Giraud trimmer factory set at 1.978 for .308?

[thefitter]

OK fair warning I'm going to have a shit load of rookie questions over the next week or so.

I've got all my gear together and I'm starting to get going on this reloading business. I have the Speer book and I'm doing a lot of online reading. I'm full length resizing once fired brass and I'm going to trim it. I'm trying to under stand the whole Max case length and trim to length data in this book. Max = 2.015, Trim To = 2.005. So why is the sample shell that came with the trimmer measuring 1.978? The instructions say I can change this if I want. I know the Giraud trims off the shoulder. Not sure how I should proceed. Thanks

 

[Chiller]

Re: Giraud trimmer factory set at 1.978 for .308?

Assuming you purchased a .308 case and a trimmer the setup has really only been done for the case mouth. You still need to adjust the case length.

 

[Hookman]

Re: Giraud trimmer factory set at 1.978 for .308?

I've had a similar experience with the Giraud which I got last week. The trim length was set to 2.000 which is really not a problem. However, here is what I did. First, I FL sized my once fired LC LR brass, bump the shoulder/headspace back a bit to 1.623 then adjusted the Giraud to trim to 2.008. After that, I tested the empty case in the chamber of my GAP Rock to make sure the bolt closed without any resistance. So far so good..

 

[poonjab]

Re: Giraud trimmer factory set at 1.978 for .308?

Either measurement is fine. I'm not familiar with the Speer manual or load data referencing a "trim to" length. People often only trim their brass because it is approaching the max length. Firing and resizing brass increases the length. There's quite a bit a fudge room in case length for rifle loads (don't exceed the max though). In terms of accuracy you want your case length to be consistant. The more case length the more contact the case has with the bullet. I trim .308 to 1.95". I can't recall how I came to that measurement anymore. Its just the way I've been doing it for a few years now.

 

[427Cobra]

Re: Giraud trimmer factory set at 1.978 for .308?

First off change out the jam out that locks the adjustment in place in install a Forster or Hornady die lock ring

now with a sharpie put a dot or mark on the case holder not the lock ring, and using the engraved dashes as a reference adjust the holder and lock it down

there will be a different trimm length in new brass v fired brass, why...........you guessed it because the Giraud indexes off the shoulder

 

[thefitter]

Re: Giraud trimmer factory set at 1.978 for .308?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Hookman</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've had a similar experience with the Giraud which I got last week. The trim length was set to 2.000 which is really not a problem. However, here is what I did. First, I FL sized my once fired LC LR brass, bump the shoulder/headspace back a bit to 1.623 then adjusted the Giraud to trim to 2.008. After that, I tested the empty case in the chamber of my GAP Rock to make sure the bolt closed without any resistance. So far so good.. </div></div>

You FL size AND bump the shoulder?

 

[427Cobra]

Re: Giraud trimmer factory set at 1.978 for .308?

Every time!

 

[ReaperDriver]

Re: Giraud trimmer factory set at 1.978 for .308?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 427Cobra</div><div class="ubbcode-body">First off change out the jam out that locks the adjustment in place in install a Forster or Hornady die lock ring

now with a sharpie put a dot or mark on the case holder not the lock ring, and using the engraved dashes as a reference adjust the holder and lock it down

there will be a different trimm length in new brass v fired brass, why...........you guessed it because the Giraud indexes off the shoulder

</div></div>

I just ordered a set of the Hornady locking rings for this very purpose. My question is WHY would you need to trim Virgin brass?

 

[Hookman]

Re: Giraud trimmer factory set at 1.978 for .308?

I will only FL size my once fired brass for the first loading. Then FL size every 3-4 firings. In between I will only bump and neck size the brass.

I just prepped a couple of hundred once fired LC Match and LR cases this way.

BTW - I am using Forster Bushing Bump Neck die with a .336 bushing for my LC brass and the Forster FL sizing .308 NM die.

 

[clmayfield]

Re: Giraud trimmer factory set at 1.978 for .308?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ReaperDriver</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I just ordered a set of the Hornady locking rings for this very purpose. My question is WHY would you need to trim Virgin brass?</div></div>

If you are turning necks, the cutter indexes off of the mouth. The Giraud indexes off of the shoulder, so you trim all of your virgin brass to get consistent shoulder to mouth lengths so that your shoulder cut is consistent.

Apart from that, there is no other real reason except to maintain consistency. Once you get a Giraud, you can trim every time... it is faster than measuring.

 

[1911jerry]

Re: Giraud trimmer factory set at 1.978 for .308?

I just completed trimming 12K of 223 brass and this thing is marvelous. If you do more that a few at a time, use a leather glove on the holding hand, it will make your fingers last a lot longer.

Jerry

 

[fusiachi]

Re: Giraud trimmer factory set at 1.978 for .308?

I recently took delivery of a new Giraud trimmer and was curious about that myself. It was a snap to set it up to trim to 2.005" so I didn't give it much more thought.