It's not very dirty, doesn't have any visible markers or damage, barrel looks great no dents/bumps/distortions. I'll answer a few of the questions best i can.
Seems to only be one chamber, it dented a single round on some cycle's, not all.
It's not old brass, only been reloaded twice, three times max, i shoot 9mm more often than this.
Being new to reloading i'll hope its a case flaring issue and i'll watch my weights and crimps on the next batch.

Could the split just be from either weak brass, or would it be something like too much powder, or bullet seated too far/not enough? I'm using low powder weights, do i need to seat my projectile all the way into the case due to this?

[Sarco]

I would suggest the split like that is likely from old cases, not a major issue, it happens.

As to the damaged case mouths, the only time I have is seen similar is when cases have not been positioned correctly and caught on the side of the die during reloading.

I would be very doubtful if anything to do with the cylinder would cause this but, I would have thought that the rounds would be noticeably tight to insert into the cylinder with that type of damage prior to insertion.

I suggest just keeping an eye on the reloading process and any cases that are damaged in any way, discard them. In the scheme of things cases are relatively cheap and last a good while while only loading target loads.

[wrenchman]

how many times have you loaded that brass that is signs of loading to many times throw them out its why i check all my brass when i load if it dont look right throw it out.
i have a lot of brass and some are realy old and i load it to i can load it any more

[wanneroo]

Lets have some pictures of your loaded ammo.

[ob1]

The dent is happening on the reloading press.

There is no way that you or the revolver could apply enough force to make that sort of deformation during insertion of the round into the cylinder or during cycling and firing.

[Southpaw]

The dent is happening on the reloading press.

There is no way that you or the revolver could apply enough force to make that sort of deformation during insertion of the round into the cylinder or during cycling and firing.

Ditto