Case Length and Lee Case Trimmer

[DillHarris]

I have a Lee case trimmer for 30-30 Winchester. I don't do a whole lot of high volume reloading so the Lee system works fine for me, except...

My Lyman #47 says trim to 2.028" and a 2004 Hogdgon Annual Manual I have says trim to 2.030". That's all fine. The problem is my case trimmer trims to 2.038" and max case length in my Lyman says 2.039". I've got the case length gauge screwed into the trimmer all the way. If I trim to .001" of max, I think I'm going to be doing a lot of unnecessary trimming.

The way this is set-up now, trimming factory 1x fired brass, only a couple of the cases get trimmed and there will be a lot variance in the case lengths. Do you think this will have much effect on accuracy?

Do any of you have any warnings against trying to slightly shorten the case length gauge about a hundredth of an inch? Any methods recommended? I imagine I'd have to make sure the gauge is smooth when I'm done and there aren't any burrs.

Thanks for any replies and have a good day.

Dill

 

[FieroCDSP]

call Lee and see if they offer one with a shorter length, or if you can send yours in to be shortened.

 

[tkcomer]

I did this just the other night. My trimmer would only trim about 2 to 3 thousands off the case. I took a diamond sharpener and just rubbed the case length guage around just a little at a time to get to the length I wanted. So far, so good.

 

[telecaster1981]

Dill,

I think this is a very common occurance with the Lee case trimmer setup. The Lee system is all I run because it's cheap and easy, but not perfect. I have been known to shorten the case length guage to a certain spec, though. It's cheap enough to have a couple of Lee's case length guages, set up for different lengths, for each of the rounds you reload.

Ben

 

[Dave P]

I run these in my drill press to shorten the cases. Works fine.

To shorten the gage I use a stone or emery cloth. Nothing critical about it - except the final length.

 

[DillHarris]

Thanks for the help guys. Just wanted to make sure other people have done the same thing with good results. I'll work on it this weekend proably and let you all knowhow it goes. I appreciate it. Take it easy.

 

[DillHarris]

Trims to 2.030" now. Used real light strokes over a file followed by buffing pad on the dremel. Works well. Thanks again.