Do you trim rifle cartridges every time?

[TonyM]

I've been handloading a short while(5 years or so), self taught via instructions, and books. I load for .243, 7mm Rem Mag, .300 Win Mag, and very rarely 10mm auto.
Every time I reload rifle brass I trim it to the "trim to" length. Having said that, am I wasting time? Should I wait until it exceeds the SAAMI maximum length and then resize. My process is tumble, lube, resize, trim, chamfer/deburr, tumble, prime and load....

 

[ArtP]

I never trim until I go out of spec, which is rare since I use a collet neck sizer.

I don't think it makes a tremendous amount of difference to accuracy since the headspace area is the shoulder and the bullet will be the same distance to the lands. The variable is neck surface area and I've not noticed any difference, but I'm not competing either.

 

[Walkalong]

No, only when they get long enough be a problem. Either too long for crimping well in the cannelure at my O.A.L., or at/over max trim length for non crimped ammo.

 

[jr45]

I trim my bottle necked rifle every other reload...I full length size.

 

[788Ham]

I've reloaded for about 35 years now, still learning! I check the length every time I reload a case{s}, depending on the brass make, some will need it more often. Usually every 4th or 5th reloading they might need a trim, this way you don't take off too much at one sitting. Hope this helps.

 

[esheato]

I don't usually need to as my Ackleys don't really grow in length, but I have a Giraud and it's super easy, so I usually do it every time.

If nothing else, it saves me two other steps (inside/outside case mouth deburring) because the Giraud does it for me while trimming.

 

[Flash!]

no..... I do not trim rifle cases every time..... but I do measure them everytime to make sure they are in spec...... only trim when necessary....usually every third or fourth time...

 

[driftpin]

I usually trim when I get a little long. With my normal .308 Win rounds, the trim to length is 2.005 and the SAAMI .308 says 2.015 so if I'm over the SAAMI by more than five thousands, then I will trim. I hate trimming so my habits may not be what you want to emulate. When the cartridge headspaces off the case mouth (.45 ACP) then I am more attentive.

Just a side note. I have purchased just about every trimmer on the market. RCBS, Forster, Lyman, Possum Hollow and was not happy with the precision and repeatability of them. Just recently I purchased a Sinclair/Wilson trimmer with a micrometer setting. I have to say that I wish I would have known of this one when I first started loading, it's like one of those rotisseries "Just set it and forget it" and they all come out absolutely perfect. It was a bit pricey but I would have paid ten times more if I had known it would save me all the wasted time and anguish that the others gave me. You can purchase a powered adapter but I haven't purchased that yet. It cuts so well I don't know how much more speed as I would gain with it. Well good luck.

 

[ScratchnDent]

I full length size and trim every time.

 

[Tim the student]

I trim when they are too long.

 

[qajaq59]

I trim about every third load. And keep in mind that not every rifle, such as the 30-30s, headspaces on the shoulder.

 

[mongoose33]

I've been using the RCBS X-Die for my .223 cases, and I've gotten 11 reloads from them w/o trimming. I'm not done with testing, either. The last couple times I've lost a few to neck splits, so I'm probably at the reasonable life of those cases. However, I also took a shot at annealing them, so we'll see if I can get even more reloads out of them.

 

[TonyM]

Thanks for all your responses! I think I'll stop doing it every time- it's alot of work, and I'm not competing, just using them for hunting, and as it is I am the weak link. Adjusting the RCBS trimmer is a pain...

 

[qajaq59]

However, I also took a shot at annealing them, so we'll see if I can get even more reloads out of them.

It should help if you did it correctly and they not already too far gone.

 

[TonyM]

Any good sites that talk about annealing? How complex is the process?

 

[qajaq59]

You could start here and a search will get you even more. And before you try annealing you good brass, get a bunch of range brass and practice on that. It isn't hard but practice helps.

http://www.6mmbr.com/annealing.html

 

[sansone]

I've been working up a load for a new .243 rifle and checking length every time. checking everything really since I don't want to miss something and not know why I shot a bad group. normally only check length after 2-3 reloads. If you load hot the cases stretch

 

[rbernie]

I full length size and trim every time.

This. I have multiple rifles for certain chamberings, so I err on the side of caution.

It should be noted that I do my reloading in batches, so it's easiest to resize them all and then trim them all. I use the Lee trim setup with their universal collet in a cordless drill, so I can trim several hundred cases per hour.

 

[The Bushmaster]

I only trim when the case is out of specs. However, I do trim .30-30 every time to insure a consistent crimp on all rounds produced.

 

[Kawabuggy]

I trim every time because I crimp all of my rounds and want the crimp to be uniform from case to case. I use the Lee trimmer with the mandrels that set the cutting length. That way I know that every case is the exact same length. I don't have to make adjustments on a trimmer and try and get it set to the exact same position as the last time I used it. With a power drill, I can trim 100 cases in under 10 minutes.

Uniformity in brass prep is key to accuracy so I try to keep as many variables as possible under control. I use only the same head-stamped brass in each batch, that have had the same prep-neck sized, neck-turned, annealed, primer pocket uniformed, flash-hole deburred, case mouth chamferred & deburred, and now I am starting to weigh cases. I do this for all of my rounds whether I am hunting, or target shooting. Is it all necessary? I have yet to prove that any of it HURTS accuracy, and I have seen a little improvement, so why not?

 

[Slamfire]

Brass grows the most in the first couple of reloads. After that it is erratic. You shoot the stuff in a different chamber and size in a different die and the stuff starts growing again.

If you don't trim each time, one day you are going to start blowing primers. After much soul searching you will figure out that the case neck has grown to the point it it is being pinched in the chamber throat.

And having been there and done that, I now trim bottle neck rifle cases after each full length resizing.

 

[SuperNaut]

I measure, trim, FL resize, every time.

 

[GW Staar]

I trim when they are too long.

That means you have to measure. I don't own a Giraud, but my vertically-mounted, powered, foot-operated Forster is just as fast. Therefore I, like many Girauld-users, trim every time. Faster than measuring, and batching for a trim-job, so why measure? My Forster uses a 3-way cutter as well, so they are chamfered and deburred (like the Giraud) in that same quick operation.

Insert, trim, auto-eject into a bin. 2 seconds each. I used to hate the trimming.

 

[Walkalong]

I trimmed (PH), deburred and chamfered (RCBS hand tool) 500 .223 cases last night. The Giruad is sounding like a better idea all the time. Might be time to get off my cheap butt and get one.

All ready to prime and load.

 

[BsChoy]

I used to trip everytime...I recently started measuring the cases and only trimming cases that were outta spec more than .010 max sometimes less