Trim to length?

[ontarget]

This evening I sat down to load up some 45 Colt. I had a tray of range pick up brass so I ran them through the sizing, decapping die and stood them on end as I went.
I noticed that some were noticeably short.
My Lyman manual calls for a trim to length of 1.275. I had in front of me about 20 pieces of Starline at 1.285 and some Remington at 1.280 and a bunch of Federal at about 1.282. Not a problem, I was going to trim them anyway.
I also had about 25 pieces of very shiny Hornady brass that measured 1.230.
I'm sure someone probably trimmed that Hornady brass that short for a reason but I can't imagine why.
Any ideas?
And just how short is too short for a rimmed cartridge?

 

[Obturation]

Likely for the leverevolution ammo, I know several of the hornady cases are cut short because of the flex tip bullets profile. It's not my cup of tea. When I get those I use them for trailboss or throw them out. I have a lot if 45-70 cases that are that way because of that ammunition .

 

[ontarget]

That's possible. I have no idea where this brass came from.
Is it too short to use in a revolver?

 

[Ifishsum]

It will work but you'll have to make adjustments to get a proper (any) crimp on it.

 

[Obturation]

Is it too short to use in a revolver?

It's certainly useable but you shouldn't just load your normal charge. Because the case capacity is less the pressure will be higher. That's why I just load those odd length cases with trailboss and call it good. An alternative is to seat the bullet to normal length but then the cannalure isn't going to line up with the case mouth (not ideal) , that's ok too but it's not what I prefer.
Another alternative is to get some ftx bullets and use them in only those cases. It's not my preferred 45 caliber HP and there's no way I'd be trying to hunt any down.

To me , it's not worth working up a separate load for short cases. 45 colt brass is in demand right now and out of stock so if you're limited on brass you can use it but I'd recommend a smaller charge than you're using on the standard length cases, seat to the groove , crimp and work back up.

I'm sure someone that uses them will comment soon with better advice but there is no great solution as far as I know.

 

[ontarget]

Ok. I have 450-500 good cases so I will probably just scrap these shorties. I stumbled on 200 Winchester cases at Cabelas a couple months ago and snatched them right up. So I'm setting pretty good for now.
Thanks for the info. I'm still learning ALOT as I go.