Should I trim???

I trim all my 223 cases to 1.750 for my AR 15. A variance of a .001 or .002 after trimming does not concern me.

It's all over max OAL and should be trimmed.

I think max trim length is 1.760.

I trim mine to 1.740 so that I don't have to do it again.

1.730" - 1.760" case length is the acceptable range.

I trim all mine down to 1.750" using a 3 way press/lathe mounted cutter.

When mine reach maximum length I trim them to minimum. If I was going to use the seating die to crimp them I would trim them all the same every time. Using the Lee FCD you do not need to trim them every time. Also I find crimping my rifle ammo reduces accuracy so I don't do it unless for a tube fed firearm like 30-30. If I owned a WFT like Walkalong I would trim each time rather than measure first as well.

Walkalong said:

I trim all .223 to 1.750, it's easier to run them all through the WFT trimmer in the hobby lathe than measure them all.

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Walk-- A picture or the website where you bought your "hobby lathe?" Sounds interesting although some day I may pull the trigger on a Giraud.

I go to 1.740 , makes life easier.

Actually a .006" variation for a mass produced, used case isn't much, but they are over SAAMI max. length. For peace of mind I would trim all to near min., especially when used in several different guns.

gifbohane said:

Sounds interesting although some day I may pull the trigger on a Giraud.

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These days I only load .223, so I bought one of these:

http://www.giraudtool.com/giraud-tri-way-trimmer.html

Dedicated tool for one cartridge only, but it does trim and inside/outside chamfer all in one motorized operation. Much MUCH easier than the manual tools--so it's possible to jump onto the Giraud bandwagon without going for the full blast trimmer.

Tim

The max case length is 1.760 so anything over that needs to be trimmed. If not you could have feeding issues. The trim length as stated by others is 1.750. I trim anything over 1.755 down to 1.752. If it is not over 1.755 I don't bother. I also pitch any brass under 1.745. Why? Because I have so much brass I don't need to keep it and like to think I am getting a little more neck tension.

Also brass has variances. You can take two pieces of the same brand of brass, trim them to the same length, fire them out of the same gun and they will not end up the same length. It is just the nature of brass.

TimRB said:

These days I only load .223, so I bought one of these:

http://www.giraudtool.com/giraud-tri-way-trimmer.html

Dedicated tool for one cartridge only, but it does trim and inside/outside chamfer all in one motorized operation. Much MUCH easier than the manual tools--so it's possible to jump onto the Giraud bandwagon without going for the full blast trimmer.

Tim

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TimRB -

Did you find it hard to set up? For a hundred buck it might be worth a shot but I do not want to spend 5 hours fiddling with it to make it work.

gifbohane said:

Did you find it hard to set up? For a hundred buck it might be worth a shot but I do not want to spend 5 hours fiddling with it to make it work.

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The tool comes from the factory ready to go, but as I recall (it's been seven years) I may have tweaked it a bit to get the trim length exactly as I wanted it. Setting the trim length is easy, and is done in minutes rather than hours. Once you have confirmed that it is operating as you want, you won't have to touch it again, probably ever. Mine has done many thousands of cases and is nowhere near worn out or out of adjustment.

Tim

I only trim .223 if I'm shooting cast bullets so I have consistent crimp and flare. Otherwise if it is jacketed plinking ammo I just size prime and reload.

To add to this discussion of Should I trim???, I have often had that question if my brass was (within reason) uniform in length and the case mouths were square, even though they exceeded the SAAMI specified maximum. To best answer this question, I decided to make some chamber length measuring tools to establish just how long the chambers in my rifle are. So far I've measured the chambers in 3 of my rifles, and have so far found that every one has a chamber that would accommodate brass significantly longer than what the SAAMI specs indicate. I've attached a picture of the measuring tools I've made to measure the chamber length in my Winchester Hi-Wall in 22 Hornet, 94 Winchester in 30-30, and 1917 Enfield in 30-06. My findings are as follows:

Winchester Hi-Wall in 22 Hornet - Chamber length = 1.417", 0.014" longer than SAAMI
94 Winchester in 30-30 - Chamber length = 2.091", 0.052" longer than SAAMI
1917 Enfield in 30-06 - Chamber length = 2.510", 0.016" longer than SAAMI

So at least for these rifles, I only plan to trim to keep the brass reasonably uniform in length and to keep the case mouths square, and will only trim to shorten the length if they get close to the point that would not chamber in my particular rifle. At some point I will measure the chamber length in all my rifles to find out exactly how long the chambers actually are.

gifbohane said:

TimRB -

Did you find it hard to set up? For a hundred buck it might be worth a shot but I do not want to spend 5 hours fiddling with it to make it work.

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It's a little late, but I also purchased a giraud tri-way. It comes from the factory reasonably set, but all brass Iis a little different. Tweaking it the first time takes probably 20 minutes to get the blade position perfect. From there, you need to work with the length, again, probably 15 minutes or so. After you get a piece trimmed exactly how you want, keep it in a bag and just use that as a "template" if you ever need to set it again. Having said that, I ran 4000 pieces of lake city through mine and it never needed adjusted after that initial setup. I have mine in a bench grinder. I used a reducer from Amazon, cut the threads off the end of the grinder(grinder was a 25 dollar wen one bought with the purpose of cutting off that shaft). I ended up cutting off the other side shaft, too, and this lets me just place it on its side so all the brass shavings drop straight down. It seems to trim everything within one thousandth, so I am plenty happy. Takes all of a few seconds to trim/chamfer/deburr a piece of brass. My only suggestion is to wear a set of gloves to keep your fingers from getting sore.

Can it be chucked into a drill press? Mine is ordered.

I use the Lee locking stud and caliber specific guide rod trimmer. If it cuts when I try it I trim it. The rod trims to something near 1.753. I’ve been having the opposite problem. All my Federal brass is well less than the trim length, like 1.743 or so. It still shoots fine but it was a bit concerning at first.