Frustrated with 223 case prep

[gahunter12]

I just run them all through the trimmer.
If

^^^ This. I usually spend my winter/hunting season prepping .223/.556 brass for the next year. I am not bench shooting. I sort by head stamp, resize, trim, etc all brass, and pack away for loading later. I have my Trim It chucked in my drill press, and set to 1.750". I run brass through the trimmer, and it trims any over the 1.750". If you are trying to load match grade ammo, use something else besides Federal brass. I also see it being shorter, and primer pockets seem to get loose more often. Just my .02

 

[Cemetery21]

I only trim when the length exceeds 1.560", so I'm not concerned with the length until it gets to that point. I have Sinclair chamber length gauges for most calibers and factory chambers I've measured always exceed max by at least .010".
As to any affect on accuracy with identical case lengths (since I don't crimp), I don't think I can shoot well enough to tell.

 

[moxie]

IMO, unless you are shooting international bench rest competition, you are obsessing overly much!

The 1.750" is a "trim to" length for cases over that length. If they are shorter they are good to go.

And I find Federal brass to be perfectly fine.

 

[Dudedog]

I just run them all through the trimmer.
If they cut they cut, if they don't they don't.

I have my WFT set at 1.75.
I just trim them all. They either trim or they don't.

PS WFT was money well spent.

 

[GLOOB]

There's nothing magical about 1.750. Anything between 40 and 60 is in spec. Just trim them all to 1.740, not just the federal cases. I don't see any advantage of resetting your trimmer +- a roll crimp die for two different lengths.

The shortest case I ever found was an IMI. It was about 1.727 and looked to be OF'd. But the stranger thing was the shoulder was also 20+ mils short. I can't imagine how it was fired and still that small. There's no way a chamber that short could reliably shoot factory ammo, anyway.

 

[kostner]

I just run them all through the trimmer.
If they cut they cut, if they don't they don't.
After sizing they into my Possum Hollow trimmer mounted on a drill press. If I hear a finding sound then they need trimming. Take 15 seconds to pop them in.

 

[X-Rap]

Checking length is one of those jobs I do while watching TV, it's a simple go no go job that's pretty much mindless.

 

[gwpercle]

Shoot and reload them until they need trimming. That length is the maximum length you want, they can be shorter!

 

[z7]

My best group ever with my ar15 was a legitimate 1/4" group (2 of them actually, 4 shots each) with federal brass, a few would not cut when I tried to trim.

 

[Clint M]

As for federal brass it's good stuff on weight etc, but sucks hind ti& thru the primer pockets. If I were worried over .10" trim length on loading accuracy I would start with better brass or sure, Lapua is pretty much plug and play, it's well worth the money for accuracy purposes, however you may be upset with it as well as very little prep work will be needed. I understand where you are coming from if this is your first step into accuracy loading trying to eliminate every opportunity possible then find some other brass to start with, or trim to a shorter length. You can also compare different trim lengths to a standard trim length to see if you can find any accuracy increase.

I'm not going to ruin your good time learning as I have went thru this before, but I will say the inside/outside chamfer is more important than trim length just make sure you knock the burrs off only.The bullet should center in the throat eliminating and minor case length variation other than the ability for the neck to expand, and seal the chamber. Good luck, it's fun learning and doing, testing and shooting.

 

[cheygriz]

If they aren't longer than the maximum length, they don;t need trimming.

Unless you're a SERIOUS benchrest competitior, .010-020 variation isn't going to make any difference as long as they don't exceed ,max. Use a Lee factory crimp die and you're good to go.

 

[Bart B.]

Case length can have several thousandths spread without any detriment to accuracy. That's been proved too often for me to say anything else.

SAAMI specs for mouth clearance (space between chambered case mouth full forward in the chamber and chamber mouth) with case at max length and chamber mouth are several thousandths. That's needed because bottleneck case shoulders get set back by firing pin impact which pushes the case neck further forward in the chamber. SAAMI and shooters do not want the case mouth being crimped by the chambere mouth's beveled edge into the bullet.

There's a few good ways to measure your chamber dimensions as well as those of your cases to ensure their mouth is at least .010" short of touching the chamber mouth when the round's smacked by a well sprung firing pin.

Measure some primed cases before and after popping them in your chamber to see how much shoulder setback and case necks growth happens.

Every bottleneck case I've fired has been a couple thousandths shorter after firing. After full length sizing, it's almost .001" longer than before.

 

[gamestalker]

I some how missed the part about using Federal brass. IMO, and experience, Federal brass is horrible. It doesn't last as long as Win, or even RP, which is known to be thinner than some head stamps, although it's been good to me.

That said, I don't load any bottle neck Federal brass any more. I had a bad experience not too long ago with some Federal .270 win. brass, and it was factory ammo, didn't even make it to a first loading. My son gave me a box of it, and on the 18th or 19th round, a primer pocket completely let go, messed up my bolt face, broke the extractor, and damaged the rim of the bolt. Cost me about $75 to ship it back to Ruger for repair, which fortunately they didn't charge me a dime. That was last spring, and I have since culled all the bottle neck Federal brass from my stock, so no more Federal for me ever. I still use Federal handgun brass, seems to be alright, and I load handgun full throttle.

And honestly, up until just several years ago, I actually liked Federal brass and never had any issues with it. But something has changed with their brass over the last several years, it's certainly not what it used to be IMO.

GS

 

[Gravedigger56]

I just run them all through the trimmer.
If they cut they cut, if they don't they don't.

I agree. Plus it gives me a good reason to get to spend more time in the reloading room. 2 hrs later..."Just one more batch to do dear, then I'll be right up".

 

[345 DeSoto]

I use to be obsessed with .223 case length...until I saw the MINOR differences the length made on where it ended up on the cannelure. If you're crimping your .223 loads, then case length will make a difference. If you DON'T crimp, and I don't, case length makes no difference what so ever...unless the case is too long.

 

[HOWARD J]

I gave myself a break--purchased from Midway 500 .223 brass from General Dynamics
Not one case had to be resized --- only 3 necks had to be reshaped.
Not bad as they are bulk shipped in cardboard box---