Case trimming

[Twotone]

Hi there
I just wondered how accurately everyone trims their brass and how often. With my 30-30 i trim to 2.030” for the lyman bullet and it really bugs me because the cutters I have ( lyman and lee) seem to vary by up to .002” no matter how carefully I set up. Am i being too picky? Is it necessary shooting out to 100 yds with a lever action to be this OCD on case length? I trim after every firing and spend an age trying to get cases to within a thou and I am wondering if this is actually needed.

[JNG3]

No it's not necessary to be that OCD for shooting out to 100 yards. Make sure your brass does not exceed max case length nor is it less than minimum case length. This is for safety. Make sure your brass is all the same length within reason for consistency both for accuracy and for ease in bullet seating. If your brass varies from 2.029 to 2.031" you nor anyone else will notice unless you measure it. BTW, most calipers are not capable of repeatable accuracy of 2 thousandths. I have a couple hundred dollar (1990 dollars) Starrett and I doubt it's repeatable to 1 thousandth.

[Steve51]

I trim my brass occasionally. I do not reload any bottleneck cases. I use the inexpensive Lyman E-ZEE Trim. Probably not near as good as other trimmers but works for my needs.

[Ojaileveraction]

Hi there
I just wondered how accurately everyone trims their brass and how often. With my 30-30 i trim to 2.030” for the lyman bullet and it really bugs me because the cutters I have ( lyman and lee) seem to vary by up to .002” no matter how carefully I set up. Am i being too picky? Is it necessary shooting out to 100 yds with a lever action to be this OCD on case length? I trim after every firing and spend an age trying to get cases to within a thou and I am wondering if this is actually needed.

No, no it isn't.
For 30-30,(and everything else) I use a Wilson Cartridge case gauge that measures headspace and OAL. I only trim when the case exceeds the maximum case length. Then I use the Lyman E-Zee trim and then chamfer the neck inside and and out at same time.
Using cast lead as you do, your pressures should not be stretching your cases as much as using higher pressure (usually) jacketed loads.
I also crimp my cartridges using a Lee factory crimp die. It's more forgiving than the roll crimp on my Hornady seating die.

[Mistered]

I just wondered how accurately everyone trims their brass and how often.

After every shot with bottleneck cases - never with straight wall pistol. I use the basic Lee case length gauge & trimmer so I am limited to trimming to the prescribed length but it has never been a problem.

[Ojaileveraction]

I don't always run them through the tumbler every-time either.

[Twotone]

I am using low pressure loads , no where near factory that I have shot. I do have some cases measuring 2.025” and was not sure whether to bin them or shoot them with some unique , 9 gns or so hoping they grow a bit. They were undersized when I bought them compared to the rest of the batch.
Thanks so much for the help, having only been reloading 30-30 for a couple of months I am just trying to stick religiously to published info at the moment for all aspects of what I am doing.

[clovishound]

I check my bottleneck cartridges every time. If they are over trim length by much, I go ahead and trim them. I do recommend using a Lee FCD crimping die. The rifle caliber FCDs use a collet style crimp which is not sensitive to case length. With standard roll crimp dies, variations in case length will give variations to the amount of crimp. With a standard roll crimp, I would trim every case to length.

[BigAl52]

Its the worst job in the reloading room. I hate it. But the guy at the Worlds Finest Trimmer has made it a whole bunch easier for me. Chuck that baby up in your favorite battery powered drill and get er done. I have several of them and I love them. I dont trim every time. Never have and never will. This nut behind the butt doesnt own a benchrest gun and I dont shoot like those guys do either. Al

[Shakey Jake]

I'm very OCD reloading. I always run the brass through the vibratory polisher and check each case after sizing for length. I also check with the Lewis cartridge max gage to make sure that there's no problems.