Lenght of the brass !!!

[alca]

Hi, i want to measure my brass pistol cause i want to have the same lenght.
Do i measure it before resizinf or after the resizing operation?
Thank

 

[oldpapps]

Most pistol brass is straight walled, so it shouldn't make any difference. I normally check length after sizing straight walled brass and always after sizing bottle necked brass.

 

[jstein650]

^Yep.

 

[45lcshooter]

Check after resizing. Straight walled cases usually grow, if grow at all, after several firings.

 

[Walkalong]

Right, sizing will lengthen brass as it squeezes it inward. Always trim after sizing.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

On some revolver cartridges, which I don't trim, I sort by length before resizing. Makes crimping easier. I quit trimming a straight-wall rounds.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Right, sizing will lengthen brass as it squeezes it inward. Always trim after sizing.

You trim handgun brass after each sizing?
I have never trimmed a piece of handgun brass.

 

[Walkalong]

You trim handgun brass after each sizing?

No, he asked when to trim, before or after sizing. That is the answer. After.


I never trim auto brass, but I do trim a lot of revolver brass. I am shooting mixed .38 Spl and .357 brass, and the lengths are all over the place, so I trim them to get better more consistent crimps. I bought a bunch of Starline .32 Long and .32 Mag brass. It is so consistent in length I have not trimmed it. My .45 Colt brass is also mixed, and I trimmed it as well.

Many people never trim any pistol brass, and I never knock anyone for not doing so. YMMV

 

[gamestalker]

Trim after resizing. And for the record, I trim all my brass. There is a SAAMI specification for "trim too length", use that specified length. And your right, it does make crimping go a lot more consistent and helps to eliminate issues with light, or over crimped cases, which leads bullet jump, or buckled cases.

GS

 

[bigdaa]

I'm another one insisting that it be measured after full length sizing.