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Who Trims When?

rkittine

Gold $$ Contributor
I now am the proud owner of the Sinclair Version of the Wilson Stainless Steel Micrometer Trimmer and have come to realize that they have Case Holders for both Fired and Unfired (or Full Length Sized) brass. So that means for my 3 calibers, 6 case holders. And now that I have this I see that there are no shell holders needed, just the case holders, which seem to work by tapping in to get a snug fit and then I need to tap them out! Doesn't that lend to damaging the neck?

So the question is, when does everyone trim, new brass so they are all the same, I get, so that means the Unfired Case holder, but what about after firing? I guess if I am going to use my Whidden Full Length Sizing / Bushing Dies, I again need the Unfired / Sized case holder, but if I am going to use my Chamber Neck Sizer at the range, then I will need the fired case, case holder.

Help
 
I use the Wilson for a couple of calibers but mostly 6.5 Creedmoor. I did not trim new Hornady brass until after it was fired once so I used the fired holder. I started making brass from .308 Lapua and I had to trim during the process twice prior to firing. In that instance I had to use the new case holder. If you are trimming fired brass but doing a minimal resize after firing then the fired case holder should be all you need. I think they are cheap enough that I just bought both for all chamberings I trim on the Wilson.

Oh...in regards to damaging the case mouth while removing the case from the holder, you have no worries if you tap lightly and perpendicularly against a wooden surface. It does not take but a very light tap seat the case in the holder. Make sure the cases clean and not full of lube for the process and you should have no issue.
 
I trim everytime with the World's Greatest Trimmer II.. I hold the trimmer with my hand and then chamfer while the drill runs my case on a K&M case holder..


Ray
 
New brass comes pretty much within SAMMI specs. I don't trim until AFTER fireforming as you end up having to trim twice. IMHO, nothing is gained by trimming new brass as it'll stretch anyways, especially having not been fired before. And NO there is no damage at all to the necks or body of the casing when you use the Wilson Case Holders. I just tap the base of the casing on the table a couple of times as that is sufficient to hold the casing in the case holder. After trimming, I just tap the neck on the casing on a rubber pad and the casing comes out and complete the neck prep process by champfering the inside and out of the casing and finish it off with .0000 steel wool to remove any micro burrs.

Alex
 
Go to Lowes and get several small round washers smaller than the diameter of the trimmer case push head, glue them on so that they will shove the case forward enfu to insert a virgin case in a fired case holder.

When inserting the brass case into the holder, push it against a small block or your loading table till it is firmly in place. After trimming, push it out on the mouth, but do not tap it, which can cause distortion`.
 
James, ten firings ? Wow I wish I could do that but my 308 Palma brass needs it every 2-3 firings, I start at 2.005 and when they hit 2.015ish, I trim to 2.010 the rest of the year
 
James, ten firings ? Wow I wish I could do that but my 308 Palma brass needs it every 2-3 firings, I start at 2.005 and when they hit 2.015ish, I trim to 2.010 the rest of the year


Dasher brass just doesn't grow that much. I've not found any difference on paper and across the chronograph with .005 difference in brass length either. Mine never hasn't grown that much in 10 firings but sometimes fire forming I'll have a few pieces shrink that much over others. I just keep firing them until eventually all are same or primer pockets get too loose.
 
Glad I did not start precision loading when I was young and working and had a family to worry about. Thanks for all the insight. After 50 years of reloading, BR reloading is like starting over again.

Bob
 
Can't remember if you have a no turn neck or a tight neck, Bob. But, regardless what anyone here is telling you, if you are turning necks, you have to length trim before you do it to get a uniform length (not depth) turn.
 
The single biggest factor having to do with trimming is possibly proper die to chamber matches..

When you start sizing a case at the shoulder body junction .004" or greater , the material has to go somewhere. Having said that , you may have a case that "by design" doesn't require a lot of trimming but if the sizing operation moves an excessive amount , you will be trimming every firing.
 
I don't bother trimming until the brass is fired at least once, as a result I only have-buy Wilson holders for fired brass. If the holder is clean, the brass free of lube and a sharp cutter a little tap in and out is all that's needed even with annealed brass.
Bill
 
Get the Sinclair neck measurement plugs and measure your chamber. Trim to 0.010-0.015" under chamber size, and only trim when you get some rounds within 0.005" of your chamber max.
 
One of my chambers is .025" longer than my post sizing brass. Obviously no need to trim. The darn case will not grow (6.5x47L). Is this a bad thing?
 
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I have soooooo much to learn. Wish I was 20 years younger. But then I would probably not have time to shoot! (Or load!)
 
I measure the chamber and let the brass grow to within 0.010" on the chamber's max neck length.

This usually means I can let the brass grow another 0.010"-0.015" longer than saami max case length.
 
I have soooooo much to learn. Wish I was 20 years younger. But then I would probably not have time to shoot! (Or load!)

I have learned a ton of reloading skills from this site in the last month. I am still far from "highly proficient" . I wish that I had more time to shoot and test out my newly acquired loading info.
 
I stopped in at The Shooters Corner today and talked to Bob White. Bob is off to the Short Range Benrch Rest (100 yard) Nationals tomorrow. We had a nice conversation about this topic as well as powder load consistency, trimming, primer crush etc. He is a 50+ year veteran of short range bench rest and both a past president (many times) of the association as well as a holder of a lot of awards for shooting. His take is that loaders for the 1,000 yard game do things sometimes a lot differently than for 100/200 yard shooting. In any case, got some excellent advise and I like supporting local vendors.

Bob
 

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