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Old December 23, 2010, 11:02 AM   #1
Ervin
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Case trimming?

Since I still dont have a trimmer, Ive kept my cases within the same .10 of a mm and hoped for best results. I dont shoot benchrest either, just service rifle.
I know consistency is the name of the game but I keep hearing that the difference is very small
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Old December 23, 2010, 11:10 AM   #2
kraigwy
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Excessive case length does effect accuracy. Cases grow when fired and reloaded and MUST be trimmed to the same length.

I have no ideal why one wouldn't want to trim the cases.

Lee's little case trimmer are cheap and accurate, easy to use.

Maybe it's just me, but my accuracy is worth the few bucks it takes to trim the cases.
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Old December 23, 2010, 12:23 PM   #3
armoredman
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I trim with the horrible Lee hand trimmer, destroys my ability to hold anything for an hour afterwards, BUT it does the job, and I haven't been able to get a Zip Trim yet. Someday I'll get the Forster trimmer, and the cast boolit hollow poiting accessory, too.
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Old December 23, 2010, 12:43 PM   #4
4runnerman
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Maybe it's just me, but my accuracy is worth the few bucks it takes to trim the cases.

No kraigwy you are not alone. I have taken all your advice along with others and the results are very apperant in my groups. If your a weekend shooter trying to hit a paper plate at 200 yards don't worry about it,but if your an anal shooter going for extreame tight groups,jump on the band wagon and start doing it.
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Old December 23, 2010, 12:52 PM   #5
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The Wilson case trimmer works well, http://www.lewilson.com/casetrimmer.html
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Old December 23, 2010, 01:07 PM   #6
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Quote:
Lee's little case trimmer are cheap and accurate, easy to use.
Especially easy if chucked into a 3/8" drill. Much faster, too.
Quote:
I trim with the horrible Lee hand trimmer, destroys my ability to hold anything for an hour afterwards,
Either you have arthritis issues or you have not put it into a drill, or both......

A used drill can be had at a pawn shop for next to nothing ..... I have one that I don't use for anything else......
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Old December 23, 2010, 02:31 PM   #7
Ervin
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whats the case length uniformity you can achieve?

with in the same .05 (.05-.10) of a mm?
I need an idea of how close people are able to get these cases
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Old December 23, 2010, 02:38 PM   #8
Hog Hunter
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To me the case lenght is one of the most important steps to accuracy. I try to keep everyone of mine within 2 thousanths of each other. I also use the manual lee trimmer and it'll wear you out after abox of sheels but its worht it at the range and even more importantly in the woods!! I also throw away alot of brass that is short. Im really picky when it comes to laoding up a round im gonna try to take an animal with.
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Old December 23, 2010, 03:36 PM   #9
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Well said Hog Hunter. It's the little things that add up,,Like flash hole cleaning,primer pocket cleaning ,case weight,trimming.All these indivigual things add like 1 or 2 or so% to your accuracy. I want all the % i can get.
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Old December 23, 2010, 10:15 PM   #10
Ervin
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Ive cleaned the primer pocket lately but honestly whats the big argument behind this?

do you people weigh the cartridge after it's reloaded for a specific reason?
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Old December 23, 2010, 10:19 PM   #11
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Cleaning primer pockets

Quote:
Ive cleaned the primer pocket lately but honestly whats the big argument behind this?
1. Makes it easier to prime.

2. Primer seating depth is more uniform than if some have some crud at the bottom and some don't. Uniformity = precision = repeatable accuracy.
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Old December 23, 2010, 10:28 PM   #12
Ervin
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They'll seat fine even after 2 shots worth of carbon inside the pocket...
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Old December 23, 2010, 10:30 PM   #13
jimbob86
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Trimming cases is important......

.......for safety reasons, too:

".....if the case mouth begins to enter the throat of the rifle, hard chambering and high pressures can result."

- Speer #13, p. 68

Jam that bolt closed so the case mouth is pinched between the throat and the bullet, and things could get ....... interesting ........
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Old December 23, 2010, 10:31 PM   #14
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I weigh my cases after they are deprimed and tumbled. Sorted down to 1 gn difference. I shoot 223 and when i weighed my cases i found out just in 223,they came in from a low of 88 gns to a high of 108 gns. If you throw them all together and load all with same gns of powder they are still not going to group the same. 93 gns was the most common. So i pulled all 93 gns and trashed the rest. Keep in mind this is all bearing on how accurate you want to be and how much your willing to put into it. But as stated earlier,case lenght is by far the most important of them all.

((They'll seat fine even after 2 shots worth of carbon inside the pocket,,))

Seating fine and seating right are not the same thing. One can shoot 20 times and still push a primer into the pocket. Difference i can't say much as i have never tested the theary. I just do it as a part of reloading. Just like cleaning flash hole,never not done it ,to tell you if it makes a difference.

Last edited by 4runnerman; December 23, 2010 at 10:40 PM.
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Old December 23, 2010, 10:34 PM   #15
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I even trim my straight wall pistol cases which most people do not.

Worth it to take the time. Get a good trimmer and do it!

Also, you don't have to full length resize every time you load a case, either. Sometime, you can get away with neck sizing only but I'm not as familiar with how that works on a bottle neck rifle cartridge. I have some reading to do!

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Old December 23, 2010, 11:31 PM   #16
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Quote:
They'll seat fine even after 2 shots worth of carbon inside the pocket...
Sure, if you mash 'em in there hard enough..... they'll seat, but will they seat uniformly?

Uniformity=Precision=Repeatable Accuracy
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Old December 24, 2010, 02:11 AM   #17
Ervin
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No they seated perfectly even after 2nd firing, primer was flushed across the bottom of the case, didnt bulge out and fired perfectly...
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Old December 24, 2010, 08:35 AM   #18
4runnerman
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((No they seated perfectly even after 2nd firing, primer was flushed across the bottom of the case, didnt bulge out and fired perfectly))

Yes they did. Won't hassel you for that,but did you lose 1% accuracy because of it?. That we will never know. All of us in here arejust trying to give you little tips and tricks that we have leaned in our time loading.
Everything people will post in here will have to do with how much you are willing to do and what kind of accuraccy you are after. All these little things when put together make a difference in your accuracy. I will say some of these things will make no difference if you are only shooting 100 or 200 yards and are happy with one inch groups at those distances. All said in here is based on what you concider accurate and what you are happy with. With your primer pocket cleaning,By not doing it, the ignition of your powder COULD be different causing a different burn rate from shell to shell. The only way you would notice things like that are over a chroney, One could be at 3200 fps and the next at 3250 fps,again at a short distance 100 or 200 yards that will not matter to much.Strech that out to 400 yards and now it is going to come into play with a POI that is not the same. You have to ask yourself,,,What do i want to be able to do (hit a quarter or hit a dime), Most of us here want a dime or smaller


Cost savings for me and most in here is just half the reason we reload our own,The biggy for me is accuracy. Im what someone in here on another topic calls.. A Bench Rest Ninnie. (not sure what that means,but oh well.).

Last edited by 4runnerman; December 24, 2010 at 09:05 AM.
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Old December 25, 2010, 03:16 AM   #19
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"...Since I still dont have a trimmer, I've kept my cases within the same .10..." How?
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Old December 25, 2010, 09:22 AM   #20
4runnerman
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"...Since I still dont have a trimmer, I've kept my cases within the same .10..." How


New brass? lightloads? luck?. Take your pick.

Have a merry christmas
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