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DustinB wrote: They say "HC 40 180 TC" on the box. Do you have any idea what the TC stands for? .

Usually, the acronym "TC" stands for Truncated Cone. If its a jacketed bullet, it would be probably be "JTC". A truncated cone design is popular in .40 cal.

DustinB wrote:I have some bullets from the HardCast Bullet Co. They say "HC 40 180 TC" on the box. Do you have any idea what the TC stands for?

I can't say for sure without seeing the bullets, but TC usually refers to "truncated cone" and refers to the shape of the bullet.

DustinB wrote:Also they have a thin coating of some sort of greaselike material on them. When rubbed off with a rag it leaves a green tint on the rag. Any idea what this material is and if it should be rubbed off before loading?

I'm not sure, but it I've never seen a coating on a copper plated bullet.

DustinB wrote:EDIT: If these are copper plated rounds, should I use the same loads listed for FMJ rounds? The only charge listings I see are JHP, FMJ, and lead rounds.

When using copper plated bullets, I use the load data for cast bullets. There is a difference between pure lead bullets and alloys like the Lyman #2. The alloys are harder and can effect a particular loads performance, but most manuals do not distinguish between pure lead and alloy bullets in their loading charts.

Regards,
Chas.

Everything seems to be going great with my reloading. I've gotten fairly quick while still properly checking powder levels. Got a couple of questions for you guys.

I have around 300 cases that I've reloaded and fired. My reloading manual doesn't seem to have a whole lot on checking cases. Are there some specific things I need to look for to check for imminent case failure to make sure I don't reload any bad cases? Basically to know when the cases have reached the end of their life after reloading so many times.

On average how many times should I be able to load a once fired 40S&W case?

And Finally, I've heard of alot of people separating their cases by brands and only loading each brand per batch. I just got 2000 cases from ebay and I'm wondering if I should divide them all by brands or if it really even matters. If so is there a reason for doing this?

Thanks

DustinB wrote:My reloading manual doesn't seem to have a whole lot on checking cases. Are there some specific things I need to look for to check for imminent case failure to make sure I don't reload any bad cases? Basically to know when the cases have reached the end of their life after reloading so many times.

It's difficult to accurately predict case failure with most calibers. I load 20 to 1 .45 ACP to all other calibers combined. I almost never see a sign of an impending case failure in a .45 ACP case. Failures are always the same - the case splits. When pouring the cases out of the tumbler and into the "ready" box, I look for splits and throw them away. There are very few.

Higher pressure calibers like 40 S&W and 38 Super can sometimes show excessive bulging close to the base/rim of the case. While a resizing die will bring them back into spec., a larger than normal bulge is one sign of high pressure and a possible sign of impending failure. How much bulge is excessive is something you learn by experience, so this may not be of much help. Also, flattened primers are another sign of high pressure, but it's not a sign of impending case failure.

DustinB wrote:On average how many times should I be able to load a once fired 40S&W case?

Sorry, I don't load enough 40's to have a good estimate. However, if you don't try to squeeze the max. velocity possible out of each round, the cases should last for several cycles. With .45 ACP, I discard more cases because of dings in the rims caused by the extractor over time than a case failure.

DustinB wrote:And Finally, I've heard of alot of people separating their cases by brands and only loading each brand per batch. I just got 2000 cases from ebay and I'm wondering if I should divide them all by brands or if it really even matters. If so is there a reason for doing this?

Bench rest shooters and Bullseye shooters do this, mere mortals don't. Seriously, I never separate cases for the type of shooting that I do. If I was a Bullseye shooter, I might, but that's too close to work.

Regards,
Chas.

I just recieved a 10lb bag of untreated corn cob media that I ordered from ebay. Is it necessary to add brass polish or anything to it or will it work just fine untreated? Also, I have a bottle of Lyman media reactivator. I know it's for restoring used media, but can it be used as an additive? Does it contain brass polish? Can't seem to find any detailed info on this product.

Media will clean the brass w/ out polish. They will not look as beautiful. I don't worry too much about keeping the polish in mine as some others do. Reloads are for practice. Cosmetics don't bother me on about anything. I don't know about the media reactivator. I will kearn something about that as the long time reloaders post.