30 Remington trim to length

[Orient Buck]

My first post, although I have been getting information here for years. My friend has asked me to reload some 30 Reminton for his fathers model 81. He had some brass that he has shot over the years that his father had reloaded, as well as a box of new in box brass. The fired cases of course had variable lengths, but the new in box brass measured 2.025". The trim to length is .015 longer than the new brass. The longest previously fired brass is 2.050. The necks are thin but seems like a lot of growth. Is is safe to use the short brass, and if so should I trim them all to 2.025 to be uniform.

Thanks in advance for your info.

 

[Blue68f100]

Welcome to THR.

I would not trim if it's short. You only have to trim when you actually run out of chamber space. You will need to see if the longest will chamber (sized) without hanging up. Do a Plunk test of a sized piece of brass to confirm you have sized (pushed the shoulder back) enough to chamber without hanging up. Simi-autos can be hard on brass since they extract the brass under pressure. I would also inspect the brass looking for indications of head case separation. When this starts getting close it will show on a ring on the outside. This inspection will help you determine if the brass has been over sized and has stretched repeatedly setting up for failure.

I always trim to spec cart length. Normally spec allows you to trim 0.010" below cartridge length. Normally it does not matter if your a little short, it will grown after firing. The key to controlling brass life is to only size the min necessary to chamber. This limits the stretching Normally on a simi-auto you need to move the shoulder back 0.002-0.003" for a round to chamber and the gun to function without any problems.

 

[243winxb]

The auto loader may need a crimp, so trim length needs to be close to .+/- .002" Keep brass separate by lots/trim length. I would try not to trim any shorter then 2.040"
https://www.nzha.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Lyman44.pdf
The 30 Rem has a long neck, so trim length is only important if crimping. Other wise, load and shoot. Crimp only if the bullet has a cannelure. At times, chambering a round will move the bullet forward out of the case. Less then .005" would seem to be OK.

 

[Orient Buck]

I do plan on crimping with a Lee factory crimp die (30-30/30 Remington). I will have to keep the brass separated into like make/length groups like .243winxb stated. I will also check to make sure the brass fits after full length resizing like Blue68f100 suggested. Thank you for your input.

 

[Remington1911]

I load 30 Rem. In answer to your question, I would not trim so they would be uniform, it is not a target rifle, never was, using the photo above 40 is the trim to length and that is what I would trim them to. I think your new brass will grow on you.

Second I would think long on the "loading for a friend" part of your story. If ANYTHING goes sideways you are wide open to some not so good things.

Golden rule of reloading, don't reload for anyone else but you, and never shoot anyone else's reloads.