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Old May 24, 2001, 12:15 AM   #1
Battler
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(I am using brand new brass in this case BTW - and being loaded for an M1A).

It says to trim to max length - 0.02".

For 308, max is 2.015, so trim to 1.995?

I trimmed about 8 or so this way before thinking - is this really necessary? Is this right?

(Short of holding bullet) is there any way to go too far in cutting down brass? Is that dangerous?


Has anyone done it this way? Or ignored this particular instruction?

thanks,
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Old May 24, 2001, 07:21 AM   #2
swampyMO
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Battler,

Just Do IT.....

Trimming .020 off a case is not going to radically affect how well it holds the bullet. Several other calibers have a neck that is shorter than the .308's and do fine. After the initial couple of firings they will naturally stretch back a few thousandths, then their length will stabilize. In addition, in order for the RCBS X-die to work as it is supposed to (i.e., giving you a uniform lot of brass), all the cases must be the same length when you start out using it.

The instruction to trim them all to the "minus .020" length is to assure that all the cases get nice uniform necks. After all, some of the cases in that lot (or the NEXT lot of cases you process) may already be a tad shorter than nominal and you'd have to trim the entire lot shorter than the shortest cases length anyway. I find that in any particular lot of brass, initial pre-fired length varies by a good .020, and the entire range may be either more or less than nominal length.

By trimming ALL my lots of brass in any particular caliber back shorter than nominal I assure that they ALL have the same initial length and I never have to re-adjust my X-die mandrel for differing lot lengths.

Just my 2 pence,
Swampy
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Old May 25, 2001, 06:12 PM   #3
SidL
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NO! Never follow directions. In fact, you should have tossed them the minute you opened the box. Also, ignore powder manuals. What do they know? Duh.
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Old May 25, 2001, 06:45 PM   #4
Battler
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SidL: The instructions with the Die contradict the trim max/trim min instructions.

I just tried out some cases "over" trimmed as they suggested and they seemed to work, okay. Better than okay. Maybe it's just because I've been shooting crappy surplus in nasty guns; but I shot 6 rounds into 1.25 inches at 100 yards with those cases, w/ 45 grains of 4060 and spitzers.

Those cases look pretty battered though, and have dents in the sides.


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Old May 25, 2001, 09:25 PM   #5
SidL
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Battler: Sorry 'bout that, but I've been "trimming short" for several years and didn't think anything of the -.020". I dislike trimming, and have been trimming more than the usual .010" for years. BTW, The Accurate manual always says to trim .010" more off than "most manuals", which just happens to be .020".

Hate to admit it, but I seldom follow the directions when it comes to "F/L size, then trim", finding it much easier to trim fired brass, then size. Yeah, it grows a couple of thousandths when sized, but what's a couple of thousandths when you're trimming "short"?

I'm curious; who makes that 4060 powder? Am just trying Reloader 12 in my FALs and think it's going to be just the ticket w/ the 150 grain Hornady.
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Old May 26, 2001, 12:43 AM   #6
Battler
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Sorry, I meant 4064 powder. IMR.

http://www.imrpowder.com/imr4064.html


Oh, and I used 43 grains as per Speer #13 instructions for min/start charge, not 45 as I mentioned (typo, no error in loading, though). <NOTE - DO NOT CONSIDER THIS LOAD INFORMATION GET YOUR LOADS FROM A KNOWN SOURCE>.


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Old May 29, 2001, 11:27 AM   #7
KP95DAO
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X -dies

Follow the instructions. One thing to remember is to deburr the inside and outside of the mouth. Why, you might ask? Remember that during sizing in these dies the case mouth is butting up against a shoulder on the decapping spindle. This can cause burrs or edges on the inside and out.
One more thing. I use an X die for my .308 Savage FP-10 in conjunction with a Redding Competition seating die and it shoots .625" 10 shot groups of the load it likes when I do my part. This rifle has had over 3200 rnds put through it.
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