38 Super Auto

Wineman wrote: ... Series 70 from the mid 1980's... I do seem to an occasional failure to eject. The case is still over the chamber and gets stovepiped as the slide returns to battery. This generally ruins the case mouth by tearing it. The factory magazine did not do this with factory stuff but a Kimber magazine did. I left it loaded for a couple of months and it seems to have settled down. However with the cast handloads both magazines did FTE a couple of times.  The cases are trimmed and I try to shoot them by brand, I used a LEE FCD post seating. Any suggestions?

I have been using a NEI #131A 0.358-125 sized to 0.356 of ACWW. I am not sure of the lube but I purchased these from Daniel at the Bull-Shop. They feed well and shoot fine at 50 feet. Sounds like you are getting low recoil impulse so that slide travel is slower and you aren't getting positive enough ejection for the case to clear before the slide returns forward.  A heavier bullet will help this.  Kimber mag may have a heavier spring, whereas that in the older mag was weaker.  Increased slide drag caused by increased magazine spring tension is slowing slide velocity.  See if the Kimber mag works if you load only 5 rounds.

You need to check and see if you may have one of the later barrels set up to headspace on the case mouth.  If so, you should not crimp, but use the FCD only to profile round diameter to ensure easy chambering and to remove all mouth flare. 

You will probably get better groups with .357 bullets, or even .358 if they chamber OK in your barrel.  With the H&G SWC I would size bullets .358 and adjust how much of the driving band shoulder to seat outside the case mouth to take up end-play of the round in the chamber.  At 50 feet you should be shooting a ragged hole from an accurzied gun if set up to HS on the case mouth with Bar-Sto or similar match barrel.  Groups will be double that with ordinary .38 Super barrel which headspaces on the semi-rim.  In the .38 Super NM I expected approximately inch groups at 25 yards and under 3" shooting standing with elevated rest at 50 yards with my best loads back when my eyes were young and I was in full battle trim.