Factory once fired brass to short

[Evoken]

Not sure where to put this so I'll try here.

I'm getting ready to run a bunch of .223 through the dillon. They are no reload federal brass. I am finding that the brass is already shorter than trim length, most of it anyway. Trim is 1.75, I'm coming up with 1.745 and some even shorter.
What do you guys do when you run into this? Do you painstakingly measure every piece to find the shortest one and trim all to that length? Or do you just set at 1.75 and just chamfer the short ones that don't get cut?
Of course for some reason federal feels the need to crimp their primers, so that just adds another step.... as far as I'm concerned this is unnecessary. Since I have never had a reload back out a primer unless the pocket is slapped out.

[jetinteriorguy]

Are you measuring before or after sizing?

[ioon44]

Just shoot it, the brass will be longer next time you load it.

[Evoken]

After sizing of course. I am planning on shooting it either way.

[Evoken]

Ended up just trimming the ones that needed it, and chamfering the ones that are too short. I'm sure they will grow up over the next loading or 2.

[ReloaderFred]

I just set the trimmer (Dillon 1200 motor driven) to the trim to depth and run them through. They're going to stretch the next time they're fired, so I don't worry about it.

The reason Federal crimps their primers on .223 is they do so many government contracts they just use the same machines for loading their .223/5.56 ammunition. Government contracts require that the primers be crimped in place so an errant primer doesn't jam up a fully automatic firearm at the most inopportune moment.:dung_hits_fan:

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Conditor22]

I've found a few once fired brass that was too short. anything to save a buck :(

It may take a few firing to get them back to length, some were soo short I just tossed them.

[JimB..]

For plinking ammo I generally ignore it.

[Dusty Bannister]

Not a new problem. This is a link to a 5 year old thread discussing short Federal Cases.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/archive/index.php/t-266697.html

[yovinny]

Its not just Federal.
I just ran a 1k batch of once fired Speer .223 off a police range,, none needed a trim.
All the ones I measured were between 1.735-1.748
And their crimped primer brass too,, which was unexpected.

[Winger Ed.]

I've run into several like that I scrounge at the range.

I set up my trimmer, run everything through after FL sizing, and see several that come up short.

Since I taper crimp, I quit thinking about them.

[Taterhead]

1.745? Load 'em with confidence.

[Evoken]

Got them all loaded up, ran 250 pcs. Used almost a whole pound of varget. These should be pretty good rounds, 50gr nosler bt varmint, 25gr varget, fed primers, 2.260".
Hopefully get to test some of them today against some of my other loads

[Ed_Shot]

I can live with 1.745 but the few I find at 1.740" get turned into 300 BO.

[dragon813gt]

If it’s all I had I would load them. Otherwise turn them into 300 BLK if you have more. I recently tried pretty much every trimmer design that’s like the WFT. Ended up w/ brass as short as 1.730 and the rest were all over the place. I consider the around 200 cases as scrap even though a lot of them are around 1.745. Have thousands more so there’s no point in using them at this point.

[Taterhead]

Coincidentally, for the use with an RCBS X die, the instructions call for an initial trim to 1.74".

[LinotypeIngot]

1.760-.020 is acceptable per SAAMI. Just load 'em.

[1hole]

Load your cases and shoot them. Like book COAL numbers, book "trim to __ " length is not a requirement. It's just a suggested common sense .010" (usually) less than SAAMI's max case length.

[tomme boy]

Its not just Federal.
I just ran a 1k batch of once fired Speer .223 off a police range,, none needed a trim.
All the ones I measured were between 1.735-1.748
And their crimped primer brass too,, which was unexpected.

Federal owns Speer so there is your answer.

[tomme boy]

Got them all loaded up, ran 250 pcs. Used almost a whole pound of varget. These should be pretty good rounds, 50gr nosler bt varmint, 25gr varget, fed primers, 2.260".
Hopefully get to test some of them today against some of my other loads

2.26" may be too long for feeding in a AR mag.

[Evoken]

2.26 is max length. I tested several in a mag and they loaded and cycled just fine. The coal of 2.26 is what nosler states this bullet should be set at, so that is what I used.

[Loudy13]

Love federal brass due to not having to trim it the first time and sometimes not the second time

[Lloyd Smale]

like was said it wont hurt a thing.

[1hole]

2.26 is max length. I tested several in a mag and they loaded and cycled just fine. The coal of 2.26 is what nosler states this bullet should be set at, so that is what I used.

Weeeell ... it's a bit more flexible than "should be." Book seating depths (OAL) are what the team that developed the printed data used for that bullet in their own rifle so there's really no "should" be about it. In fact, if we stick to book info for everything we do we may as well use factory ammo!

One of the best justifications for handloading is that we can custom develop our own cartridges. Seating depth is one of the most critical factors in obtaining good vs. great accuracy so a bit of OAL experimentation in YOUR rig and its chamber and bore can pay big dividends on YOUR targets.