"Sigh" Primed but didn't do anything case trimming wise

So long story short I reprimed all once fired cases and never did any case trimming (I know read the book...that and the Lee Zip tools are on the way). I thought sizing was optional. So is there anyway to good forward or is it better to fire off the primed brass (at the range of course) and start back at square one. I guess it's a good way to see if I've been hand priming correctly and I really don't care that I used 40 primers. Just want to do what is safe and what is best so I right the next time.

Also anyone in S.E. PA want to tutor a new relaoder? :)

The cases need to be resized so that you get sufficient neck tension to hold the bullet in place.

You can remove the decapping pin from your size die and run the casings through. You can then finish loading as usual.

The cases need to be resized so that you get sufficient neck tension to hold the bullet in place.

You can remove the decapping pin from your size die and run the casings through. You can then finish loading as usual.
Oh I should be clear I did the resizing in the die. I meant case trimming. Sorry

Yeah, you haven't acutally hurt anything. Just pull the decapping die and size the cases.

Yeah, you haven't acutally hurt anything. Just pull the decapping die and size the cases.
Sorry I used the wrong terminology. I did do the resizing of the case (did the bullet drop test as a check). I didn't do any case trimming.

You could remove the decapping pin from your sizing die and size the primed brass as usual. This wouldn't knock your good primers out but still effectively size, provided you set it up right.

Others will be along to suggest Lyman 49 and ABCs of reloading. :D

Ahhh?

How did you get the old primers out so you could re-prime them without sizing them??

rc

Oh. Trimming. That's not quite as critical as you might think, usually.

What cartridge are you loading? Some really don't need any trimming. Some do occasionally, but not every time. It probably isn't a big deal at all.

You could remove the decapping pin from your sizing die and size the primed brass as usual. This wouldn't knock your good primers out but still effectively size, provided you set it up right.

Others will be along to suggest Lyman 49 and ABCs of reloading. :D
Lyman's will arrive tomorrow. I have the Lee book, and ABC in Kindle form...though I should just get the printed one too. Though I feel the paper the print one is printed on is kind of cheap.

Oh. Trimming. That's not quite as critical as you might think, usually.

What cartridge are you loading? Some really don't need any trimming. Some do occasionally, but not every time. It probably isn't a big deal at all.
Yep, sorry about that. It's a relief to know I haven't screwed up too much! lol

I'm loading 30-06 from Remingtion brass (for the Tikka). I'll be doing Lake City for the new Garand (I just need to read about crimped primers).

No super-precision hand-loader will skip trimming each piece of brass when loading for his benchrest gun.

Many, many reloaders never bother. Somewhere in between is "right." ;)

They'll work fine.

No super-precision hand-loader will skip trimming each piece of brass when loading for his benchrest gun.

Many, many reloaders never bother. Somewhere in between is "right." ;)

They'll work fine.
That's good to know, since while the lee stuff is cheap. I'd like to not spend anymore money this week....the Garand was worth it though. lol

Any case longer than 2.494" could cause the case to enter into the chamber and grip the bullet too hard. This under the worst cases could cause pressures to spike.
My Speer #14 recommends trimming to 2.484". Most trimmers will allow you to trim if already primed as long as the primer is seated below flush. If all your cases measure less than 2.494 you are good to go.

Excess Head-space is much more dangerous.

the chamber is so long on most factory rifles that you'll never have a case grow too long for the chamber before it is lost or the neck splits.

I disagree that excess headspace is "much more dangerous" then a lot of other things you could do wrong with a handload.

At worst, you will get a broken case.
At best, you will get shorter case life.

But even at worst, the remaining head & case web section will still seal the chamber and the rifle won't blow up.

It was so common years ago solders were issued broken case extractors so they could get the front half of the case out of the chamber and continue shooting.

Nobody got hurt or killed by a broken case back then, as it was pretty much par for the course.

rc

I disagree that excess headspace is "much more dangerous" then a lot of other things you could do wrong with a handload.

At worst, you will get a broken case.
At best, you will get shorter case life.

But even at worst, the remaining head & case web section will still seal the chamber and the rifle won't blow up.


+1
I have a rifle with terrible headspace issues. I've had several complete separations, with no ill effects to the gun. It isn't the cartridge case that withstands the brunt of the pressure, it's the chamber. Without the chamber, the cartridge case would likely blow apart in a million pieces every time.

Actually, the case is the "gasket" that seals the chamber.

But even a broken one due to really excess headspace still seals the chamber just fine with the intact rear part of the broken case.

rc

the chamber is so long on most factory rifles that you'll never have a case grow too long for the chamber before it is lost or the neck splits.
This could be true. But it's better to check, somehow. Just in case.

Recently, I faced a similar dilemma. I was ready to load some ammo for a new rifle, but my trim guide for the cartridge hadn't arrived, yet.

I measured all the resized cases and set aside the longest half a dozen. Most of them were above the trim-to length, and these 6 were about 20 mics longer. I measured the diameter of the case necks and marked all around the mouths with Sharpie. Then I remeasured and looked for any marks on the case mouth after chambering them in the rifle in question.

All looked good, so I loaded up the entire batch and shot them without any problems. Bonus, now I can wait even longer between trimmings, since this is the only firearm I have in the caliber.

OP: if you have a trim guide for a cartridge with the same caliber projectile but a shorter case (by at least the length of a primer and a bit more for a margin of safety), you can use that to trim any cases that are too long. You just have to "eyeball" it, then verify with calipers.

2.494" is the maximun case length after sizing. The chamber has a "safety zone" of about .008" longer than maximum trim length. Your once fired brass should be ok to load as is. But measure the brass for safety. http://www.saami.org/PubResources/CC_Drawings/Rifle/30-06%20Springfield.pdf

In my experience if the brass is really only once fired then it is probably OK to load and use at least once before trimming. I would still measure it to be sure first though. Also you CAN remove the primers from the brass and reuse them if you use slow steady pressure to push them out. What sets them off is a sudden sharp blow to the priming compound. I have done this literally hundreds of times over the years and never set one off. The reused ones are used for plinking ammo in case there are problems, but there have never been any issues there either.

So do you belong to a range or rifle club?? I am willing to bet that anyone there that reloads would go over the process at least once with you if you ask.

Just press 'em back out, and proceed as normal.

2.494" is the maximun case length after sizing. The chamber has a "safety zone" of about .008" longer than maximum trim length. Your once fired brass should be ok to load as is. But measure the brass for safety. http://www.saami.org/PubResources/CC_Drawings/Rifle/30-06%20Springfield.pdf
Just did that tonight, all under so far, but one is dancing right on the line, so I'll put it aside. Some were a bit under, is there a under limit to avoid too?

I'm not saying that reloading isn't a serious hobby, but it's entirely possible to overthink things. If the loaded rounds easily chamber in your bolt rifle, then you don't have a problem. The difference in case length of .001" is a non-starter. Just load 'em up and shoot 'em.

I'm not saying that reloading isn't a serious hobby, but it's entirely possible to overthink things. If the loaded rounds easily chamber in your bolt rifle, then you don't have a problem. The difference in case length of .001" is a non-starter. Just load 'em up and shoot 'em.
Well just trying to be cautious. I'd hate to have the Tikka or Garand go kablooey.

Some were a bit under, is there a under limit to avoid too? Maximum is 2.494" Normal trim to lenght is -.010" or 2.484" The shortest SAAMI is - .020" or 2.474"

Maximum is 2.494" Normal trim to lenght is -.010" or 2.484" The shortest SAAMI is - .020" or 2.474"
I may be misremembering, but I did have one under that number. I plan to recheck everything, this was mostly me learning how to measure with calipers. Any idea how it can get too short?

Brass can get shorter by using light starting loads in large chambers. The body expands on firing, pulling the shoulder back. Full length sizing should make the brass longer.

Brass can get shorter by using light starting loads in large chambers. The body expands on firing, pulling the shoulder back. Full length sizing should make the brass longer.
Hmm, the brass if it was mine was just regular Remington Core Lockt SP. I'm pretty sure the once fired I bought was also Remington CL, but then again I can't say for sure what the original owner shot it out from.

Thank you though for the help and answering my minute detail questions. It helps a lot.

I really want to finally start loading the powder and bullets, but my scale is being goofy. I can't get the 100g test weight to measure as 100g.It's the $30 Hornady digital one (I prefer digital as it's easier to use vs beams).

If you knew how electronic scales worked, you'd be using it just for a backup.

Electronic scales use a little piece of semiconductor as a strain gauge.
The resistance of the gauge varies depending on how far the piece is bent. This change isn't linear, at all. There's a lot of signal conditioning going on, just to get a useable value to begin with. Then the actual weight is calculated from this non linear function. Subjecting the scale to any large shock or any weight higher than the max can permanently alter the calibration.

A lot of people (me, included) have noticed that digital gauges tend to drift over time, too. The first couple readings tend to be accurate, then the readings start to go up a little until you turn the scale off and on again.

Also, note that a digital scale measures weight. A balance measures true mass. So a digital scale will give a slightly different reading given the altitude and the timing of the tides. :) A balance will give the same reading anytime, anywhere on earth.

Digital scales are awesome for lots of things, but they're sorta meh for measuring things as light as a few grains, IMO.

Anyhoo.... my digital scale came with directions for rezeroing it using the supplied test weight. Check all the documentation that came with your scale to see if you missed something.