To trim or not to trim, that is the question.

[Trey45]

A discussion in that chat room last night begs the question, how often do you trim pistol brass, if at all. I have never trimmed a piece of pistol brass, what's you take on this? Do you trim pistol brass? Do you see a need for it?

[MT Gianni]

I don't trim revolver brass. I check 9mm and 45 for length and use the same length in the 45 for match brass. I sort the 9 for even length, and could trim it if I bothered to.

[rugerman1]

I trim revolver brass,just to get it consistent for crimping.Never saw a piece of auto brass long enough to trim.

[44man]

All brass will shorten in a handgun a little as it expands so most of the time it will be shorter. I just trim so all are the same, sometimes only once for the life of the brass but I do check it once in a while. I have had some grow to make them uneven.

[stubshaft]

I trim revolver brass,just to get it consistent for crimping.Never saw a piece of auto brass long enough to trim.


+1 for trimming to get consistent crimp. I've had to trim my 357 max brass a couple of times.

[felix]

Crimping should be done by feel, and not by length of crimping stroke. That eliminates a lot of inconsistencies. ... felix

[9.3X62AL]

Dittoes to some of the above. Straightwall handgun brass gets "evened up" after its first firing, while neck-and-shoulder brass like 30 Luger and 7.62 x 25 Tokarev might need a trim every 4-5 firings.

[StarMetal]

I'm with Al on this one. He mentioned "even up". That's exactly what I see on straight walled cartridges such as 357 magnum for example. The mouths would become uneven.

I tend to disagree with Felix on the feel. If all the cases are the exact same length and you have your crimp die adjusted, how can there be an inconsistency as long as all the bullets are the same dimension? Please explain Felix.

Joe

[felix]

No problem if you are loading one lot of cases. I never go by brand, and because of feel I can eliminate a lot of ignition problems. Of course, the gun has to be worthy to make pistol cases worth while by buying in large lots. ... felix

[StarMetal]

No problem if you are loading one lot of cases. I never go by brand, and because of feel I can eliminate a lot of ignition problems. Of course, the gun has to be worthy to make pistol cases worth while by buying in large lots. ... felix

Felix,

I guess I'm still not understanding you. If the bullet diameter is exact, the case length and mouth thickness exact, and the crimp die set, the amount of crimp exact, and the ram on the reloading press very accurate....how can the crimp and neck tension not be the same? Here are a few things I see that effect ignition and we're taking about a rimmed cartridge such as the 357 mag again: thickness of the rims, seating dept of the primer, powder type/position, neck tension. Am I missing something again?

Joe

[felix]

I see what you are saying, Joe. You are missing the history of that brass from lot to lot. That is important only in that nobody seems to worry about keeping lots consistent. Thick brass, thin brass. Hard brass, soft brass. And, to add to that the various internal tapers. Especially suspect are the 44 maggies. What is disturbing to me is that folks like the large crimp grooves, such as on the Keith design. I tend to like the shallowest crimp groove, and wide enough to cover variable length brass when the average is set to hit the crimp width in the middle. I then crimp just enough for the case to enter the groove at minimum, and with crimping force equal case-to-case as determined by hand feel. ... felix

[beagle]

I agree with Felix, crimp by feel. But, saying that, about once a year in the winter, I'll trim all of the pistol stuff to make for more consistent crimps. That eliminates an occasional ah sh_t! whne you get over exuberant on crimping.

Too bad some of you smart guys don't invent a spring loaded crimper that "gave" when it encountered a long case and prevent that bulge.

Also, if you shoot and milspec .38 brass such as the WCC74 stuff that's available occasionally, I trim that as it's all over the place when it comes to length. Many won't load it as they've had bad results but I like it in a M1894 .357 Mag as it's tough. Just has to be trimmed./beagle

[StarMetal]

I agree with Felix, crimp by feel. But, saying that, about once a year in the winter, I'll trim all of the pistol stuff to make for more consistent crimps. That eliminates an occasional ah sh_t! whne you get over exuberant on crimping.

Too bad some of you smart guys don't invent a spring loaded crimper that "gave" when it encountered a long case and prevent that bulge.

Also, if you shoot and milspec .38 brass such as the WCC74 stuff that's available occasionally, I trim that as it's all over the place when it comes to length. Many won't load it as they've had bad results but I like it in a M1894 .357 Mag as it's tough. Just has to be trimmed./beagle

Beagle,

Aha, you mean like a slip clutch, maybe similar to a click type torque wrench? When you get to that crimp pressure that you selected that safety mechanism keep you from messing up.

Still what I say goes, if brass, bullet, and crimp die being adjusted for the amount of crimp you want...how's that differ from crimp by feel? The ram's limit is in essence the safety stop for over crimping when the crimp die is set to where you want it.

Joe

[HeavyMetal]

As I understand it case neck tension and crimp are two different things.

Case tension is the amount of friction need to pull the boolit out of the case, or in this case launch it. vary the tension and each boolit slips out the case differently. Thus a good reason to try to load at least specific head stamps!

Crimp on the other hand is designed to act as a "stop" to prevent the boolit from leaving the case prior to good ignition of powder. In many case's this is used to compensate for poor neck tension when it shouldn't be. Going from a "soft" crimp to a "hard" crimp can change how a load shoots. Figuring out why that makes a difference in the specific load is the challange!

One more reason to use case's with the same head stamp and trimmed to the same length!

In all hand loads consistancy is the name of the game for best accuracy.

Having said that accuracy is in the eye of the beholder.

[Bret4207]

Some cases require more frequent attention to trimming. I find 32-20 brass needs to be checked often, not necessarily trimmed, but checked.

[atr]

I shoot .38 special and .357

+1 for MTGianni
+2 for felix

[hpdrifter]

........
Too bad some of you smart guys don't invent a spring loaded crimper that "gave" when it encountered a long case and prevent that bulge.

........../beagle

beagle, you talking about maybe a spring loaded type crimper with a scale; say .5-2 lbs? Kinda like my Texan FW has for wad pressure seating?

[Throwback]

I never trim 9mm or .45 ACP. I trim .38 Special at least once for uniformity and so all my cases are same length. Somewhat more frequently for .357, .41, .44 etc.

[FISH4BUGS]

In some 40 years of reloading, I don't think I have ever trimmed a pistol or revolver cartridge to length. I might consider doing do if Dillon had revolver/pistol sizing dies for their Power Trimmer. Otherwise it is just too difficult and time consuming for the benefits gained (if any).
On the other hand, my 223 and 308 gets trimmed EVERY time. It may not actually trim, but at least I know they are all uniform. There is something pretty about 2000 sized, trimmed, deburred and swaged/cleaned primer pocket bucket full of 223 or 308 brass.
Sometime I think I like casting, sizing, lubing, and reloading more than shooting.

[Irascible]

Shoots some IHMSA 200 meter revolver matches. You'll soon be trimming often for an even crimp!

[runfiverun]

if you are chasing accuracy from a 9 or a 45 trimming is definately in your future.
that is the best way to get consistant results from them.
the lyman motorized set-up isgood for this.
if dillon used a strong mount instead of a press for their pistol set-up they could figure out something pretty quick.

[Tom W.]

I trimmed some .44 mag brass.... once..... when I was out of work from surgery and about to get cabin fever... I won't bother to do that again...

[Mohillbilly]

For rimmed cases,I trim mostly by lots after first fire'n . I check every time for cracked mouths and re trim if nessary, the whole lot. Rimless gets trimmed to make them all even (one time)as they are mixed lots (I still segerate head stamps) .

[mike in co]

i dont trim everything but if it is used in competition, it gets trimmed.

if you shoot a revolver like 44 mag, and you do not keep cases sorted by lot, then you will have inconcistant results....it has to happen....you induce too many variables.....consistancy cannot follow.

my cases are sorted in 100 pc lots that were sorted by weight when new. trimmed to length, deburred. 400 pcs just for the srper red hawk, and another 400 or so for the 44 carbine.

all 45acp was trimmed to some number less than the book..but all were the the same.

a revolver crimp will vary with case length....from none on a short case to a bunch on a long case...these two will not shoot the same.

semi auto is similar, but since typicallu short range not a big deal( i do all my 9x21 and all my 45acp).
i just do it once....
plinking ammo,,,,,who cares....target, selfdefense......do all u can

[Four Fingers of Death]

I got a bunch of brass some years ago for the 38 that was a tad longer and the crimp rolled out and wouldn't chamber. It was only 50 or so cases so I sent it to head office (waste paper basket).

I once saw an article by Dean Grendell (I think it was him). He suggested sorting 9mm brass by length and then testing to find the length that the gun prefers, then trimming or chucking the rest. I did this once and wouldn't you know it? It showed a definite preference for the longest brass, so I sold the rest.

I haven't got around to doing that with the last copule of 9millys.

Lee Factory crimp dies solve the length prob, they don't care what the length is, they just squash it into place, works a treat.

Four Fingers.