[gravelyctry]

I'm far from an experienced reloader, and it might show with this question. A friend of mine just bought a new Rem 700 in 300 Ultra Mag, along with the dies and components. We loaded some up tonight and it shot great.
We started talking about how much all of the components cost, and he said that he was only going to use the brass 2x before getting rid of it.
I thought brass was good, inspect before/during reloading for damage, otherwise it was good. Am I wrong about that?
Also, I suggested that he get a trimmer for the brass to extend its useful life, and he said that he didn't think you needed to trim brass in a bolt action rifle. He thinks that you only need to do that with an autoloader. I'm not sure why that makes a difference, but right now I'm confused whether or not a guy would ever have to trim his brass, or why it's necessary.
Any help would be appreciated to clear this up for me. Thanks, Neil

[Winger Ed.]

If the brass is long enough for it's neck to reach the lands, they can sort of try to add & hold a extra bit of crimp onto the bullet and not let it release as it should.

If that happens, the pressure in the chamber can go to the moon.

Not trying to scare ya or nothing, but the manufacturer's know what they're talking about when they give maximum lengths for brass & loaded ammo.


Something that will prolong the life of the brass is load the ammo down a bit to where its the most accurate, and not the max. charge amount. If you're wanting good groups on paper-- ya really don't have to hit the target board as hard as you would for hunting critters anyway.

.

[tbtrout]

Best advice I can give is buy a good reloading manual like Speer #13 or Sierra. It will answer most of your questions and set you straight from the start.

[The Bushmaster]

Lyman's 48th Edition Load manual is another good manual to read.

That said...Yes you can increase the life of rifle cases with a trimmer. you will need a caliper also. To load a case just 2 times is a waste of good brass. Granted I load .30-30 and .30-06, but I load them 7 or 8 times befor I get suspicious of their condition. I do inspect them after shooting and during refurbing each case prior to reloading. And I trim cases that will be used in bolt action, lever and single action rifles. As per the reason that Winger Ed stated...:scrutiny:

[TooTaxed]

Post #2 is right on target. Too-long brass can drastically increase firing pressure, and affects accuracy due to the variation among shots.

For the record, I find that most once-fired rifle brass...and some new brass...needs trimming. Even .223. On the other hand, pistol brass rarely needs trimming.