To Case trim or not

[BUFFALOW RED]

So how long do we let our cases get before we trim them?
I'm working up some 45 ACP cases and I see in the Lee manual the lenght is supposed to be.898
The Lee length tool cuts to .887
Seems to short.
I measured some before trimming they're at .888

So how much is to long?
How much is too short?
Seems mine are to short.

[jonjon00]

After 5 full power reloads on some 45acp and 41magnum brass had not stretched them beyond what they were after one firing I stopped measuring them. I have not trimmed a single piece of handgun brass in 10 years.

Sent from my G8441 using Tapatalk

[Brass&Lead]

SAMMI says maximum .45ACP case length is 0.898, minimum is 0.888:2gunsfiring_v1:

[BUFFALOW RED]

So the Lee length tool is .001 to short

[David2011]

Most .45 ACP is short of spec anyway. I have never seen one that was too long and have absolutely never trimmed any of that cartridge. I have some that has been reloaded and shot so many times that the headstamps are battered and unreadable and they haven’t stretched.

[RogerDat]

I trim straight walled pistol brass one time, just to have a consistent crimp. Once they are all the same from my initial trim I figure they will stretch the same amount, or close enough. I'm mostly dealing with range p/u or 1x fired brass. New brass has generally measured consist enough I haven't felt the need. Less work to tweak the crimp die to match the new brass than to trim it. Trimming brass is a necessary evil, possibly my least favorite step in reloading. Try to reserve that work for brass with shoulders that are more likely to require it.

[country gent]

I trim new brass to even it all up for consistent crimps and belling. Hand gun seldom needs it again rifle may. I check a lot of things on brass both new and reloaded. I also check neck wall thickness, flash hole size, primer pocket depth, occasionally weight ( here on a new to me manufacturer ), In rimmed rifle rounds I also check rim thickness.

[flint45]

I have been reloading 45 ACP for a long long time and I have never trimmed a single case and have never encountered any problems doing so. I don’t think I could stand to trim that many cases. I have thousands and thousands of them so I’ve been reloaded so many times you can barely read the headstamp.

[Bazoo]

I don't trim 45 acp, but I've also noticed the occasional case that the crimp die fails to remove all the flair. Guess those are a bit short. If I was making ammo for self defense for 45 I'd separate by headstamp and trim all of them to a consistent length. That length would be as long as I can get them as they shrink with usage.

Pistol brass shrinks unless you are running pressures at full 44 mag or higher. At those pressure levels the brass grabs tight enough to the chamber walls to stretch a bit, but not always. Some get stretching and some don't. Probably has to do with how much headspace the particular guns have.

I do trim straight walled rimmed cases that get a roll crimp, once for consistency. Though if you separate by headstamp, normally they are close enough that its okay.

[Mk42gunner]

IF, great big IF, I were loading .45 ACP for bullseye matches, and could shoot good enough to tell the difference then I might think about trimming the brass; some people on here that I really respect say that it can make a difference.

Since most of my shooting anymore isn't nearly that accuracy dependent, I don't bother.

Also I think it only really matters if you are roll crimping, taper crimp is pretty forgiving about a few thousandths of an inch variation in length.

Robert

[DDriller]

I have never trimmed straight walled pistol brass.

[Finster101]

I am among those who have never trimmed pistol brass.

[brassrat]

I sort/ trim everything but 9mm and .380 but sort all by headstamp, even the LC .5.56 dates. When the plastic 50 or 100 box is full it is mostly ready. There are subtle differences in stamping that need to be kept together, especially Fed .38:)

[BUFFALOW RED]

Ok Thanks

[Bazoo]

I too once didn't trim or sort pistol brass. I also had buckled cases on the long ones, and hardly a crimp on the short ones. Ive measured 38 special cases that were over max, and some that was under minimum, that's .015 difference. That makes a difference in getting the reloading operation to run smoothly. You can measure the cases and sort by length, but that takes as much time as trimming the whole batch.

You run the buckled ones into the sizer die (with the decapping stem removed) just a bit to iron out the wrinkle so you can shoot them. That adds up in time and frustration.

[Dekota56]

When I am loading up the 3rd run is where I start to check the cases on anything I am loading up, unless I am getting brass elsewhere.

[Three44s]

I am cautious to not get rimless handgun brass too short. The 30 Carbine would fall into the same category. These cartridges headspace on the mouth of the case and short ones spell trouble.

That said everything metallic is subject to trimming on my bench. Once the case is uniformed I find that it tends to stay that way for quite a long time.

Three44s

[cosmoline one]

Ive reloaded 45 cases (Fed) 20 times & never needed to trim (primer pockets started feeling loose so I stopped)
I was a long time rifle loader new to pistol cartridges. so I counted reloads-Now I don't bother!

[bangerjim]

I have never seen ANY need to trim straight brass, especially those little toy 45ACP cases. Mabe a 45LC, but still have never had the need to do it.

I do check & trim bottle neck rifles cases.

I have all the necessary precision tools to accurate trim any cal of brass, but use it for only rifle brass.

[Winger Ed.]

I've never trimmed a auto pistol case, and don't even know how many times some have been reloaded.
I taper crimp, and in a tight chambered .45ACP Gold Cup, I've yet to have a problem.

[AZ Pete]

There is no reason to trim straight wall pistol brass, at least I haven't found one in the last 55 or so years of loading them.

[1hole]

Saying the Lee Trimmer is getting .888" may not be true, depending on how it's being measured.

Critical machinists consider most hobbyist grade micrometers and dial calipers (like ours) to only be accurate within +/- one mark and being one thou off has little significance in our reloading bench work, perhaps especially so for case length.

[EDG]

Just measure your chamber lengths. Make your brass work in the shortest chamber.

[d4xycrq]

The only pistol brass I’ve had to trim is rifle brass. 30 Carbine. Is 30 Carbine a PCC caliber?!

[Randy Bohannon]

Since 45ACP uses a taper crimp case length becomes slightly less important other than not to long. Like others I have never measured a 45ACP case that was to long or trimmed one. Some guns get their brass match grade or improved either by flash holes uniformed ( most important IMO) or length trimmed, 44-40 WCF benefits a bunch being uniform length as any thin necked brass and a roll crimp.

[mike4045]

I have been reloading 40 years plus, a majority of it has been pistol, and I have never case trimmed any pistol cases. Had numerous 45 acp cases with 20+ loadings and never needed trimming.

[tankgunner59]

I use my Lee trimmers to check the length before first loading, after that I have not needed to trim my straight wall pistol brass. Most of my trimming is for bottle neck rifle brass and any brass that takes a roll crimp.

[Conditor22]

I check brass that has a crimp groove like 38 spcl, 357, 44mag, ...

I'm currently trying to get Hornady to replace 71 pieces of once fired 357 brass that is .005 under SAAMI

[JoeJames]

I have never trimmed pistol brass, and have been reloading 38 years or so. It has all been straight wall and moderate loads at that: 32 S&W Long, 38 Special, 44 Special, and 44 Magnum (at around 1050 fps). I have trimmed a slew of 308 and 556 brass to get them down to at least maximum spec.

[Three44s]

I find .223 and 5.56 cases are all over the place for length.

I ran a lot of my unprocessed brass of that persuasion the two previous summers and encountered stuff from 1.778” down to 1.738” after lube and full length sizing.

Max is 1.760 and Trim to is 1.750”.

I chose 1.747”. If it was much shorter, I segregated it out.

Up on first firing in my bolt guns the treated brass settled down to 1.751” of so.

I figure that I have bought myself quite a few firings before I will need to trim again because I use the Lee Collet neck sizer for the bolt guns.

Three44s

[JoeJames]

I find .223 and 5.56 cases are all over the place for length.

I ran a lot of my unprocessed brass of that persuasion the two previous summers and encountered stuff from 1.778” down to 1.738” after lube and full length sizing.

Max is 1.760 and Trim to is 1.750”.

I chose 1.747”. If it was much shorter, I segregated it out.

Up on first firing in my bolt guns the treated brass settled down to 1.751” of so.

I figure that I have bought myself quite a few firings before I will need to trim again because I use the Lee Collet neck sizer for the bolt guns.

Three44sI think the max I encountered was 1,781" or so. Quite a lot of it too.

[Three44s]

JoeJames,

I only had a scant few at the very upper end but more just over 1.770”. I will take my Lyman Universal with a carbide cutter to those extra long cases and finnish with a Wilson trimmer. In between runs I inside and outside debur to reduce cutter drag.

Three44s

[blackthorn]

Case length (to me) does not matter, unless they are enough over-length to cause dangerous pressure problems. The way to know is to do a chamber cast and determine where the end of the chamber/throat is. As long as cases remain below that you are good to go. That said, there are instances where cases of equal length are needed.