38 Spcl brass length

[jbrown13]

Yesterday I ran 300 38 Spcl thru my Hornady LnL AP, and approx. 10% would not case gage. They would not start into the gage and I surmised that the case bell was not being completely removed by the separate roll crimp die. I cranked the roll crimp die down another 1/8th turn and ran the offenders back thru the crimp station and they then all case gaged. Since I don't trim my brass I'm thinking this 10% was a bit shorter than the rest and the crimp die didn't take out all the bell. All brass was Winchester OF. Do you think my analysis of the problem was correct?

I talked to a guy I see at the range today and he said he trims all brass, including revolver and pistol brass. I would rather not have to trim my brass. Should I be trimming my brass to eliminate this situation?

 

[Walkalong]

They would not start into the gage and I surmised that the case bell was not being completely removed

Sounds reasonable. Long cases would not stop them from starting into the gauge. A bell that was not removed, or too fat bullets, but not a too long case.

Revolver brass does not have to be trimmed. I do trim it because it gives a more consistent crimp, but many folks don't trim revolver brass.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Go for a consistent crimp and trim all your revolver brass to the same length...