Brand New 38spl. Cases

[something vague]

I have purchased 100 38spl. Winchester cases. My question has to do with trimming them all to an exact length for consistant crimping in my roll crimp die. Is it common for brand new brass cases to be inconsitant in length? This is after I ran all of them through the sizing die. Also, what is the minimun case length for 38spl. I can't seem to find that measurement anywhere. I was planning on taking the shortest out of the group and trimming the rest to that length. Does this sound like a reasonable proccess to have to go through for 38spl or am I being to picky about this?

 

[bluewater]

It's not necessary to trim handgun brass, especially when new.

 

[SASS#23149]

How big a spread is there in the batch?
Lyman's says 'trim to length' is 1.149.
Max length 1.155
I usually mike a bunch,select a midrange of the batch,and keep any that are +- .002,and trim the rest.
I usually don't measure and trim any more until it snows or I am really bored.pistol brass doesn't have the growth variations that rifle brass does.

 

[The Bushmaster]

If you wish to have a uniform crimp on all cases you will need to resize the new cases and trim them to be within +/- .002"...................

 

[243winxb]

+ 1 What The Bushmaster said

 

[Gatofeo]

I agree with Bushmaster.
The notion that it is not necessary to trim new cases is an old and potentially dangerous one. In my nearly 40 years of reloading, I've occasionally encountered cases that were longer than normal.
This is bothersome in a pistol, but can be downright dangerous in a rifle if the case is so long that it gets pinched into the chamber throat upon loading.
Incidentally, a particular offender with rifle cases has been the .32 Winchester Special and .30-30.
I've also encountered longer-than-maximum cases in .38 Special, .45 Long Colt, .357 Magnum and 9mm Luger.
All trimming must be done after sizing. Sizing will stretch a case somewhat. If you trim before sizing, you're working against yourself and cases will not be a uniform length.
Uniform case length ensures uniform crimping (in revolvers) and uniform chambering (in autos).
Don't overlook it. Don't ignore it. Don't dismiss it.

 

[Doug b]

Something vague bulk brass means more work not less.Try this if you want to save work:1. Trim new brass to trim length. 2. Seat the bullet to the forward edge of the crimp ring.3. Crimp in a separate operation, this means back out or remove the seat plug of your die, work the die down slowly until you get your desired crimp.4. Keep your brass segregated as best you can.

Straight wall pistol brass tends to get shorter with each reload if you start to see a lot of crimp ring knurling forward of the case mouths in your seating process,next reload uniform the length in that batch.Also if you fire a few rounds and inspect the rest in the cylinder and the crimp ring knurling is showing you MAY need more crimp.Remember here the bullet has to jump the entire crimp ring to tie your revolver up.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Doug b...I must have wierd brass then. As my straight wall brass (9mm X 19, .38 Special, .357 magnum & .45 ACP) all tend to stay the same or lengthen. None of it has ever gotten shorter. But What do I know. Your brass may be normal brass, unlike mine.

No matter though. Just make sure that you measure your brass after resizing it to insure it didn't grow...

 

[Doug b]

Curious Bushmaster,mine never seems to grow but then I trim every load so maybe I don't know.Trimming every load is more like uniforming to the shortest case as the op inquires.How do you segregate brass by headstamp,by lot number,by number of fires,or by which range you found it on?

 

[hithard]

bushmaster and I must be sharing the same lot of brass.

Shrinkage! did ya find that brass at the bottom of a cold pool....just kidding.

 

[bullseye308]

I always heard to trim it after the first firing and it most likely would not need to be trimmed again. This is for pistol brass, of course. Rifle brass gets trimmed every time whether it needs it or not.

ETA: Rifle brass goes through the trimmer every time, it might not take anything off, or it might take a bunch, depending on many variables, but it goes through the trimmer.

 

[The Bushmaster]

By head stamp. By lot number if possible. My reference for whether a case grows or not comes from my ledger that I keep for each set (50 if handgun and 20 if rifle). I log whether I trim or not at each reloading.

 

[joneb]

I find plenty of once fired .38spl brass here and there, as well as factory ammo I purchased and shot. I tumble it, sort by head stamp and size it, I find case lengths after sizing usually vary between 1.145" and 1.155" I trim it all to 1.147". I have some as short as 1.142" that was once fired
I don't find my .38spl brass changing much in length with use, but I find that I need to keep a eye on the .357 mag brass as it will grow inconsistently.

 

[R.W.Dale]

I've loaded thousands of rifle and handgun rounds and thus far the only handgun brass I've trimmed is 7.62x25mm Tokarev or heck even measured case length at all for that matter.

Crimp in a separate operation so to eliminate seating variances and shoot. A revolver doesn't give a %#%#& about .010" variance in brass length

 

[Doug b]

Bushmaster I do mine solely from virgin brass by lot number sizeing and trimming at the first load to the last load, rifle and pistol.
Concerning pistol brass you say yours stays the same,I say it can't,you blow it out and squeeze it back over and over again and very little changes!
I believe brass flows to the rear of the case(web area) also in this process,action and reaction being what they are to each other.Now if you are roll crimping your 9X19 and 45 acp yes you do indeed have weird brass.

 

[joneb]

A revolver doesn't give a %#%#& about .010" variance in brass length

Now I know why the factory crimp die is so popular

 

[Doug b]

"Now I know why the factory crimp die is so popular"
Cause they make great paper weights?

 

[Remo-99]

I was planning on taking the shortest out of the group and trimming the rest to that length. Does this sound like a reasonable proccess to have to go through for 38spl or am I being to picky about this?

If your looking for a consistant crimp, then yeah OK, as long as the shortest is within spec of minimum/maximum case length.

 

[moxie]

I agree with krochus. I've never trimmed handgun brass, and never will unless I get into some very serious competition. I've been reloading and shooting some .38 Special brass for over 20 years and it was range brass when I got it. I do think it's a good idea to lightly chamfer and deburr (after sizing) the case mouths of any brass the first time you reload it, new or used. I have found that segregating .357 Mag cases by lot makes a bit of a difference in accuracy, likely due to a better handle on consistency, but haven't noticed any difference n other handgun calibers.

 

[Walkalong]

I never trim auto brass, but I do trim revolver brass so my crimp will be consistent. I usually don't trim revolver brass after the first trimming, which I do after one or two firings.

For a good consistent roll crimp trimming is essential. A taper crimp is more forgiving, but trimming still works better.

"Now I know why the factory crimp die is so popular"
Cause they make great paper weights?

I like it.

Any crimp die will crimp just as well as the FCD, they just can't squish ammo like the FCD.

 

[R.W.Dale]

I use a separate RCBS seater die with the seater parts removed to solely crimp, again when preformed in a separate operation variances in case length really don't seem to effect the constancy of a heavy roll crimp.

In my opinion crimping separately is much easier than trimming hundreds of 38special cases and gets you the same result

 

[Walkalong]

In my opinion crimping separately is much easier than trimming hundreds of 38special cases and gets you the same result

I must respectfully disagree, and I hate trimming.

I just trimmed 250 .38 Spl this weekend. I have 300 or so to go.

I also crimp in a seperate step, because, like you, I believe it does a better job in most cases.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Sounds like someone whose a better shot with a handgun than me or has a ransom rest needs to do some testing.

Wouldn't be hard to do. Carefully trimmed group vs a group of cases that vary

 

[The Bushmaster]

.38 Special and .30 WCF are the only two rounds that I use Lee's FCD for crimping. But I do trim revolver cases to the same length in sets to insure a consistent crimp on all completed rounds. And I too, would rather be doing something else. Quality ammunition with the least cost is my goal and having each and every round the same makes for much better results down range.

9mm X 19, .45 ACP and .30-06 are kept within minimum/maximum length.

Doug b...I didn't say that they don't change length during firing. I said that after resizing the usually return to the same length or grow just a bit. I have never had a case get shorter.

I'm glad you can afford "virgin brass". I can't and will scrounge a range for once fired brass. I am a "Brass Rat"...

 

[Walkalong]

will scrounge a range for once fired brass. I am a "Brass Rat"...

All the .38 Spl brass I mentioned is range brass. I had collected enough of Winchester, Zero, & RP for boxes of 100 each. I had enough Blazer Brass, Federal, Winchester +P, Speer +P, and CCI for boxes of 50 each.