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Why does the 243 stretch brass more than other cartridges?
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Picture of Kabluewy
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I've read often that the 243 brass stretches more than other cartridges, and needs to be trimed often, at least enough to complain about.

Why is that? Does it stretch more in comparison than the 260, for example?

KB


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Posts: 12818 | Registered: 16 February 2006Reply With Quote
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high pressure rounds with sloping shoulders tend to flow forward easier than ones with more square shoulders.
i have a x57 ackley and an x57 icl both have the sharp angeled shoulder.
i have fired both cases over 10 times with just an annealing and have never trimmed either one with that many firings.
 
Posts: 5004 | Location: soda springs,id | Registered: 02 April 2008Reply With Quote
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I have read that too. But, after steady use of three .243s and thousands of rounds since '65 I've not found it to be true; just common web BS based on poor reloading techique. The parent .308 and siblings 7-08 and .260 have exactly the same shoulder and pressure range but I've seen no such whining about them.

Most case stretching (for bolt guns) for any cartridge is due to excessive FL sizing, not shoulder slope or pressure. Learn how to properly adjust the die and no cartridge will stretch significantly different from any others.
 
Posts: 1615 | Location: South Western North Carolina | Registered: 16 September 2005Reply With Quote
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Not true. IMO.
quote:
the 243 brass stretches more than other cartridges, and needs to be trimed often,
 
Posts: 1295 | Location: USA | Registered: 21 May 2001Reply With Quote
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Never noticed it with the 243 but I have loaded and shot 3 rifles in 22/250 and all of the brass shot through them had to be trimmed with every loading.


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Posts: 1191 | Location: Ft. Morgan, CO | Registered: 15 April 2005Reply With Quote
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RCBS makes an X-Die in .243 Winny (hint, hint)


 
Posts: 2097 | Location: S.E. Alaska | Registered: 18 December 2003Reply With Quote
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unfortunately he is loading a 243 winchester....



teehee
 
Posts: 5004 | Location: soda springs,id | Registered: 02 April 2008Reply With Quote
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.243 Winny = .243 Winchester. giggle

IME the .243 doesn't lengthen any more than any of the dozens of other cartridges I reload for. If properly resized, if the dies are properly dimensioned and the chamber isn't greatly over-sized it won't happen. High pressure has little to do with it, brass usually "flows" during the resizing process. How?

The case expands radially to fill the chamber. You squeeze it down to near factory dimensions...what happens? The case lengthens when the diameter is reduced, obviously. The brass moves towards the case mouth 'cause it can't go anywhere else. Eventually the case lengthens enough to notice and you trim it. The same phenomenon causes thickening necks. Due to their shape, tapered cases like the .22-250 can lengthen faster than straighter cases like the .243 because the die shape forces it to.

If you over-size the case by adjusting the base of the die into contact with the shell holder, you will have more case stretching than if you size the case correctly. Most reloading manuals tell you how to do this right.



.
 
Posts: 677 | Location: Arizona USA | Registered: 22 January 2006Reply With Quote
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If you have a minimum chamber and maximum dies there will not be much stretch with any cartridge. That is because you simply do not resize the case that much.
Another detail.
Few people know the real length of their chambers. They are often .030" to .040" longer than the maximum case lengths specified. If you know what your chamber lenght is ther is no harm letting the cases grow beyong maximum as long as the mouths remain even. If the get out of square you may have to trim now and then but not very often.
 
Posts: 13978 | Location: http://www.tarawaontheweb.org/tarawa2.jpg | Registered: 03 December 2008Reply With Quote
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over working the brass and pushing the shoulder back to far


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Posts: 7361 | Location: South East Missouri | Registered: 23 November 2005Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by ted thorn:
over working the brass and pushing the shoulder back to far


In 50+ years of loading for the .243 I have never had to trim a .243 case until last week when a family member brought in a .243 he was having trouble with. It turned out it wasn't a case problem, but I trimmed them back for him anyway as he doesn't have a trimmer.

It was a Kimber 84 and he was having trouble opening the bolt. We got it to do it with empties that chambered easily then the bolt would open until it was ready to go back and it wouldn't go. Not everytime, but frequently. Never saw that, told him to send it back to Kimber.
 
Posts: 1700 | Location: USA | Registered: 04 January 2005Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by Kabluewy:
I've read often that the 243 brass stretches more than other cartridges, and needs to be trimed often,

KB

Don't believe everything you read.....especially on firearms forums!

While these and other forums are a great place to learn they can also be a great place for a snow job!


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Posts: 28849 | Location: western Nebraska | Registered: 27 May 2003Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by AfricanHunter:
quote:
Originally posted by ted thorn:
over working the brass and pushing the shoulder back to far


In 50+ years of loading for the .243 I have never had to trim a .243 case until last week when a family member brought in a .243 he was having trouble with. It turned out it wasn't a case problem, but I trimmed them back for him anyway as he doesn't have a trimmer.

It was a Kimber 84 and he was having trouble opening the bolt. We got it to do it with empties that chambered easily then the bolt would open until it was ready to go back and it wouldn't go. Not everytime, but frequently. Never saw that, told him to send it back to Kimber.


How does that Kimber open and close with an empty chamber?
 
Posts: 2459 | Registered: 02 July 2010Reply With Quote
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There is nothing about the .243 that would cause it to stretch cases any more than any other cartridge of its general type (modern, high pressure bottlenecked cartridges).

However, most Urban Legends or Old Wives Tales have just a grain of truth as their origin, and with the .243 it is its huge popularity which results in it being chambered in a dizzying array of actions and makes. Having so many "cooks" making one recipe results in lots of chambers which diverge significantly from the SAAMI standard -- mostly on the large side.

This plethora of large, and sometimes rather oddly-shaped chambers results in factory (or first time) loads expanding a very great deal upon first firing. When a normal resizing die is used to bring these cases back to fit a SAAMI minimum chamber, then a lot of expanded brass is displaced and the only place it has to go is into the overall length of the case.

As others have said, work your brass minimally by either neck sizing or judiciously "partial full length" sizing and you won't find a .243 growing longer any faster than any other cartridge case.
 
Posts: 13266 | Location: Henly, TX, USA | Registered: 04 April 2001Reply With Quote
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