You do what to your 9mm brass? no way

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H&R Glock

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I've been loading my 9mm brass for years and never needed to trim the cases! You do what to your cases??????
Just for laughs, I have 400 cases (mostly range brass) ready to load and I decided to run all of them through my caliper set at .754". It was just something I could do while watching tv on a cold winter night. Son of a gun! I found 10 of them that were right at the magic number.
I figured my gentle plinking rounds would never damage the brass as I have never had one split or act up on me.
Stirring around my coffee can full of Lee cutter guages I found a 9mm tool and trimmed the 10 baddies. This sure snuck up on me! Lesson learned about being careful of case length.
 
I haven't trimmed pistol cases since 1970. I'm sure since that time, I've loaded a few that were out of spec, but none so much as to cause chambering or ignition problems. My take on it is most gun's are pretty forgiving.

Out of sheer curiosity, I did once measure a handful of new, unfired brass in 9mm Luger and 45 ACP. What I discovered was the incidence of "out-of-spec" brass was pretty much the same as for once-fired. And that's one reason I stopped trimming pistol cases.

Everything to include cases, chambers, bores and etc. are cut by mechanical devices with varying tolerances. It stands to reason that variations from the specs will abound and I'd imagine those unavoidable variations are allowed for in a gun's design.
 
I wonder about this sometimes especially when I'm trimming 223 range brass, seems to run from 1.760" to 1.740"
 
Sometimes I blame this fixation for trimming 9mm-Luger and 45ACP cartridge cases on "George C. Nonte" author of the titled book "Modern Handloading" a noted handloading expert whom passed away in 1978 I believe.

I myself don't trim or sort by head-stamp for either the 9mm-Luger or 45ACP cartridge cases. What difference would it make in terms of practical accuracy at the distance of 10yds and under that most individuals shoot at?
 
I wonder about this sometimes especially when I'm trimming 223 range brass, seems to run from 1.760" to 1.740"
If you want to make your .223 life easier, look at the RCBS X-die. Once you trim to 1.74, no more trimming, and thus, no more chamfering or deburring. It controls the length of the case during resizing, keeping it below max.
 
Wow! Good thing you found those 10 (outta 400)! You coulda put yer eye out...:eek:
 
Wow! Good thing you found those 10 (outta 400)! You coulda put yer eye out...:0

Haha. Yeah you gotta watch that.

I won't be trimming or measuring any of my 9mm brass............or any other pistol caliber either.

Lesson learned about being careful of case length.

Exactly what lesson did we learn?
What would have happened had you loaded and fired them?
 
Having loaded hundreds of thousands of 9mm, 40 and 45 cases I have trimmed exactly zero.
 
Hangingrock, I have Mr. Nonte's "Modern Reloading" book, good stuff IMO. That book and my Speer #10 were two of the most beneficial sources that got me started on the right path, and I got say, after all these years, I've still yet to experience any catastrophic events, so the printed material seems to be pretty reliable.

As for trimming 9mm .40 cal and such, I do, and I always have. Maybe it has something to do with what I load, as I do run them full tilt. But I've always found that my 9mm / 40 brass is either out of spec on the first factory firing, or it gets there following the first reloading, but I do trim, and I've yet to experience the "it shrinks" syndrome, often proclaimed by reloaders. I don't load 45 acp though, and since it operates at such lower pressures, maybe that explains why so many reloaders experience the shrinking thing, I dunna know.

When I entered into this awesome hobby 30 some yrs. ago, I didn't do so based on economics, and I didn't try to find ways to get around the published procedures.

GS
 
I've been reloading since 1963, and have yet to trim any handgun brass, other than a dozen 357 Sig brass that wouldn't chamber. I'm well over 800,000 rounds of loaded ammunition, and I'm not about to start trimming handgun brass now, period.

Oh, I did measure and trim some handgun brass back about 1965. I had a Star 9mm copy of the 1911, and there wasn't any 9x19 ammunition or brass available anywhere in the Los Angeles area, where I lived at the time. A friend had a loaded 9mm German round his father had brought back from WW II, so I measured it and figured I could make me some 9mm brass from .38 Special brass on my Dad's drillpress. It worked, and they were uglier than sin, but after about 50 rounds that took days to make, I figured it would be better to just peddle the gun and be done with it, so I did. Never been happier to get $60.00 for a gun in my life.......

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
Ive never trimmed 9mm luger, 380 or 45acp....but I have found the need to trim rounds that get a roll crimp, like .38, .357 and .44.
 
I stopped trimming my stright walled handgun cases about 15 years ago, so far so good. As for sorting them, I do a visual on them before reloading and after reloading. I confess, I have found a few that I should nor have reloaded:) I also once had to go through my brass and remove a certain head stamp, the da$$ primer pockets were so loose the primers would hand seat ( and fall out just as easy ), once fired brass by me.
 
Actually, I was just digging through my immense pile of published reloading material, and I realized the book of Mr. George C. Nonte, Jr." that I have, is tilted "" Basic Handloading". I have the 9th printing, 1984.

And indeed everyone is entitled to their option, that said, I still contend that George C. Nonte, Jr.'s "Basic Handloading" is an excellent source for a more in depth look at the hobby. He covers so many different aspects of the hobby, and manages to do so in less than 200 pages, and at a great deal less expense than the big boys did back in the day. I'm not bashing Speer, Hornady, Sierra or anyone else for that matter, heck, I cut my teeth on the Speer #10, and it was well worth every penny I spent on it. I'm just saying, that for the money, "Basic Handloading" had a lot of very good information for that time line.

As for trimming handgun brass, ya, I'm certainly OCD, but when it pertains to trimming, that has more to do with my fanatical need to maintain specifications, and even more so when it concerns reloading. I take real pleasure in all aspects and details of this hobby, therefore I indulge each detailed step with complete and total interest, and not with drudgery.

GS
 
I take real pleasure in all aspects and details of this hobby, therefore I indulge each detailed step with complete and total interest, and not with drudgery.
Hear hear!
A lot of guys use the tools of reloading as a means to an end.
I find that its a great hobby unto itself! I wish Id started years ago, and enjoyed it more with my ol' dad while I could have.
 
I don't want to hijack the thread - but I assert this is only 50% of a hijack. LOL

What I'm getting out of this is that by loading and shooting straight-walled handgun brass that is out of spec (too long) the ramification is that ammo is being shot that is too long and out of spec. (Meaning it still goes into battery OK. It still fires OK. It still ejects OK.) And I'm not taking away or criticizing those that trim their handgun brass. Not at all. But.......

What happens if we load and attempt to fire rifle ammo that is too long? Will it not go into battery? Will it not eject (from a semi-auto)?

On the pistol side I'm hearing many people for MANY years have not trimmed even one. But when talking rifle trimming seems to be held at the level of "Your gun will blow up if your case is too long." I know I'm exaggerating here.....

So what happens if a rifle case is too long? Do we get the same benign behavior we see in pistols?

Thx.

OR
 
The problem with rifle brass that is too long, and shooting jacketed bullets, is the case mouth may be jammed into the leade of the chamber to the point where it can't expand like it should and release the bullet when the powder burns and causes pressure. The delay in the bullet moving forward causes an excess pressure spike. That's if the round will fully chamber.

If the barrel has lots of freebore, this won't occur, but all chambers and barrels are different, and a long case jammed into the shorter chambered rifle (short leade) is the problem.

This is a really simplified version, but hopefully you get the idea.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
Thx Fred. Your explanation makes sense. But I don't understand why the same scenario isn't an issue for straight walled cartridges.

Thx.
 
Straight wall cases don't grow in length like bottle neck cases can.
 
Do you know George C. Nonte employed a secretary and part of that person's duties was to do the grunt work concerning case prep and priming the cases. So it would appear/obvious that he had better things to do. Just a side note to the discussion.
 
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My subject sure tossed the target into the air!

I have done the same, as the rest of you, for 20 years. My 9mm cases were NEVER trimmed. I have never had one that exceeded the max, but as in my first post, found 10 that met the max.

My reasoning is that a long case would prevent the gun from going into battery and thus fail to fire. No big deal, unless you are in a heated conversation with a terrorist.

Taking the time to measure showed me that 9mm cases can sure grow with age which is contrary to popular opinion as well as my own.

Thank you for your interest in my little project. I always wondered if I was doing the right thing by ignoring 9mm cases. It might be another 20 years till I check the cases again.:)
 
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