I'm not a hot loader but it seems that everytime I reload .223 brass, it has to be trimmed more than any other I load. .30 carbine is suppossed to be one of the worse for stretching yet rarely does one of mine need to be trimmed. Same with the 30-06 either in bolt or garand, practically very little trimming is needed. Yet, every one of my .223s reloads needs to be trimmed. Anybody else experience this? Something about the 223 ?
.223 & trimming
- Thread starter beefyz
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I would consider lube, dies, brass undersized for chamber, headstamp & # of loadings as the main factors.
What lube?
What Dies?
How are you determining you sizing.
What is the Headstamp, source & # of firings?
I can tell you like some of the same rifles I do!
It seems that my .223 doesn't require a lot of trimming per firing. I do however get cases that require more trimming out of a batch.
What lube?
What Dies?
How are you determining you sizing.
What is the Headstamp, source & # of firings?
I can tell you like some of the same rifles I do!
It seems that my .223 doesn't require a lot of trimming per firing. I do however get cases that require more trimming out of a batch.
Tim the student
Member
Not that way with my .223 AR. Usually, maybe 20-30% will need to be trimmed.
243winxb
Member
What case trimmer are you using? This one? It may trim every time.
Steve in PA
Member
X-die, trim once and your done.
yes... i use the lee trimmers, but like is said, i have little or no trimming for 30 cal carbine, '06, or 6mm. i use the lee trimmers on them, same lube , lee dies etc etc , same procedures. 223 brass that has been bought once fired, all needs trimming regardless of what headstamp is on them; lc, pmp, rp, fc, wcc. out of my mini 14, maybe 8 out of 10 will need. trimming just seems to be more necessary for me with 223.
243winxb
Member
Might have someting to do with the Wylde chamber, i think Mini's still use it?? Try Partial Full Length Resizing. You will need a tool to measure fired brass. This may keep you from over working the brass. I don't think 223 needs more trimming than other calibers. When i trim, i cut brass back .010"
NeuseRvrRat
Member
use the sinclair chamber gauge or a flat base bullet seated backwards and you can measure the length of your actual chamber. it's usually much longer than the saami "max case length"
i've found that mild hunting rounds in the loose chamber that most hunting rifles have pretty much never have to be trimmed. remember, saami specs are there to insure that all factory ammo of a specific caliber will chamber safely in all chambers of the same caliber that are machined to saami's specs. as handloaders, we have the knowledge and tools to tailor our ammo to our chamber, not every saami chamber on earth.
i've found that mild hunting rounds in the loose chamber that most hunting rifles have pretty much never have to be trimmed. remember, saami specs are there to insure that all factory ammo of a specific caliber will chamber safely in all chambers of the same caliber that are machined to saami's specs. as handloaders, we have the knowledge and tools to tailor our ammo to our chamber, not every saami chamber on earth.
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amlevin
Member
What rifle are you shooting this ammo through?
I have only AR's and go through so many rounds that I don't worry about individual cases. I have a Dillon Rapid Trim set up on a separate XL-650 toolhead with a universal de-priming die. All of my .223 cases are sent through the press where they are de-primed, sized, and trimmed. About 3,000 cases per hour if my arm holds up.
Don't worry too much about the "why" as they just get trimmed as a matter of course.
I have only AR's and go through so many rounds that I don't worry about individual cases. I have a Dillon Rapid Trim set up on a separate XL-650 toolhead with a universal de-priming die. All of my .223 cases are sent through the press where they are de-primed, sized, and trimmed. About 3,000 cases per hour if my arm holds up.
Don't worry too much about the "why" as they just get trimmed as a matter of course.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
That bullet method won't actually measure the chamber.
The front of the chamber is about .254" O.D. at the end of the chamber where it transitions into the leade.
SO the .224" bullet base will clear it easily.
A bass-akward bullet is measuring to about the mid-point of rifling leade, not the end of the chamber itself.
rc
BADUNAME37
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I don't notice if the brass needs trimming or not as I trim it all anyway, regardless. Or, if I don't feel like running it onto the collet of my Forster Trimmer to check length (and trim if needed), I got pretty good with the dial caliper and checking every piece of brass to make sure it is within specs. All that are fine I throw in one bucket, those that I needed to trim go into another bucket to get a bit of inner and outer chamfer before mixing them back with the untrimmed ones.
I know I wouldn't have to do it, but it keeps me busy and I can run through about 500 cases in two short evenings (about 3 hours total).
I figure, better safe than sorry.
My brother-in-law was showing me a new .243 he had bought and he was shooting reloads and he knew nothing about trimming the brass. He had to just about hammer the bolt open on the bolt action rifle. I asked if he trims his brass --- "NO, WHAT'S THAT?"
Time to walk further away while he was shooting!
I know I wouldn't have to do it, but it keeps me busy and I can run through about 500 cases in two short evenings (about 3 hours total).
I figure, better safe than sorry.
My brother-in-law was showing me a new .243 he had bought and he was shooting reloads and he knew nothing about trimming the brass. He had to just about hammer the bolt open on the bolt action rifle. I asked if he trims his brass --- "NO, WHAT'S THAT?"
Time to walk further away while he was shooting!
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