Have I ruined some brass?

[Afy]

Well... loading up for a range trip tomorrow...

So weight sorted some brass, cleaned primer pockets, neck sized... and then trimmed to 2.015 inches.

The problem being that Lyman lists the trim to length as 2.025

Do I toss this lot... or use them for foulers et al? Luckily only a batch of 10 that were trimmed to this length. The rest are all at 2.025 and being loaded as I type this.

 

[R.W.Dale]

SLIGHTLY less neck tension and a longer interval between the next trimming trimming are gonna be the only effects.

I say keep em together in the same batch and shoot em.

 

[243winxb]

Less neck tension and a longer interval between the next trimming. PLus if the base of the bullet(full diameter not the boatail end) leaves the case neck before the bullet seals the bore, you will get more throat erosion.

 

[Walkalong]

Not a big deal, but I would not shoot a group with some of each length, even though you would probably never see it on target. Foulers is a good idea.

 

[R.W.Dale]

PLus if the base of the bullet(full diameter not the boatail end) leaves the case neck before the bullet seals the bore, you will get more throat erosion.

please why don't you just tell the guy his rifle will explode if you're gonna exaggerate that much. Have you measured the distance to the rifling on a production rifle lately? .010 is the proverbial hotdog down a hallway

 

[243winxb]

krochus, he is shooting a custom barreled rifle, NOT factory. Throat erosion increases with the condition. A good example is the 55gr bullet in the 243win. If the custom barrel is chambered correctly for the bullets weight/length he is using, there is no chance he will have blow by of the bullet

 

[The Bushmaster]

Load'em...Shoot'em...Load'em again...In about 2 to 4 loadings they will be back out and need triming again...

 

[Afy]

I am shooting a standard-ish .260 Walther barrel... 2.854 puts me off about .02 off the lands.
Not planning to shoot groups with this lot...

Am worried about a ton of other things. My brass seems to be off...

I do need a better trimmer than the lyman I have. And do need a better chamfering tool... which is begining to make me paranoid.

For absolute accuracy... how do I need to reload?

Am currently begining to wieght sort... trim to .2025 , chamfer... clean primer pockets with a bud.. sort by .1 grains for brass..
Have bought: Bushing dies.., .01/.02/.03 bushings, meplat trimmer, neck turner and a gallon and a half of vodka. What else do I need?
Oh... and a run out gauge... but its going to be at least a couple of weeks before delivery... and a week after that before when I can go do voodoo reloading and shoot.

Would really appreciate something I can do to improve the ammo between now and tomorrow 10 AM CET .... Would love a cloverleaf group...

 

[~z]

The vodka may be the problem. Do a search for "whiskey and reloading" and you will see that whiskey is a far superior reloading lubricant. Everyone knows potatoes are for eating. Try that, and I'm sure you will see your group size shrink.
~z

 

[wyocarp]

Are we really talking about 10 pieces of brass? Throw them out.

 

[ants]

It's easy to tell another man to throw his stuff out.

One one-hundredth of an inch will stretch out in no time. Use them for foulers and be happy, Afy.

Have fun shooting, buddy.

 

[30Cal]

Trim-to-length is arbitrary (something like 0.010" shorter than max). They're fine. Shoot them. Difference in case neck tension is negligible.

 

[Bullet]

Afy

Don’t make this to hard. I’d just load some at different charge weights and shoot. I doubt you will see a difference due to your brass length. And as The Bushmaster said “Load'em...Shoot'em...Load'em again...In about 2 to 4 loadings they will be back out and need triming again…” I would segregate the shorter brass until it catches up with the rest.

My first 308 had the lands just ahead of the chamber removed at the bottom of the barrel (my mistake, don’t ask) but it would still shoot ½ inch 5 shot groups @100 all day, using just a standard neck die and Rem cases. I didn’t weigh anything except the powder and only had a cheap 3x9 scope. Keep it simple at first and see what results you get. You might be surprised. Later you can make changes and see if it helps. What brand cases are you using?

 

[bullseye308]

You forgot the scarificial chicken for the start of the process.

I would just mark those cases and use them for foulers until they grow up to be full sized cases again, then they can join their longer bretheren again.

 

[243winxb]

Save out of spec. cases for setting up you neck turner. Cut to the neck shoulder junction, but NOT into the shoulder. Save the scarificial chicken for dinner. LOL

 

[NCsmitty]

AFY, don't sweat the small things, and this is a very small thing, like .010. You could not tell any difference in groups mixed with the shorter cases. Some people get paranoid if the brass color does not match. A simple v-block and dial indicator would be all you need to check bullet runout. Many of the suggestions that you have received about case prep and the need for expensive accessories are overkill at this stage of development. I'm not here to disparage the long range shooters and their methods because it's your money and time.
I would concentrate on powder charge weight matched to bullet weight without all the hocus-pocus. Finding the best loads would be priority one at this stage, IMO. That's all I need to say on this. I will wait for your next report.

NCsmitty

 

[Walkalong]

When you are trying to shoot them all in one hole, like Afy is, you do sweat the small things. Foulers Afy.

I turned my Benchrest brass to the nearest .0001. Then trimmed them all to exactly the same length. Any one that felt ever so slightly different seating a bullet was a fouler.

We are talking tight necked chambers and a sizer made with the same reamer as the chamber, so brass doesn't stretch much.