The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > Handloading, Reloading, and Bullet Casting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old January 30, 2011, 10:12 AM   #1
Billy Waugh
Junior Member
 
Join Date: January 30, 2011
Posts: 5
Issues with trimming

Im new to hand-loading, Im loading .308 on pretty much all RCBS equiptment. On my first batch of ammo though, Like bonehead did not zero my caliper properly before sizing around 30 cases, so instead of being trimmed to 2.007 they were trimmed to 2.003/2.002 Is it ok to resize them back up to 2.007??
Billy Waugh is offline  
Old January 30, 2011, 10:28 AM   #2
Ike666
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 10, 2009
Location: SW VA
Posts: 491
I've just got to ask, are you THE Billy Waugh?
__________________
___________________
"I'm your huckleberry."
Ike666 is offline  
Old January 30, 2011, 12:26 PM   #3
Billy Waugh
Junior Member
 
Join Date: January 30, 2011
Posts: 5
No its just a handle of mine and also my way of paying homage to one of the most serious operators to walk the face of the planet.
Billy Waugh is offline  
Old January 30, 2011, 12:35 PM   #4
dawico
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 18, 2009
Location: Lampasas, TX
Posts: 326
I don't understand your question. How are you going to resize them back up? I am lost.
dawico is offline  
Old January 30, 2011, 01:27 PM   #5
hammie
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 18, 2009
Location: Temple, TX
Posts: 956
@dawico: I thought that too. Unless I'm missing something, isn't this like cutting a ceramic tile too short, and then going to home depot and trying to find a tile stretcher?

@billywaugh: Please forgive me. I'm not making fun of your plight. My hornady manual gives a minimum trim length of 2.005. If you go by that, then you're only about .002 to .003 too short. That shouldn't pose any problems. Since the trimmed cartridges are all the same length, crimping (if you crimp) shouldn't be a problem either. Just adjust your die.
hammie is offline  
Old January 30, 2011, 02:32 PM   #6
Billy Waugh
Junior Member
 
Join Date: January 30, 2011
Posts: 5
Thanks Hammie that answered my question.... which i dont think I stated my problem clear enough. It ending up just being my caliper. The cases were sized correctly. The caliper I just ordered (Hornady Digital) seem to be defective because it just wont hold a zero. after using a friends RCBS digital Caliper I realized they were all in the 2.006 - 2.009 range.....Just to clarify, new cases trimmed below 2.005 can still be loaded?
Billy Waugh is offline  
Old January 30, 2011, 03:08 PM   #7
hammie
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 18, 2009
Location: Temple, TX
Posts: 956
@billywaugh: It depends on how much you trim, but in general, for .002 to .003, yes.

On my .32-20, when most jacketed bullets are seated to the cannelure, the bullet jams against the rifling and it won't chamber. The trim length on the .32-20 is 1.305 and I have to trim to 1.280 for things to work in my marlin 1894. That's .025 inches of trimming below the minimum length. Of course the .32-20 is a low pressure cartridge. On some cartridges, like the 9mm luger, very small changes in bullet seating depth can make very big changes in chamber pressures.

Last edited by hammie; January 30, 2011 at 03:16 PM.
hammie is offline  
Old January 30, 2011, 03:22 PM   #8
dawico
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 18, 2009
Location: Lampasas, TX
Posts: 326
I make it a practice of trimming a little shorter than what the manual states. What can I say, I don't like to trim very often. As long as you don't have bullet setback issues, I don't consider it a problem. I don't load shorter than the recommended length though, that could get into pressure issues.
dawico is offline  
Old January 30, 2011, 10:05 PM   #9
Woodyed
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 24, 2010
Location: Central NYS
Posts: 104
It almost sounds like you trimmed the cases before you sized them. Normal procedure is to size the case before you trim. Maybe I misunderstood your initial post and question though.
Woodyed is offline  
Old January 30, 2011, 10:47 PM   #10
testuser
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 8, 2010
Posts: 495
This can happen to the best of us. Running them through the sizing die again might length the cartridges, but you'll be reducing the life of your brass in doing so. It's also a lot of unnecessary work.

Trim-to-length is not set in stone, unlike other cartridge dimensions. So long as you have a enough neck tension to hold the bullet in place and you aren't seating the bullets too deep as measured by your catridge overall length, then you're fine. The shoulder determines headspace. All the neck does is provide enough tension to hold the bullet, as well as insuring an acceptable overall length.

The first manual I had handy says a trim-to-length of 2.005 inches. The additional .002 or .003 inches you removed shouldn't make any appreciable difference. Heck, there are probably some brands of bullets that vary in length by that much, if not more...
testuser is offline  
Old January 31, 2011, 10:44 AM   #11
Billy Waugh
Junior Member
 
Join Date: January 30, 2011
Posts: 5
Testuser that answered my question perfectly.....thank you all for the help my first batch shot great no problems.
Billy Waugh is offline  
Old January 31, 2011, 11:42 AM   #12
howlnmad
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 29, 2009
Location: Harriman Tn
Posts: 424
If your digital caliper is having a problem holding zero, change the battery. Those things eat up batteries.
howlnmad is offline  
Old January 31, 2011, 03:32 PM   #13
Billy Waugh
Junior Member
 
Join Date: January 30, 2011
Posts: 5
I tried that as well, it was brand new out of the box. I sent it back and ordered an RCBS
Billy Waugh is offline  
Old February 1, 2011, 02:17 AM   #14
Ideal Tool
Junior member
 
Join Date: October 6, 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,080
Hello, I'll bet you guys would get a real eye opener if you ever checked the actual length of YOUR chamber instead of what is printed in a book. I did this by turning up a brass plug, the same dia. as O.D. of case neck, sacrificed case by shortening neck to allow plug to be pushed back when chambered..Brownells or Sinclair sell these also. My chamber was a full .025" longer than max. length listed for ctg. I have talked to gunsmiths who said this is common..some as long as .040"! So until you check, I wouldn,t worry about .002"...my trimmer is beginning to grow cobwebs!
Ideal Tool is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:25 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.07755 seconds with 8 queries