Unusual brass and a problem

[Curly James]

I am not sure where to post this but here it goes. I sorta inherited some primed brass from a very good friend a few months ago. It has been stored (by him) in airtight containers. The brass is nickeled. The head stamp reads WCC +P+ 79. The primer is sealed with a red sealant and from all indications this is new, primed, never fired brass. Now for the strange part. There is a line of a somewhat sticky black tar like substance inside the case mouth that is evenly applied in every case. I tried and it does make seating a lead bullet and even a jacketed bullet interesting to say the least. It can be removed (I used lighter fluid and a Q-tip) if need be but that is somewhat laborious.

I think maybe this was for a run of the old 38 Spl. round for Federal Agencies. I had some as a young LE Officer back in the early 80s that a retired treasury agent gave to me. Those were loaded with a 110 grain sjhp, and if I remember correctly, were quite warm. I also vaguely remember him telling me that the FBI?? round utilized a 125 grain sjhp.

I have seen mitary rifle brass and pulled bullets with the tarry substance in neck and on the pulled bullets but never have I seen it on pistol brass.
I am considering loading some Hornady 125 grain XTP SJHP in these, maybe using some data from the 38/44 days. To be used in my 357 magnums only of course. I will try and get some photos. The nickel tends to glare.

By the way, I have close to 1000 pieces of this stuff.

[Curly James]

Some photos if it helps

[Winger Ed.]

It is pulled apart military brass made by the Winchester Cartridge Co. in 1979.
Being +P+, it was originally loaded on the warm side.
I'd load & shoot it. To save and use the primers-- use them like they are now,
and next time around you can wash/clean the case mouth with gasoline or something to get that tar or sealant out.

Air Force MPs do- or did carry regular Steel Frame .38Spec. revolvers.
Also, Navy and Marine air crews carried a Alum. frame parkerized Colt .38Spec. when flying over 'Indian Country'.
Do a quickie search for 'Colt Aircrew .38' that was issued, it interesting.

It's good brass. I've had a bunch of it here and there.
You may or may not have to deal with the crimped primer pocket-- I can't remember.
By the time I got it, it'd already been done, or never needed to be done.

[Bazoo]

Interesting. If you want to negate the sealant for ease of loading the brass before you can clean it, you could dip the case mouth in graphite.

Thanks Winger Ed for sharing.

[BLAHUT]

That is a sealant, factory added, to keep the rounds water tight, standard in military ammo......

[Texas by God]

They probably were loaded with 130 gr FMJ bullets.


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[Curly James]

Thanks guys. From looking at the brass I don't think it ever had a bullet seated, although I am not completely sure of this. I think this due to the tarry substance not being smeared or disturbed at all.
My friend was retired military and retired LE and at one time worked for a federal agency. He was a lifetime gun buff and had accumulated some items you wouldn't believe.

Honestly, I would give quite a lot to be able to speak with him again and have him tell me how he acquired this brass. He had some fascinating life stories and was a good man.

[Rusty Goose]

The USSS used Federal +P+ sjhp in their S&W Model 15's. That stuff was/is quite hot. I have shot through my model 36 as well as my Henry big boy and Marlin 1894c. Rapid fire through the carbines really heats up the barrel.

[Bazoo]

Thanks guys. From looking at the brass I don't think it ever had a bullet seated, although I am not completely sure of this. I think this due to the tarry substance not being smeared or disturbed at all.
My friend was retired military and retired LE and at one time worked for a federal agency. He was a lifetime gun buff and had accumulated some items you wouldn't believe.

Honestly, I would give quite a lot to be able to speak with him again and have him tell me how he acquired this brass. He had some fascinating life stories and was a good man.

I agree, it looks as if it wasn't ever loaded. My condolences for the loss of your friend.

[gwpercle]

Just scrape the bullet sealant out ... I use my pocket knife and a piece of wet-or-dry abrasive paper to get most of it out .
You don't need to completely remove it ... just enough so the sealant doesn't interfere with boolit seating .

Gary

[nicholst55]

IIRC, .38 Special +P+ ammo was loaded to, or very close to, .357 Mag pressure. It was intended for use by law enforcement agencies that didn't want to deal with the negative publicity associated with carrying .357 Mag revolvers. It's been a long time ago that it was used extensively, and I don't think it was used for very long. It was introduced late in the lifespan of revolver use by LEAs. Agencies replaced their .38 revolvers with various 9mm semi-autos, and the .38 +P+ went by the wayside. I may have some of the details wrong, but that's the way that I remember it.

[1006]

I am wondering if they could be loaded, as is, with a funnel—maybe one made from the top half of a cutoff 223 casing. Use a fast powder that does not fill the case.

Or load them with rubber bullets for practice—no powder needed.

[higgins]

Some of the civilian premium self defense ammo is loaded with the black bullet sealant. Shouldn't be a problem to load jacketed bullets since that's what they were destined for. With cast the expanding plug may get gummed up but can be cleaned with something like mineral spirits. Just try it and see what happens; either way it should be gone after firing.