22-250 trimming problem

[Allen Roberts]

I am trying to reload once fired Win. X varmint 22-250 in my savage fv rifle. The book said to trim down from 1.902 to 1.912 inches. My brass is averaging around 1.914. Should I trim all the way down to 1.902 or just under the maximum. Where do I go to with. My Hornady new brass measures 1.906. I don’t have any numbers below that. Nothing resembling 1.902. I want a number I can settle on.

 

[spencerhenry]

I usually go less than max by .005 or so. My purpose for trimming is consistency, and square necks more than length. I trim a few adjusting length as needed to clean them up all the way around, then hope I don't find any shorter ones.

 

[358WCF]

I am trying to reload once fired Win. X varmint 22-250 in my savage fv rifle. The book said to trim down from 1.902 to 1.912 inches. My brass is averaging around 1.914. Should I trim all the way down to 1.902 or just under the maximum. Where do I go to with. My Hornady new brass measures 1.906. I don’t have any numbers below that. Nothing resembling 1.902. I want a number I can settle on.

The 1.902 to 1.912 is the acceptable minimum to maximum range for 22-250. The factory length of 1.906 is within specifications. Just shoot it. Your 1.914 case is over the max length & should be trimmed to somewhere between 1.902-1.912". Are you measuring the length after resizing?

Since I find case trimming, then deburr & chamfeing to be a PITA, I trim closer to the minimum spec. (sometimes even a .001 or .002" under) to get maybe another firing or 2 between trimmings. The cases will grow with use.

Someone is bound to drop by, & inform us that some chambers are longer than others, & there are gauges to check this. Since you seem to be new at this, we'll keep it simple & suggest keeping your sized brass between 1.902 & 1.912". That will keep everybody safe. Chamber length gauges may come later... maybe.

What trimmer are you using? Some will not be able to keep all trimmed cases within a .001 or .002" even with careful use. That's OK & you will still be able to load good safe ammunition.

If you dont know, I might suggest you keep the Win. & Hornady brass separate. Treat them as different things... or batches, because they are. The case capacities are likely different enough to cause accuracy or possibly pressure problems that may leave you scratching your noggin.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

My 22-250 trimmer adapter results in 1.906 length brass, no issues even in one rifle that has a custom minimum SAAMI chamber.

 

[Allen Roberts]

I don’t remember that much variance on my different 223 brass between brands. I trim all of them to 1.75 inch. I may try to settle on 1.906 inches for the 22-250 brass.

 

[K22]

Get a Sinclair Chamber length gauge. Follow the instructions. This will take the guess work out of how much I need to trim.

 

[Ackman]

Get a Sinclair Chamber length gauge. Follow the instructions. This will take the guess work out of how much I need to trim.

^^^^^^^^^This. It's basic. You shoud have one of these for every caliber you shoot. Get the length of your chamber before even thinking about case trimming. Factory chambers are considerably longer than brass. My Savage 22-250 chamber is 2.935 long. Case trimming isn't necessary and that book "trim to" length is just nonsense.

 

[K22]

^^^^^^^^^This. It's basic. You shoud have one of these for every caliber you shoot. Get the length of your chamber before even thinking about case trimming. Factory chambers are considerably longer than brass. My Savage 22-250 chamber is 2.935 long. Case trimming isn't necessary and that book "trim to" length is just nonsense.

Amen!

 

[Walt Krafft]

22-250 brass grows a lot with every firing. One of the big advantages of the AI version is it slows growth down. Trim to within the spec and check every firing. The last thing you want is a long neck crimping the bullet.

 

[Clancy]

I trim all of mine to 1.902