trim to length vs resize to length?

[lgbloader]

Someone needs a reloading manual in the worst way, and I say that with all due respect.

I agree (Good Morning, RC and Walkalong)

Whether you are single stage or progressive, you have to use proper proceedure and trying to make shortcuts (as I see the OP is trying to do) is what causes all the problems in handloading. These problems can hurt or kill.
Progressives are great for pistol / straight walled type but you have to process your brass correctly for bottleneck and follow the correct steps. Trim and then resize. no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

For rifle brass I run them through my LNL using only the sizer in station one. I even remove the powder measure. I let them just make their way around and drop into the catch bin lined with paper towel to keep the lube off of it. As the bin fills I dump them in another container. Then I take them to the shed to tumble them. If trimming is needed I trim them.

This is a great way to do this or get yourself a good single stage and lube and size your brass on this. then retumble and then:

1) Inspect brass
2) swage primber pockets
3) Trim
4) champfer/debur
5) Brush case necks
6) clean primer pockets
7) deburr flashholes
8) Inspect brass

then run them through the progressive minus the sizing die to prime, charge and then seat the bullet.

now your rounds are assembled and ready for final inspection.

Sorry, Wastedimage, what it is - is what it is.

LGB

 

[dmazur]

The Dillon lock rings are a thin hex nut, with no provision for locking to the die itself. Due to the close spacing on the 550B toolhead, it can be challenging to get larger lock rings to work. Dillon sells a special thin end wrench to deal with tightening these *#$@ close-spaced hex nuts.

Dillon's design is kind of like a turret -- you're supposed to set up the toolhead, lock the dies to the head, and then leave it alone (for that caliber.) Different calibers are set up on separate toolheads.

You can adjust the powder measure and bullet seating depth, of course, but these don't involve loosening the die lock rings.

My intent was certainly not to rule out other ways of attacking a problem, just to explain what I found works with the somewhat temperamental 550B.

 

[rcmodel]

The Dillon lock rings are a thin hex nut, with no provision for locking to the die itself.

Gotcha!
I wasn't aware of that.

I see now where removing and reinstalling would require re-adjustment every time.

rc

 

[Walkalong]

Dillon figures you are going to tighten up on the tool head and then leave them alone.

 

[WNTFW]

I have found brass doesn't lengthen the same enough to trust trimming before sizing.

The task & order they are performed don't change from single stage to progressive in my process.

On the 550B I got a 2nd tool head for .223 ($18.00)
Tool head 1 has sizing die only. That way I dont count indexing & I can really fly with it. Cleaned case go in station 1 get sized and go through to bin.

trim & debur in & out, then tumble lube off.

Tool head 2 has powder, seater & crimp. Prepped cases go in station 1 to get primed and then proceed to powder, bullet. I don't like to crimp.

You can do it without a 2nd tool head. I just find the 2nd tool head easy when dealing with thousands of cases. On a lower volume I would just keep 1 head and index diffferently or work around it. You can index twice after sizing and the case only hits the sizer, seater & bin.

 

[wally]

I have a dillon 550 so trimming after resize will add considerable time to my cycle (progressive press)

Doesn't Dillon sell a power trimer that mounts on a die station after the sizer die?
This would seem to be the best solution if you reload high volumes.

--wally.

 

[dmazur]

I've considered one of the Dillon 1200B power trimmers. From what I've read about these -

* They don't mount on a 550 and replace the sizing die due to the 1200B's large diameter, and the fact that it doesn't neck size or deprime.
* The 550 toolhead has "play", and some users report they have to shim the toolhead to get consistent case lengths when mounting the 1200B trimmer on a separate toolhead.
* Used on a single stage press as a side operation, it seems to work fine, for trimming. There isn't much of a chamfer created.

So, it's not an ideal solution. It undoubtedly is much faster than small "lathe type" trimmers for those reloading thousands of rounds.

 

[lgbloader]

I see now where removing and reinstalling would require re-adjustment every time.

This is easily fixed by replacing the dillon lock ring with a locking die nut. this works fine as I use RCBS dies for 357 Mag, 44 Mag and 38 spcl on my 550B.
But I personally don't find it too much trouble setting up a sizing die, especially to full length size 223 Rem for my black rifles.

LGB

 

[jamestlester]

I am using a hornady pro-7 5 station press. I am in the market for a case trimmer for less than 100 bucks. My personal favorite is the lyman universal with drill attachment. But my main question is not which trimmer, but when to trim. Trim before tumbling, after tumbling, or after sizing die? and what does the resizing die do exactly? letme rephrase that. when the resizing die molds the case to spec, is the brass pushed towards the top of the case, causing the overall case length to inrease enough that it should be trimmed after resizing?

I am no pro shooter, and am looking to make high grade plinking ammo. (oxymoron?) i want my shells to be uniform, but not so much so that it drastically increases reloading time.

I do not want to buy a single stage, and I definately dont want to be taking rounds off my progressive after the resizing station. All my instruction with the RCBS .223 dies i'm using are a little unclear.

So, do i trim before or after the resizing die? and if it is really unsafe to trim before sizing, what is the next best option? buy a single stage press? idk. do tell. haha. I'm not the most experienced reloader. I want mid range accuracy and want to reload quickly, without interrupting my flo'

Also, finally, on a side note: I never got the small primer arm/tube for my Hornady PRO-7 when i got my press a as a gift; only the bigone. where/how can i find/buy/jerryrig one?

 

[Lee Roder]

After firing, my (straight-walled) cases expand a bit so that my resizing die squeezes their diameter back to "new". Since amount of brass is fixed, this resizing or rearrangement of brass usually makes my cases a bit longer.

If I trim before resizing, then my Lee trimmer shaves off a bit from most after I resize. So to be efficient, I trim only after resizing. Then I weigh

 

[243winxb]

RCBS X Die

RCBS X Die is made so you have less trimming to do. Read PDF file instructions here > http://www.rcbs.com/downloads/instructions/XDieProductInstructions.pdf