To chamfer or not?

Straight wall cases = 0%

Bottlenecked cases = 100%

If your shaving at all I’d say just flair the case a bit more. That said I do like to very lightly chamfer my revolver brass when I get it just so the inner edge isn’t sharp.

Soonerpesek said:

Straight wall cases = 0%

Bottlenecked cases = 100%

Click to expand...

Ditto.

I chamfer 100% of lead loads and all rifle. Not scraping a 50 cent bullet.

I chamfer all straight walled cases. Learned my lesson when I ordered 2k of new .44 Spl brass. It kept sticking in the press. Since then I always chamfer new brass or after trimming.

When I am loading lead bullets in handgun cases, semi-auto or revolver, I generally chamfer the inside of the case mouth. It takes the sharp edge off the case and prevents/minimizes shaving lead off the bullet.

I still have to make sure the case mouth is flared appropriately. This is a “by feel” thing. I try to keep the mouth flaring to a minimum but it needs adjusting if you are shaving lead.

As others have said, if the case gets trimmed, the mouth needs to be chamfered again.

I generally do not trim hand gun cases except full power or near full power revolver cases. A uniform roll crimp is desired for consistsnt ignition from round to round. This can only be accomplished if the cases are the same length within a couple thousandths of an inch or so. Generally, the cases do not need to be trimmed more than once.

Rifle cases do require periodic trimming, deburring, and chamfering.

I use a Lyman neck expanding "M" die on all pistol cartridges and have never had a scraped bullet, lead or otherwise. Maybe I'm just getting lucky but it works great and is the fastest way I have found.

I flair it - for pistol straight wall, and don't think of chamfer for those cases. If you're shaving, you're not quite flairing just barelly not enough, or - the bullets are not staying straight as they feed up into the press to seat. I'm not overly experienced with this, but - I've seen and tried the being able to stuck the bullet in and turn the case over, and it should not fall out - is when your flair is just enough. Seems to work the few times I've tried that method.

Flare is important and I keep seeing people talking about minimizing to extend case life. If I split them before I loose them that's a victory. Might worry about it if I shot on my own land....maybe not.

I chamfer and deburr all new brass.

Once it's been fired, I don't bother.

Enough flair/bell is important to not shave lead, coated, or plated bullets.

chris

If I expand the neck no chamfer. The other brass I will chamfer and deburr and repeat after each trim. It helps a flat base bullet go in straight without shaving as well as prevent engraving scratches on the sides of bullets----better seal.

sonora said:

I'm meticulous with my approach to reloading.

Click to expand...

The good news is that it’s unlikely to do any harm trimming, debur and chamfer your 38 spl cases. I would say the majority of people don’t though.