Starline 38TJ Brass Question

[Joseph796]

The Starline Website does not have any information about its 38 TJ brass. Is this a new caliber or can it be used as a substitute for 38 Super Comp or 38 Super +P? I think the TJ in 39 TJ stands for Todd J. Thanks.

[al503]

I've never seen a Starline 38 TJ but I have used Hornady TJ's and they are rimless (interchangeable with 38 Supercomp, AP rimless, and 38 Super Lapua.)

[scirocco38s]

Hornady sold starline the rights to make TJ brass. I still use tj as well as supercomp. To the gun they are essentially the same thing. I thinks the tj is a little stronger but the supercomp works as lasts just as long since the power factor dropped to 165. I do not think you can even find mention of 38TJ brass in Hornadys catalogs or website.

[shred]

Starline 38 TJ is, in all important respects, identical to Hornady 38 TJ. I've shot tens of thousands of each case, each reloaded many times over.

Rimless with a slightly larger and deeper extractor cut than Supercomp (though Supercomp is trending that direction recently), and much more so than AP rimless and Lapua.

Most any gun that runs Supercomp will run TJ just fine, and vice-versa. Some guns setup for TJ won't be happy with Lapua & AP unless the extractor is thinned some.

[superdude]

a wee bit of technical information regarding 38TJ brass (and other 38 super brass) can be found at:

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

[shred]

a wee bit of technical information regarding 38TJ brass (and other 38 super brass) can be found at:

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

Pretty useful stuff (what, no case volume?). If that's your site, there's one part that could be updated:

The extractor groove of 38 TJ cases also extends farther forward than all other 38 Super cases. This provides more room for the head of the extractor.

Todd told me once that part of the reason for the far-forward extractor groove was so the sizing die could size all of the actual case instead of missing the tiny bit at the bottom, and thus eliminating the issue of the little ridge that can build up there on much-used brass.

[AlamoShooter]

Starline 38 TJ is, in all important respects, identical to Hornady 38 TJ. I've shot tens of thousands of each case, each reloaded many times over.

+1 for me but I have only shot 1/2 what Shred shoots = I like my TJ Hornady & starline TJ that I save it for Steel Challenge type events so that I get it back.

I like that the web does not get marked up as much from the extractor

[superdude]

Hi shred, thanks for the input. case volume information is planned, though i don't have a good way to measure it at the present.

The notion of enhancing the sized area of the case is a good one. I plan to ask Todd about this brass and if he'd like to write an article about it to post on the website.

as you might suspect, i have lots of plans but seem slow to getting around to them. the story of my life.

[Scout454]

superdude:

Take clean cases of each type and weigh them.

Fill them with water and weigh them again. That will give you the case "volume".

If you weigh different headstamps - particularly in Super - you will see different volumes. Generally, the heavier the case, the lower the volume.

[superdude]

Scout454, thanks for the instructions. i'll give that a try.