Is trim to length a must???

W

Watch Dog80

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I have got everything for reloading, except for a trim to length gauge. Do I really need the gauge and if not, what effects will it have on my accuracy by not trimming?
 
I don't know if you mean a lyman type or calipers. Calipers are definitely more multi use. If you are just begining loading you might not be to the point of checking ogive, oal, headspace, etc.... You will eventually and calipers will be a must for these types of measurements. I hope this helps.
 
Trim length can be very important. If the case is too long, and you jam a cartridge into the chamber, your pressures could reach an unsafe level and a KABOOM could happen.

Please reed some reloading manuals if you haven't already.

I would buy a caliper as suggested above, much more useful IMO.
 
I have a set of calipers. I am reloading a 22-250. Max case length is 1.912" and case trim length is 1.902". I am reloading once fired brass. Most of the cases I am reloading exceed the max case length, so my question is this, can the cases that are in-between 1.902" and 1.912 be reloaded without trimming them and because there are various case lengths, will that affect the accuracy?
 
Well, for the best accuracy everything must be uniform, case length, primer pocket, flash hole, weight, but for hunting and just some shooting you'll be fine.


If cases exceed maximum length, trimming brass is a very good idea.
 
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If it's a custom chamber then yes, keeping the OAL of the case at the Max trim is very important. Like Junkie said when they are to long the extra length acts as a crimp. Now in a factory chamber I bet you have more neck than that, the best way to find out is with one of these suckers,
http://www.sinclairintl.com/.aspx/sid=64...49000746_d_5599

Thses tell you the exact length of the neck, therefore stopping you from having to guess at it's length. Adam
 
Trimming is critical for safety and performance. A digital caliper can be had from Harbor Freight for $10 on sale or $20 regular price. Midway and others have them for $20+. Lee case length gages come with a shellholder and trimmer pilot for $5-$6 per caliper and a cutter head and lockstud that fits in a hand drill for less than $10.

Oops, see you have a caliper. Do you have a trimmer too?
 
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Originally Posted By: lhitchcoxTrimming is critical for safety and performance. A digital caliper can be had from Harbor Freight for $10 on sale or $20 regular price. Midway and others have them for $20+. Lee case length gages come with a shellholder and trimmer pilot for $5-$6 per caliper and a cutter head and lockstud that fits in a hand drill for less than $10.

Oops, see you have a caliper. Do you have a trimmer too?

Yes I have a trimmer, just don't have the trim to length gauge that goes with it. I was hoping that it would not be an issue to trim them, but I guess I will have to wait til tomorrow to get gauge. I have the gauge for the other calibers I load. I drove 60 miles yesterday to get everything I needed to reload my 22-250, I started case prep when I realized that I did not have the gauge. No problem to wait til tomorrow, just thought if I didn't need it, I would then reload some.
 
When I obtain new or used brass, I trim the entire batch back to minimum and then only trim as they near maximum length. Typically they all arrive at maximum at about the same number of loadings then I will trim again.

Yes, you are fine reloading the ones that are under the max length and they should be fine for general purpose rounds. Won't be match grade but it will be very hard to see a difference while out in the field with them.

Sounds like you are going to have to trim soon though and if so, it's much easier to do it all in one batch.
 
Do your self a favor and buy a set of calipers dial or digital. Digital is easier to read. Calipers comes in handy for more than just measuring case length.

My son in law has a Rem. 700 BDL 30-06 I gave him that has a very short chamber and if you fire a round with the case right on the Maximum case length it will give signs of high pressure as the slight lengthening of the case forces the case mouth to be forced into the bullet side.

If anyone thinks this is happening to them, after you fire the round take a bullet and insert into case nose first and if you do not get any resistance everything is fine if it goes in with even the slightest resistance and as the base of the bullet is pushed passed the very mouth of the case and then falls the rest of the way in you have a problem. The cure is to trim case length.

DAB
 
WatchDog80:

Your dial caliper is the "gauge" for measuring length; when you say you need the "trim-to length gauge to trim it" do you mean the Lee 22/250 pilot stud for trimming to the minimum length (1.902) for 22/250?

If so, it is not a gauge but really a pilot/stud for the Lee manual trimmer chuck.
 
Originally Posted By: BuckeyeSpecialWatchDog80:

Your dial caliper is the "gauge" for measuring length; when you say you need the "trim-to length gauge to trim it" do you mean the Lee 22/250 pilot stud for trimming to the minimum length (1.902) for 22/250?

If so, it is not a gauge but really a pilot/stud for the Lee manual trimmer chuck.



That is exactly what I am talking about. Thank you for clarifying BuckeyeSpecial.
 
Originally Posted By: Watch Dog80Originally Posted By: BuckeyeSpecialWatchDog80:

Your dial caliper is the "gauge" for measuring length; when you say you need the "trim-to length gauge to trim it" do you mean the Lee 22/250 pilot stud for trimming to the minimum length (1.902) for 22/250?

If so, it is not a gauge but really a pilot/stud for the Lee manual trimmer chuck.



That is exactly what I am talking about. Thank you for clarifying BuckeyeSpecial.

Aha, I understand now. I don't know why Lee chose to call it a case length gage when it is really a preset trimmer pilot.

Are you using the Lee trimmer system that chucks into a hand drill? If you use your caliper, you will find out how close to max the cases are. I have found that the first firing will give the most stretching. As the brass is worked through the firing/resizing process it hardens and stretches less.
 
Originally Posted By: Watch Dog80I have got everything for reloading, except for a trim to length gauge. Do I really need the gauge and if not, what effects will it have on my accuracy by not trimming?

Only if you want accurate loads and don't want your long brass sticking in your chamber for starters.
 
In 15 or 20 years of reloading I've never trimmed a bit of brass and sub MOA loads or stickin brass have never been a problem. Maybe it's because I only neck size? Who knows. It's probably a great idea but is it ESSENTIAL? No.

CB
 
I have seen guns that would pop primers due to excessive case length. If the case neck is too long, it can be crimped into the bullet when chambered. That will definitely redline the load.
 
I got the trimmer pilot stud (case length gauge), have trimmed about 20 down and only loaded 10 of them with 5 of them being different than the other 5. If every thing goes well tomorrow, I will test them out and post pics of the results. Would it be better to test at 50 yards instead of 100 yards?
 
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