Home Forums Reloading Handgun Reloading .38 spl cases with a slight buckle when the bullet is seated.

I have a bunch of 158 gr. jacketed bullets for my .38 spl brass.. I loaded 50 or so before Christmas, and just got around to shooting some of them accuracy was good. But some of the cases had a slight buckle about 1/2 way down the case. Not sure of the cause. I used to load 140s, and don't remember this happening. What do I need to adjust? I have thought of loading the bullets and avoiding the crimp and seating the bullets out to .357 length. Sierra at one time told me this would be no problem.. Haven't done it for years. Just wondering what others think. Thanks..

Back your die out 1/4 turn.

Thanks!!

If you’re seating and crimping in one operation it’s easy to cause that buckle. I’ve done the same thing. Seating then crimping separately adds another stroke to the operation but avoids this problem.

Can you take a picture of the buckle? Your cases should not be buckled, however it is normal to see the transition from the bottom of the bullet to the rest of the sized case. You should be roll crimping into the cannelure for the correct cartridge overall length (COAL). A buckled case would suggest that expanding/case mouth belling was not performed.

That’s why I use a Lee Factory Crimp Die for all my handgun reloads.
What Hawkeye is referring to I’ve experienced loading 380’s and some 9mm’s. In my case I believe it was caused from different brass thicknesses.

Lyman 'M' series die is what ya need for any pistol round to avoid case wrinkle/buckles

Then the Lee FCD as mentioned...especially in semi autos...they will run slick as snot

Link shown at Larry's store...I use one in every pistol round along with the Lee FCD

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1011246697?pid=129697

as has been said seating and crimping in two separate moves is best ..
but if one wants to seat and crimp in one , don't try to crimp too much and keep in mind uniform trim length is key in nice even uniform crimps . uniform crimps are a help in accuracy .
I should know that doing in one step works best with the certain bullets like a semi-wad cutter where you have a step for the case mouth to roll into.. heavy jacketed bullets especially without a crimping ring. are much more finicky about this

Many thanks.

Probably a slight variation in case lengths. Usually you can back the die off a bit and still have a decent crimp on the shorter cases.