trimming pistol cases for revolvers

[General ap.hill 47]

now i do trim my bottleneck cases for the rifles, in fact i am very meticulous about all of it for my rifles, have been reloading for more than forty years but, that does not mean that i know all there is about the subject,though i do try to expand my knowledge every chance i get. my point is why trim revolver cases?
the case is not going to get so long that the bullet is going to protrude out of the cylinder and stop it from turning(not even close). if i can hit a soda or beer can at twenty five yards what more could i want? it is obvious that i am not speaking about competitive shooting but it seems to make little difference in 38..357..41..44..calibers. when the cases get too thin or start to split they go in the trash. interested in any feedback...feel free to speak your minds.

 

[joneb]

I trim revolver brass to get a consistent roll crimp, for magnum loads a heavy crimp can aid in a better burn for slow powders. A heavy crimp with good case neck tension will reduce bullet movement in the case from recoil or tubular magazines.

 

[TimSr]

Few do it. Its really only necessary when case lengths are so inconsistent that its hard to keep your crimp die at one setting, and even this is rare if your cases match.

 

[Longhorn 76]

Can't get a uniform crimp without uniform case lengths.

 

[ku4hx]

I trimmed my first, and last, handgun case (revolver and semi automatic) in the early '70s.

 

[gamestalker]

For me, of which I probably represent a very small percentage of reloaders, I not only prefer to keep my revolver brass consistently trimmed, but it's essential. Allow me to elaborate a bit.

I load and shoot exclusively full tilt jacketed self defense loads.The obvious reasoning behind this, is to prevent bullets from breaking free from the crimp. H110 and full throttle Longshot special loads need a stout and reliable crimp to prevent this inertia induced event.

Now as for the rest of my OCD style of reloading, all I can say is I'm very, very anal about my brass being the same lengths, including rimless AL brass, all of it. I'm not a competitive shooter, so there is no reasoning of that sort, it's just the way I learned more than 30 yrs. ago.

I have no idea if it has any bearing on accuracy or consistency of fps, as I have nothing to compare to.

GS

 

[Walkalong]

I like to trim all my revolver brass, unless it is all one batch bought new with very little variance in lengths (Like my batch of Starline .32 Long brass I bought new). Even then I deburr and chamfer it all before loading it. My .38 Spl & .357 brass is nearly all range brass and the lengths varied so much I couldn't conceive loading them without trimming them. Much of my revolver shooting is low pressure stuff and trimming/deburring/chamfering is a one time thing.

My loaded to full pressure .357 and .44 Mag brass needs retrimming/deburring/chamfering occasionally, but not often.

It's easy, makes crimps much better and uniform, and I like doing it that way.

However, there are accomplished reloaders here who I respect who don't ever trim revolver brass, and probably never will.

Like one of them likes to say, your house, your rules. He cleans all his primer pockets, and I never clean pistol primer pockets, but he doesn't trim revolver brass. Go figure.

 

[dbmjr1]

I trim .30 carbine, as most factory brass is too long to chamber in my Blackhawk. Same with .32/20 in my Colt.

All others, . . . 9mm, .38/.357, .45 acp, .25 acp, and more, . . . they all go untrimmed.

 

[cheygriz]

I started reloading in 1965. haven't trimmed a revolver case yet!

 

[Malamute]

I trimmed a few early on, but realized there wasnt much happening with the Lee trimmer. I figured out that few people do, and I dont think I've trimmed any pistol brass since the early 80's maybe.

 

[bluetopper]

I shoot a lot of 38, 357, & 44 Mag and have never trimmed a case and don't see much length variation at all.

 

[joneb]

I shoot a lot of 38, 357, & 44 Mag and have never trimmed a case and don't see much length variation at all.

I find that revolver brass can vary .01" with in the same head stamp. it didn't used to be that way. I have a lot of range pick up the new stuff is all over the place some of my older brass is within a few thousands. Loader beware.

I forgot to mention much of this case length variance is from out of square case mouths.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Never trimmer here. Most of my .38/.357 brass is 25+ years old and has been loaded dozens of times. I never fail to get tight grouping and consistent ammo out of it. I shoot several hundred rounds a week year round. I don't have time to fool with measuring and trimming.

 

[Malamute]

Part of it may be the bullets we use. Jacketed bullets with crimp canelures need brass to be closer to length to get consistant crimps, at least as far as rifle brass, thats my experience. The majority of the lead bullets I've used had very deep crimp grooves and werent all that particular about the exact length. Auto pistol brass is taper crimped, and probably isnt as critical, though I dont know that for sure. I've loaded scads (10's of K's) of 45 auto and never trimmed any of the brass. Never had a case too long to chamber or too short to fire in the 45 auto.

 

[km101]

Haven't trimmed straight-wall pistol cases but once in my 40+ years of reloading.

That was early on when I thought that a few thousands difference in case length would hurt accuracy. I learned better and have not trimmed pistol cases since.

 

[45lcshooter]

Trim revolver brass, when needed. No very often. Semi-auto brass I never touch with trimming.

 

[Elkins45]

I trim all of my revolver cases-once.

Uniform lengths = uniform crimp.

 

[GP100man]

1 more inconsistentcy that is easily removed .

I trim or at least check lengths.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

If you are concerned with the crimp, sort the cases by length. However, I find a seating depth and crimp length that works best for most cases, untrimmed. Less work, acceptable results....

 

[GTS Dean]

I crimp my .44 Mags heavily when shooting W296 and 2400, but for 30 years I had to sort my brass carefully and adjust the seater die almost every time I sat down to load. I got tired of it about 2 years ago and finally trimmed about 300 cases within .001". The bullet cannelures are consistent enough to just pump away and they all come out perfectly.

My practice loads with Unique aren't so fussy about crimp for pressures, but they benefit from consistency too.

 

[gamestalker]

I guess when I started reloading I interpreted the instructional material as gospel. I even trim my AL brass. I know that I'm very alone in how I approach reloading handgun, but it's not entirely without merit or reasoning. Consider the following, though probably unlikely, at least try to consider it.

Brass that is too long can result in the mouths getting pinched in the throat. It's kind of a perfect storm type scenario, but based on the design and physics of a rimless cartridge, it can occur. If the brass is excessively long, or long enough to induce such an incident, it is entirely possible for the mouth to get unintentionally over crimped. Being that it is now presumably over crimped, it can now be jammed beyond the throat stop, where it head spaces. If it doesn't produce a mis fire, or prevent the cartridge from going into full battery, it could result in an unpredictably high pressure spike.

Silly maybe, but it can happen. What's more, I contend that some reloaders with no other viable explanation, have experienced pressure spikes that could have resulted from brass in need of trimming. What's more, many reloaders, and even those with decades of experience under their belts claim that their brass never grows, or very little. Very likely so, but in my experience, and yes, I do load full tilt, my brass will, and does stretch beyond SAAMI max if I don't trim it at least once. Most of my once fired 9mm and .40 cal. brass will grow to within .003" or so from SAAMI max..

GS