Hey guys so a while back i read on ultimate Reloader or something that you could trim to 10% less than what the manual states so you could trim less often. Well I posted this on another forum and they said it was a big no no. Hornady manual states to trim .223 to 1.75 and I was trimming to 1.735. Now, today I'm sizing cases and some of my factory 5.56 that had never been reloaded was already at 1.74. They said my cases were out of spec at at 1.735 (I've never had trouble shooting them at this length), is this true? And if so why are some factory ammo cases shorter than the 1.75 that hornady says to trim to? Should I toss cases shorter than 1.75 or are they good to go? Thanks!
Question about trimming/ trim length of .223
- Thread starter -paradox-
- Start date
I have always trimmed back to 1.750 when cases reach 1.760. If they are below 1.760 shoot them till they get that long. Get a wilson case gauge and check Your brass. Too short is better than too long ( not by much) and having the neck crimped in the throat. That will cause bad things to happen.
ETA: necks too short can cause insufficient tension and bullet set back. Necks too long can cause the bullet to get crimped in the neck due to being in contact with the chamber throat. Stick to what the manuals say. Short cuts and explosives dont mix.
ETA: necks too short can cause insufficient tension and bullet set back. Necks too long can cause the bullet to get crimped in the neck due to being in contact with the chamber throat. Stick to what the manuals say. Short cuts and explosives dont mix.
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A few thou short isn't going to hurt.
I guess it would depend on how many cases I had, if a case was .010 short, I probably wouldn't use it.
As stated, too long is a larger problem.
If you use a bullet with a canellure and crimp your bullets, you want the length to be as close as possible.
I guess it would depend on how many cases I had, if a case was .010 short, I probably wouldn't use it.
As stated, too long is a larger problem.
If you use a bullet with a canellure and crimp your bullets, you want the length to be as close as possible.
If you read the instructions for the RCBS X dies like I use, they will tell you to make 1 initial trim shorter than the normal trim-to length. From there, the dies are supposed to limit the growth of of your brass and eliminate trimming thereafter. So far they've worked for me. But I'm NOT a precision shooter, much as I would like to be. I still manage to get MOA or less out of my POS guns at 100 yds though.
Seems to be a lot of concern about trim length lately. The key figure to remember here is "Max Length", as this is a safety issue; anything beyond this has the potential to create a problem, if the case mouth is bearing on the transition from chamber mouth to the leade in the throat. In most manuals, they will list a "Trim To Length" in their reloading data which is nominally .010" under the "Maximum Length" dimension. Nothing magical about the trim length here, just so long as it's under the maximum figure listed. For the 308 Win, SAAMI "Max Length" listed is 2.015", with a "Trim To Length" of 2.005". I have trimmed my 308 cases back to 2" for many, many years now, just to avoid having to trim quite so frequently. Not a problem at all, and I could easily go shorter than this without creating any problems. While cases do have an industry spec for a minimum length, it's well under the "Trim To Length" shown in the manuals. Not at all unusual to see cases substantially shorter than that listed length in new brass, and no, it's not going to cause any sort of problem in the vast majority of cases.
Case length becomes a tad more important when we're dealing with crimps (yet another reason to avoid crimping), in that varying case lengths will cause differing degrees of tension once the crimp is applied. Still, as long as they're uniform within the lot being crimped, and the crimp is set up appropriately for that length, you're golden.
Case length becomes a tad more important when we're dealing with crimps (yet another reason to avoid crimping), in that varying case lengths will cause differing degrees of tension once the crimp is applied. Still, as long as they're uniform within the lot being crimped, and the crimp is set up appropriately for that length, you're golden.
