223 case length

[JamieC]

Probably a stupid question, while going through asst 223 brass, I checked the lengths, they measured from 1.745 to 1.765, some a bit shorter and longer. The thing I'm wondering, how important, (within a safe range), is case length? I have to ASSume these brass are/were factory, although they could have been 'done' by a reloader. I trim mine to 1.750, up to this point, all my 223 reloading, ( a couple of months worth), has been PPU brass, I figured to take one variable out while learning. They have all measured around 1.760, these were bought new by me and my neighbor, so I'm sure they were new.

 

[Reloadron]

If we look at the SAAMI Drawing for a 223 case and chamber we see the Maximum case length is 1.760" -0.030" so between 1.730" and 1.760" is the allowable range. Like most I trim to 1.750" but that is only done as a matter of wanting all my cases uniform before I load them. So what you are seeing isn't at all unusual.

Ron

 

[edfardos]

Anything over 1760 is possibly dangerous, especially In a bolt action rifle. The chamber might crimp the brass and hold the bullet in place, inducing higher pressures. Anything under 1730 might not provide enough neck area to reliably hold the bullet, causing setback..

 

[X-Rap]

I set my caliper at 1750 as well as my trimmer. For the most part my brass ends up being shorter than the 1750. I guess that tells me that the manufacturer or reman/reloader that processed it before me cut them shorter.
At any rate nothing gets reloaded by me that is longer than 1750.

 

[heymarine1833]

guess you can take this comment for what it's worth but some may have different views. a lot of assorted once fired brass military or not lake city brand and others all have varying degrees of inconsistent lengths. i tumble, lube and size everything i get then measure. i then run everything though a trimmer. some will not trim because it's too short. from what i can tell, your loads should be fine even though your COAL will differ. the brass i use now has the same problem as yours but i shoot them anyway. as far as accuracy goes, i cant really tell any difference. it is a little annoying regardless

i always trim a hair below 1.750 because this way, i will probably never have to trim again. ****if you choose to trim your cases above 1.750, there is a good chance that your cartridge may not chamber. i would suggest a head space gauge from dillon, midway, rcbs, hornady etc for your particular cartridge to ensure your hand load will fit in your chamber. this tool is a good cheap insurance method should you suspect an issue. if your load does not fit well in the head space gauge, it will not fit in your rifle either and should you fire it, you may be asking for a trip to the hospital

 

[VulcanChecks]

I would stick as close as possible to the SAAMI acceptable limits. If you are under the range you could run into some issues. Most notably if you are not engaging the throat of the barrel consistently, you are looking at some accuracy issues. Not to mention if the bullet becomes damaged as it enters the barrel from being slightly off it will throw your accuracy way off.