.38 super brass types

[diversmith]

Been setting aside different .38 super brass from my range pickups for awhile. I am interested in knowing the differences between all of the different headstamps....i.e. super, super comp...I think some of them are even stamped TJ or something like that. Are they all the same? Or are there subtle differences?

I don't own any guns in this caliber but want to know so I can separate the good brass correctly for trade or sale in the future rather than just scrap it (what a waste if it's good brass)

thanks for the help

[Guy Neill]

The 38 Super is a semi-rimmed casing. Others, such as the TJ, Super Comp, and some others are rimless versions, but otherwise trying to duplicate the Super.

Guy

[superdude]

see here:

http://38super.net/Pages/Brass.html

[diversmith]

see here:

http://38super.net/Pages/Brass.html

Interesting reading....thanks!

Sooo....bottom line, which rimless types are compatible? Seems like I am seeing more of the super comp and TJ marked brass with a little of the Armscor stuff in there as well. Do those 3 all run in the same gun?

[superdude]

All three of those rimless types should run in the same gun. I don't know what the rim dimensions of the Armscor rimless are, so I can't say how they stack up to Super Comp and TJ. Measure them to see. The TJ brass have a deeper/longer extractor groove than the Super Comp. Any Lapua 38 Super brass you find are truely rimless, whereas the Super Comp and TJ have an itsy-bitsy rim - about .006 inches - which is still much smaller than the stadard semi-rimmed 38 Super brass - .020 inches.

[Steve RA]

It's all good, and valuable trading material. Or sales material if you can collect enough of it.

[bikerburgess]

the biggest difference I have noticed is the Hornady TJ brass has a slightly smaller rim than the Starline TJ brass. The Starline TJ, and all the other rimless and rimmed versions all run through fine in my regular super shell plate (rcbs) but the Hornady TJ pops out when I prime it. I am running 38 super in minor for a 1911 in single stack and witness in production and I run a mixture of all the 38 super size brasses and they all work fine in my guns.

Mike

[mda]

Some guns will run with both. Difference is in the extractor. Super should rim should ride on the extractor, Super comp/TJ extractor tip rides on the grove. The TJ brass has a slightly different groove dim and thicker web at the base then SC.