trimming pistol

[white eagle]

brass ??
how often do you trim yer brass ?
or when do you trim it ?
or do you evah trim it ?
:Fire:

[Mal Paso]

44 Brass doesn't seem to grow or shrink

All my brass gets trimmed before first loading and never again. I'm able to hold a tolerance of about .002 so I get a consistent roll crimp and never Have To sort headstamps.

44 brass manufacturers seem to hold a .005 tolerance and I've found over .020 between manufacturers.

45 Auto guys have told me their brass shrinks but they don't have crimp issues.

All I Know.

[RobS]

Once trimmed with the revolver and then sorted into batches. I never trim my auto brass and use to trimmed the rifle brass a few times before life's end but since using the lee bottle neck FCD (Collet style) neck sizer, brass has been staying consistent and I've not trimmed them either since the initial go.

[subsonic]

I dont' have any case holders for handgun ammo for my RCBS trimmer. I have one Lee hand trimmer for my .45 Colt that I used once to see if it effected accuracy. Since I only used it once... you get the idea. I plan to experiment more now with trimming, but I have not in the past. And I have loaded a lot of ammo.

I do trim my rifle brass because I have found even brand new brass that the mouths are too long and out of square on. I'm more worried about the lack of squareness then length as long as it's less than max. You can easily see out of square if you try to just barely trim cases. The mouths will only cut on one side.

[white eagle]

I just trimmed for the first time my 45 colt brass
not sure if I will see a return on the effort

[LUCKYDAWG13]

no i dont trim pistol brass

[RobS]

I just trimmed for the first time my 45 colt brass
not sure if I will see a return on the effort

If you are planning on roll crimping the brass and they are all a bit different in length then by trimming you'll see a return with consistent crimps.

[Charlie Sometimes]

If you are using low pressure loads, you might not have to trim it for a long time, after the initial trimming- that goes for any round, not just handgun.
Pressure is what makes the brass flow.

I check my handgun brass every other firing, though, JIC.
Doesn't hurt to keep an eye on them, and get them when it is needed, and not by a set schedule.
I always trim new brass, too- they are notoriously long and uneven coming fresh from the factory packaging.

[Geraldo]

I don't believe I have ever trimmed handgun brass.

[375supermag]

I don't trim handgun brass...never needed it.
I don't even know why I have a case trimmer...it does look nice on the oak base I made for it, though.
I don't shoot enough rifle to make it worthwhile to reload...at least, that is what I keep telling myself. That will change in the next year or so. My son shoots way too much rifle to not invest in the dies and components. Just too many projects going on right now to invest the capital and time.

[bhn22]

The only time I'd trim handgun brass is if I were entering some sort of long range competition. The I would process my brass the same way I would competition rifle brass, except that I would not chamfer the case mouths,

[Bass Ackward]

Who in the heck sits on the front porch watching the cars go by trimming when it ain't needed?

On the other hand, what mad man says never? Had one of those yesterday. One bang was a fire ball and the next was nothing with recoil over his head. A blind man could hear the difference.

Turned out all cases were too long and some by as much a .022. (BEFORE SIZING!!!) And .... we didn't check them all. And they just dropped into his chambers pretty as you please.

Spot check every time. Trim when needed.

[bobthenailer]

I trim almost all of my revolver brass ..at least once in its life span more often with full loads
first i resize the brass, as they grow after sizing
then trim & deburr
I only trim auto brass or sort by length for x ring precision for a few match pistols ,

[Frank]

white eagle:
I just trimmed for the first time my 45 colt brass
not sure if I will see a return on the effort

One return you will see is when seating, the case is aligned with the crimp groove in exactly the same spot. Also, the crimp pressure will be even. One thing I don't like is when a long case crimps above groove. Brass ruined. Darn! If your brass is different lengths, then how do you know where to seat? Is the boolit seated where it's supposed to be? Trimming alleviates that problem.

[Swindler1]

white eagle:
One return you will see is when seating, the case is aligned with the crimp groove in exactly the same spot. Also, the crimp pressure will be even. One thing I don't like is when a long case crimps above groove. Brass ruined. Darn! If your brass is different lengths, then how do you know where to seat? Is the boolit seated where it's supposed to be? Trimming alleviates that problem.

Ayep;)

[MtGun44]

Never, ever. Any caliber straight case. 45 yrs, at least a bazillion rounds loaded.

Bill

[462]

Hmmm... Not long ago, I bought some once-fired .357 Magnum nickel plated brass and trimmed them. When I was done, there was quite a pile of shavings.

[fatelk]

I only trim magnum cases (.357 and .44). Maybe it doesn't need it, but I have definitely found some .357 cases especially that I trimmed quite a bit off of.

I've trimmed quite a few 9mm cases, but only because I was making them into 9mm Makarov.:)

[curiousgeorge]

Only the .357 Mag and .44 Mag cases, but especially the .357's. I have acquired a lot of once fired .357 cases from multiple sources over the years. I bought the Lee trimmer and take the time to trim each batch (about 400 - 500 cases) after I size them the first time. Do not trim them again, but sure makes seating a consistent operation. Also, seems to prevent the lilttle mouth cracks that shorten case life prematurely. For me, it is definitely worth the time up front to have a large batch of cases that seat better, last longer, and appear to have more consistent ignition. Just what works for me.

Steve

p.s. I might add that all of my .357 cases are fired with a less than max but still substantial load of 2400. I didn't mention the .44 cases above because I shoot a lot more mid-range loads out of them than full power. After my experience with the .357 and the improvements that I think that I realize, I thought I would do the .44 mag cases but they really didn't benefit to the same degree as the .357's.

[subsonic]

As mentioned above, always CHECK brass length based on max in a good book.

For .38spl or .44spl fired in .357 or .44Mag, no need to check. If they've grown that much you'd know about it by then!

[Charlie Sometimes]

I can't figure why you wouldn't check and trim your pistol brass.
Despite low pressures in some loads, it should be done.
Like Frank said, and besides, it is a safety issue- why else would they tell you to do it in all the manuals, etc.

Dangerous it becomes at some point, and you don't ever know when that point is reached until it is too late.

[That'll Do]

The only pistol brass I trim is 357 Magnum, and only when I use a particular bullet (Speer 180gr TMJ Silhouette bullet), because the bullet won't fit in my 686 when properly crimped.

All my rifle brass gets trimmed (which drives me nuts, because I shoot 1000's of rounds of 223 Remington yearly).

[MtGun44]

What you say is right if pistol brass got longer. It does not. Shorter in many cases.

Measure some, doesn't change or gets shorter. Finally figured not worth even measuring
any more, haven't measured one in at least 25 yrs.

Bill

[canyon-ghost]

I think the major concern with Pistol brass is the case neck, I've seen some that weren't straight so, the crimp is odd.

[Phillip]

With new brass, I will inspect and trim the overly long ones. And if they are used in in rifle as well, like my 45 Colt does, I will trim them every 3 to 4 reloads if they need it.

[DrB]

Never found a need with pistol, yet.

Just got done sorting by headstamp and trimming a bunch of fire-formed K-Hornet. The Winchester and Remington Peters headstamps had a largish difference in case capacity, and brass thickness. I figured after going to the trouble to fireform, anneal, sort, etc., I might as well trim 'em.

Not too many were out of spec, but I know now that they'll all be in spec, and maybe I'll get a bump to accuracy to boot.

DrB

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
I never trimmed pistol brass for about 40 yrs.
But about 2 yrs. ago I got convinced it should be done.
Since this involved 5,000- 357, & 3.000-44 brass, it was a real task, would not have done it if I did not believe it was worth it.
Do a thread search, we have discussed this topic at length. It will be enlightening.
:Fire::Fire:

[9.3X62AL]

Not a "straightwall" caliber per se, but 32-20 WCF revolver brass WILL extend upon firing, and often unevenly. 32-20 brass gets trimmed every other firing, rifle or revolver. Starline brass is not as prone to this issue as W-W and R-P, and is thicker/stronger as well.

[MtGun44]

Shows what a neckdown does, Al. Interesting report, given that the "shoulder" is
pretty minimal, but same result.

Bill

[9.3X62AL]

32-20 WCF chamber--die--and cartridge dimensions are all over the map, esp. shoulder angle and location. On the rifle brass, I partial full-length size the Starline brass, and since it goes into only one rifle this controls the stretching to some extent. I still haven't segregated Win and RP brass between the S&W and Colt revolvers, and need to do so. Throats vary, as do shoulder placements in the chambers. Once I start partial F/L sizing, I might get a better handle on case length. Maybe. It's on my List Of Crud To Do.