Trimming handgun brass

[DCP]

I was told by a knowledgeable re-loader trimming handgun brass was a waste of time.
Said it wont hurt anything but its not necessary.

Said it not like rifle brass

So do you trim or not?

[DeanWinchester]

I've heard that too.

I trim everything. Reloading is my hobby and passion. I just as soon reload as shoot most days. I use Lee's trim tools and a mini lathe. Once I build a rhythm, I can get it done quick, trimming, deburring in/out all in one set up. I measure all my cases and any more than about three thousandths over the trim length of the lee gauge gets trimmed.
If it's unnecessary or excessive, so be it.

[cbrick]

Hhmmm . . . More the oposite I think. Rifle brass not being crimped doesn't need to be trimmed as long as it's not at or over SAAMI max length so that chambering it doesn't jam the case mouth and crimp the bullet thus not allowing it to exit freely and thus building pressure.

Rifle brass that does get crimped needs to be trimmed to a uniform length for exactly the same reason that handgun brass getting a crimp should be trimmed. If brass length is not uniform the amount of crimp applied is not uniform.

Rick

[462]

I trim. In the past, I've been surprised by the various lengths of .357 Magnum brass, and this week, a new batch of 8X57 Mauser brass had a number of long cases. All range pick-up brass that I plan on using gets trimmed.

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
I have reloaded for 40+ yrs. with out trimming pistol brass.
I did trim rifle brass.
About 3 yrs. ago I was convinced pistol brass needed trimming. It took me several weeks to trim them all. I did about 8,000 cases. I would not have done all that work if I was not convinced it was necessary.
Do a thread search on this subject, & you will be convinced too.:Fire::Fire:

[ElDorado]

It depends on the cartridge. For autos, such as 9mm, 45 ACP, and 40 S&W, I don't trim. In fact, quite often I find that once-fired cases are shorter than the saami minimum length. I use a taper crimp on those and length isn't that critical.

For revolver cartridges, I'll trim as needed and my method is similar to DeanWinchester - Lee's tool and a mini-lathe. I use a roll crimp in my revolvers.

Jeff

[hedgehorn]

< has never trimmed a straight wall pistol case. I didnt know any better but never had an issue.

[MtGun44]

I never trim straight wall brass that will be TCed. It can be useful to trim brass that will be
roll crimped for a more consistent crimp.

40+ yrs and never have seen an overlength .45 ACP, but have noticed that current brass is
much closer to normal SAAMI spec length than was the case 25 yrs ago. Then you never saw
a .45 ACP case get anywhere NEAR the std length, let alone too long.

Not trimming brass is a serious safety issue with bottleneck rifle cartridges, and at best a
minor issue of crimp consistency with pistol brass. I have personally witnessed 3 .223 rifles
destroyed by overlength brass in handloaded cartridges with moderate, not even max load
charges.

Bill

[kmag]

I check and trim all rifle brass, but not handgun (strait wall). A while back I was testing loads in a 357 and trimmed about 1000 357 and 38sp cases. Fired some of them against untrimmed cases and found no difference in accuracy as long as they were loaded with the same load and boolet. They were fired from a ransom rest across a chronograph into a target. It seems to me that strait wall auto cases shorten with firing.

[ku4hx]

The last time I trimmed straight walled pistol brass was circa 1971. Never looked back and never regretted going trimless.

[Tom Ruley]

I hope I'm not hijacking this thread if I ask about annealing pistol brass. I've got
some 38s that I don't know how many times they have been reloaded.
Tom

[bobthenailer]

I trim all revolver brass a few times during its life , it is very benfical when useing a roll crimp , not quite as critical when useing a taper crimp on revolver brass. but i do it anyway . resize your brass before trimming in most cases it will grow about .010 after sizing .
Im intrested in only the most Accurate ammo i can produce reguardless of what caliber im shooting for plinking / hunting / or match shooting, ive even sorted auto pistol brass to get a liltle bit better accuracy , but there taper crimped . I also use the same lot number of brass for matches and use a certian brand of brass for each different load i use in every caliber of handgun i load for. but ive had 40+ years to accumulate brass . i never shoot mixed headstamped brass in the same load.

[dakotashooter2]

Sometimes it is necessary. I have a Taurus revolver which has a slightly shorter cylinder than my Ruger. At least one of the bullets I use fits the Ruger no matter what but just barely fits the Taurus. If I don't keep the cases at an even length and occasional one would be too long for the Taurus cylinder. Since I want to be able to use them in both guns I have to watch the length.

[sargenv]

I'd gotten to the point of needing to trim 357 magnum brass and 10 mm auto brass when fired multiple times in my 610. At one point, the 10 mm brass was so long, the cylinder wouldn't close.

[oldfart1956]

Admittadly I'm just a reloader...not a handloader, but how would you ever get a consistant crimp without trimming? I know the Lee FCD would work but with boolits I assume it would also gammahooch the boolit by sizing it down along with case neck. I'm only refrencing straightwall pistol cases of course but even my 45/70 reloads wouldn't crimp right if the lengths were all over the place. I just use the Lee trimmer an chuck it in the drill and hold it over a garbage can an spin away. So someone correct me if I'm wrong but if some of the cases were short I assume it would never even reach the crimper in the die....eh? Audie...the puzzled Oldfart...

[ph4570]

I trim to get consistent case belling and crimping. I wish to bell the cases no more than absolutely necessary. Having all cases the same length aids in that goal. The same goes for crimping just enough to remove the belling.

[tuckerdog]

I trim when lenght says trim rifle or handgun, usually after a few firings. I mic brass everytime I load if needs trim do it if not load away

[sqlbullet]

I shoot 10mm auto in pistol almost exclusively, and they shrink over time for me, but not by much. I have a friend who says his 30 carbine brass grows a fair bit.

Consistent crimp is relatively easy for taper crimp straight wall cases. If I was roll-crimping I might think different.

[SkookumJeff]

I trim straight wall cartridge cases if the cases are not consistent in length. I learned some time back that Starline brass comes new with very consistent length +/- .001 for the brass I've purchased. Same for the .45/70 brass I've bought from them too, which means no need to trim. Other brands, I can't get consistent lengths so I trim, once. After trimming I never need to trim again. That's the difference in straight wall versus bottle neck. Straight wall cases don't grow in length when shot. Not in my experience anyway.

[MtJerry]

I used to NEVER trim handgun brass until I noticed that I had several lots of brass that were different lengths. Not terrible .. but enough to give me inconsistant crimps.

I trimmed all my current and subsequently new .357 brass to 1.275. I can load the RD 175 and all other molds and still keep my current load data.

Works for me ... your mileage may vary.