To trim or not to trim...?

[Matt Dillon]

Folks, please help me make the right decision. I have ALWAYS trimmed my pistol brass, using the Lee trimmer system. I have done thousands of pieces of brass, as I believe that case preparation is one of the most important aspects of reloading accurate and safe ammunition. Normally my regimen includes:
Polishing with corn cobs
De priming
Polishing with ground up walnuts
Uniform the primer pocket
Trim each piece of brass, then chamfering inside and out of the mouth
Flaring the brass
Prime the brass, then it is ready for filling
I recently picked up a CZ83, in .380ACP. I normally like to load up ~2000 rounds to have on hand for each new caliber that I acquire.
I use the Lee factory crimp die as the last step in the loading process.

My question is this: How important is trimming .380 brass? I don't want to cut corners or do anything that will cause my pistol to jam or be unsafe, but I really don't relish the thought of trimming 2000 pieces of .380 brass.
Please share your thoughts, and thanks so much in advance for your help!

 

[hoghunting]

A few years back, I shot competitively with a 45acp. I would run through 500 rounds a week which included practice and matches. I would start with new brass and never trimmed a single case. I could get 15-20 loads out of the cases before the mouths would start splitting. Never had a problem with a case being too long.

Rifle cases are completely different.

 

[loadedround]

I have been reloading and shooting for over 40 years and also shot Bullesye Pistol for many years, reloading both 38 Spec and 45 ACP. Never once did I have a need to trim these cases. Now bottle necked rifle cases are a different story and I found the need to trim them after 2-3 firings. Hope this info helps you.

 

[The Bushmaster]

As long as your .380 cases are within specifications they do not need to be trimmed.

 

[30Cal]

I've never had to trim a pistol case, but if I had to, I'd throw it away instead.

Ty

 

[The Bushmaster]

You must throw away a lot of .357 magnum cases...

 

[30Cal]

You must throw away a lot of .357 magnum cases...

Don't own one of those. I load 40S&W, 45ACP and 44Spl.

 

[Car Knocker]

I reload .380ACP. Never had a need to trim any of those cases.

 

[The Bushmaster]

O K 30cal...L O L that explains it. Never had to trim 9mm .45ACP or .38 special either...

 

[Matt Dillon]

I certainly will continue to trim the more potent cartridges, such as .357 magnum, and I will continue to trim .38 caliber, as both of these cartridges utilize a roll crimp, and I like a uniform roll crimp, but do you all think it necessary to trim all those .380ACP cartridges? thanks in advance!

 

[The Bushmaster]

No...Absolutely not.

 

[Grumulkin]

I have never yet had to trim a straight wall case of any kind.

 

[g56]

I've been reloading for about 35 years, I've shot Bullseye competition and later shot PPC competitively for a number of years, shooting in Master class. I can't even count how many 38 special cases I've loaded for PPC, and 45 acp when I was shooting Bullseye, and 357 mag and 9mm.

I have never trimmed a pistol case, ever.

 

[Kamicosmos]

Even my .357 and .44 Mag brass has never needed to be trimmed. Some of them have been loaded over 10 times, with full power magnum loads. The necks start to split long before they need to be trimmed for length, in my experience. I can't see a .380 stretching if .357 and .44 doesn't.

Now, I can see wanting to trim so you have a more uniform crimp. but, I don't feel that it's worth the time for pistols.

Rifle cartridges, on the other hand, different story.

But, hey, if you like doing case prep, feel free! I sit around and clean primer pockets on all my brass, even though it seems to be a waste of time. I just like doing it!

 

[Roadkill]

I don't trim either.

rk

 

[Serendipity]

Matt, you need to conform some of your "beliefs" to reality. Why do you think they call it "anal"???

 

[The Bushmaster]

I may not have been reloading for as long as some of you, but after 20 years I still don't or can't figure out how you people can get away without trimming .357 magnum cases. Maximum case length is 1.290 and I generally trim to 1.285. It doesn't take too many loadings to get beyond 1.290. Usually two to three. loadings and they need to be trimmed again. You people that do not have to trim .357 magnum cases must let us in on your secret....

 

[ball3006]

I spot check my brass for length....

and trim if necessary. I don't load my ammo hot so I have never had to trim pistol brass. I don't clean my primer pockets either. Never a problem. I cleaned a batch of brass I resized once, never again. Had to pick the media out of the primer hole of every piece of brass in the batch.........chris3

 

[The Bushmaster]

Ball3006 I use a media that flows through the flash hole. I haven't had to remove media from them in years. I DO, however, clean the primer pockets.

 

[Matt Dillon]

Folks, thanks again for all the comments and advice. I have another related question. As I have always previously trimmed all my pistol brass, then chamfered the inside and outside of the mouth, do I need to do that if I don't trim the brass? This is specifically .380ACP that I'm speaking of, as I may trim other calibers in the future, but I am working up a large load of brass for .380ACP and was wonderinf if I still needed to chamfer inside and outside of the mouth. Thanks in advance!

 

[Car Knocker]

The chamfering process removes any burrs from the inside that hinder seating and from the outside that may inhibit easy chambering. However, I have found that flaring the case mouth in effect swages away any inner burr (I flare slightly for both lead and jacketed) and the crimping process swages away any outer burr. I don't specifically chamfer any pistol cases, be they .380, 9mm, .38/.357, or .45ACP.

 

[hoghunting]

Sorry, but you do need to chamfer new brass or trimmed brass. The sharp edges have a tendency to hang up during feeding.

 

[The Bushmaster]

I only camfer and remove burrs from new brass and any brass that I have just trimmed. After that...No. Unless I trim again.

 

[Berek]

I have yet to resize a straight walled case, including the .45-70. I still measure, just in case, but have yet to worry about it.

 

[bakert]

Never trim pistol cases but revolver cases are all trimmed before first loading. Also like The bushmaster says .357 mag cases can and damned well will stretch.