Do I need to trim my .38 brass after sizing it?

[Andyt591]

I'm new to this. I understood that 2 things will stretch the case; firing it and the sizing die so I just assumed I had to trim it as well. If I seriously don't have to trim it, then I'll go ahead and bell it all so I can finish reloading it. Someone please explain?

[bmortell]

I don't think I ever trimmed a 38 or 44 case. id only do it if theres too much variance and your getting uneven crimps

[Andyt591]

Thank you. I'll measure a few of them and see where they're at.

[Tom W.]

I trimmed some .44 cases while I was recuperating from surgery and extremely bored. I've never been that bored since.

[Walks]

Depends on the brass, the way you size it and how heavy a load you load in it.
You can use a taper crimp and not have to worry about crimping in the Bullets crimping groove.

Max loads will make a case grow. I learned this when loading for Metallic Silhouette.
But you can bypass this by taper crimping.

Hope I haven't confused you too much.

[Andyt591]

Depends on the brass, the way you size it and how heavy a load you load in it.
You can use a taper crimp and not have to worry about crimping in the Bullets crimping groove.

Max loads will make a case grow. I learned this when loading for Metallic Silhouette.
But you can bypass this by taper crimping.

Hope I haven't confused you too much.

Thank you. I think tomorrow evening I will bell it and then start loading it on Wednesday.

[AntiqueSledMan]

Hello Andy,

Without trimming you might see some difference in your bell.
Also while seating & crimping, you might get a bulge if your brass is to long.

AntiqueSledMan.

[Newboy]

If the cases are not the same length, the crimp will not be uniform.


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[Petrol & Powder]

While the length of the casing can affect the crimp, I cannot remember the last time I trimmed a 38 Special case.

Straight walled handgun cartridges rarely, if ever, need to be trimmed.

On top of that, the 38 Special is one of the most forgiving cartridges to reload.

[dverna]

While the length of the casing can affect the crimp, I cannot remember the last time I trimmed a 38 Special case.

Straight walled handgun cartridges rarely, if ever, need to be trimmed.

On top of that, the 38 Special is one of the most forgiving cartridges to reload.

Agree 100%. Shot 10's of thousands of .38's and never trimmed a case. For optimum accuracy, I would taper crimp and that is what I did years ago when shooting Bullseye. I not longer have the Star, and use a 1050 with the Dillon dies now and use a standard crimp.

Rifle brass is a different story

[725]

Brass reload needs to be in-spec. Trimming is never a bad idea, but is rarely needed with a straight wall pistol round. If shooting for perfection, make as many items in your assembly absolutely consistent as possible, but in the real world anything in-spec is fine.

[Petrol & Powder]

Brass reload needs to be in-spec. Trimming is never a bad idea, but is rarely needed with a straight wall pistol round. If shooting for perfection, make as many items in your assembly absolutely consistent as possible, but in the real world anything in-spec is fine.

/\ This pretty much sums up my thoughts /\

I have trimmed handgun brass but it was a loooooong time ago. I came to the conclusion that it just wasn't worth the time and effort.

[bbogue1]

When I trimmed 38 and 9mm I was hoping to improve accuracy. No change so I quit trimming straight walled cases. I taper crimp the 9mm and do a slight roll crimp on my 38, only because the 38 is revolver loads. I do agree the case should be kept within specs and I stay away from max loads. Welcome Andy to Cast Boolits. I have found exceptional knowledge here. Keep posting and reading, I can't tell you how much these experts have kept me out of trouble.

[country gent]

I trimmed 38 bullseye brass to square the mouth and improve the light crimp on wadcutters. The square mouth aids accuracy and crimp as does the constant length also helps. For blasting ammo no.

Most manuals give 2 case lengths the max length and the trim to length. Measure a sampling if the brass and see where it falls in this range. Then decide

[onelight]

No I don't , use bullets with a crimp grove and adjust bullet seating to crimp in the center of the grove use a moderate crimp I was very picky for many years and still am when needed for some purposes but for casual paper punching under 25 yards I can't tell any difference .

[Texas by God]

I have been loading for 47 years and I've never trimmed any handgun brass.

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[robg]

i dont trim straight wall cases.tried it once .

[LIMPINGJ]

I’m with TbG on never trimmed, has worked for 50 years. I never shot bullseye though. Or autos as much as revolvers.

[Conditor22]

I never trim handgun brass, BUT I do on occasion true/square off the ends. If you're going for the best accuracy you can get without going "overboard", sort your brass by headstamp and true the ends

[Jruby38]

Waste of time to trim and sort by headstamp. You won't notice any difference. Just shoot it until it splits.