case trimming

younggun22

Well-Known Member
hI guys, I reload my .243 bullets and have been doing this for a while. the question is I don't trim the cases and have measured the brass tonight which are all sako cases and the sizes differ. would you recommend I buy a case trimmer And if so where would I find the information on what size to trim the case to? kind regards kane
 
I trim mine every time i reload them you will find the case lengths in any reloading manual under the cartridge your reloading
 
yes bud you should be trimming for many reasons.you should be able to find case dimensions on the net no problem.i'm sure others with experience of 243 will chip in soon.
 
A reloading manual or on-line resource will give you trim lengths. My Hornady Manual says Case Trim Length for .243 Win of 2.035 inches. There are a wide range of trimming options between cheap and cheerful and very expensive. I don't recommend any of the following, but I do recommend signing up for the Sinclair Int catalogue. I would recommend trying a few before buying.

Case Trimmers | Case Trimming at Sinclair Inc


Regards JCS
 
Both my Speer and Hogdon state Max case length should be 2.045" and trim to 2.035" for the 243 Win . A case trimmer is really an esential bit of kit - without it, you run the risk of the case lengthening which in turn can cause difficulty in chambering the round and subsequent damage to the neck. Most trimmers will do the job, however the more expensive ones claim they trim more evenly.
 
All my cases are trimmed and I just use a simple lee hand trimmer which does the job brilliantly. It is also pre set so a little check every now and again but never had any problems.
 
yep just checked again and it was the way i was reading it .might not trim very much off if you use that fig and might have trouble closing the bolt.
my bad
 
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Firstly,I wiill say openly and honestly that i am new to reloading,and that my own experience is some what limited,but i would like to tell you of my own person experience neverthless.

When i started reloading for my .243 with my once fired federal brass, i did not trim the cases,i measured and all were within 10thou of each other.
The only reason i did not trim was because i did not have a case trimming tool at the time,however,having been shown the basics from a good friend,and reloading in his company was assured that they would be fine and safe.

I seated my bullets to the length of my factory ammunition,which at the time was federal,again imo worked very well in my rifle,and the first batch of reloads went through the same hole at 100yds, by far the best group I have ever had.

I then went on to trim a batch of cases,and all were different to that of the trimmed batch in terms of accuracy, and am only now getting some more batches consitently after trimming.

In any case i bought the lee case trimmer and case holder,and fixed it to a cheap coordless drill from aldi,and thats how i trim my cases.

Hope this helps.
 
thank you all for your input, I am going to take all your advice and get a case trimmer. thanks again. everyone is very helpful on this site. regards kane
 
No need to worry about 'generic data' if you have a standard cartridge.
That sinclair gear is really unnecessary.
Use the published data and you will be good to go.

The Lee trimmer is easy to use, no set-up and saves measuring too!

Oh yeah and use the cartridge holder as supplied, popeye wondered how his cases were too short when using the cutter in a drill press!
 
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Alternatively, instead of depending on generic data you could actually measure the chamber length and trim accordingly.

http://www.sinclairintl.com/reloadi...s/sinclair-chamber-length-gage-prod32925.aspx

You will not have problems trimming or having cases a bit too short but too long can cause huge problems.

I am afraid that a lot of reloading stuff is like fishing tackle ............................................... it's made to catch the punter and their money ;).
 
+1 on the Lee system.

I'd reccomend the ball handled cutter with the 243 gauge bar/shell holder, Lee chamfer tool & a Zip Trim.
It works well & you don't need to measure the cases - the gauge bar does that.

I wouldn't buy another Lee chuck for the Zip Trim tho' - not too happy with that.

As with most Lee kit cheap & cheerful - but it works very well & produces excellent reloads.

Ian
 
+1 on the Lee system.

I'd reccomend the ball handled cutter with the 243 gauge bar/shell holder, Lee chamfer tool & a Zip Trim.
It works well & you don't need to measure the cases - the gauge bar does that.

I wouldn't buy another Lee chuck for the Zip Trim tho' - not too happy with that.

As with most Lee kit cheap & cheerful - but it works very well & produces excellent reloads.

Ian

What did you find bad about the chuck on the zip trim? Mine made me cracy until I learned to use it. The cases would wobble all over the place. I found that I needed to turn the case with my right hand as I was tightening the chuck with my left. Now that I've gotten the hang of it, the only time I get wobble is when I have an irregularly expanded case or I didn't get it set right. Otherwise they spin like in a lathe.

I am a fanatical case trimmer. For target loads I will find the shortest case in a batch and use the Forester trimmer to make all the cases that length. I have always found it odd that people who will fret over a tenth of a grain of powder (under the banner of consistency) will load cases that vary as much as .010" in length. Full powder hunting loads get the Lee trimmer as they usually stretch, whereas some light target loads will actually decrease in length.~Muir
 
I have yet to find a brand new case that is actually the stated length or more, however cases that are overly long run the risk of having the case mouth squeezed tight onto the bullet by the lead of the chamber neck into the freebore stopping the bullet being released upon ignition with catastrophic results.

Ian.
 
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