I am preparing to reload once fired Hornady/Frontier brass for a 300 Win Mag. Case lengths (after resizing) are from 2.584" to 2.596". 2.62" is max case length, & 2.61" is the "trim to" length for this cartridge. Do I trim to the length of the shortest case to make them all uniform, or shoot/reload them until they "grow" to 2.61" ? I can "group" the cases by length into groups with a max length variance of .006 - -I'll be load testing with these groups.

quote:

Do I trim to the length of the shortest case to make them all uniform

Well, I would.............

There is no law about trimming nor about what's "best" other than not exceeding the max length. Do it the way you wish, that's what the rest of us do.

quote:

Originally posted by El Deguello:

quote:

Do I trim to the length of the shortest case to make them all uniform

Well, I would.............

I would, too. You'll need to chamfer those factory necks anyway, so why not trim them all to the shortest length, then chamfer?

I don't trim cases that are less than or equal to the maximum length unless I plan on crimping the bullets and need them of uniform length so the crimp on all is in the cannelure.

I too usually trim to the shortest length. One reasons I recommend the use of digital calipers is for this very task. For trimming a box of cases, I just grab a case, put the jaws on it and hit the "zero" button. I then put this case aside and continue checking cases. If/when I find one giving me a negative reading, I re-zero the calipers and place that case aside as a reference. Once a box is done, I set my trimmer to the length of the shortest case I found. It's fast, easy and most of all there is no interpolation needed.
I basically do the same for seating my bullets too. Just how I do things.
Bear in Fairbanks

quote:

Originally posted by Grumulkin:
I don't trim cases that are less than or equal to the maximum length unless I plan on crimping the bullets and need them of uniform length so the crimp on all is in the cannelure.

This is my take too!

Thanks for the replies guys - 3 yes & 3 no sounds like a coin flip.
I'd like the cases to be uniform, but I'm a little concerned about being .026" below the "trim to" length. I guess the factory loads were even shorter than that before firing.

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by Grumulkin:
I don't trim cases that are less than or equal to the maximum length unless I plan on crimping the bullets and need them of uniform length so the crimp on all is in the cannelure.

This is my take too!

+1

When I started I used to trim everything to the shortest case. Then actually started checking to see if it made and accuracy difference. None that I could find in my testing. Since many of my cases are short anyway because they are necked up I simply let them grow. I've been know to trim new cases .05 short and never trim them again before pitching them.

If you feel it makes a difference, or you simply want all your cases as close to the same as possible go for it. Neck thickness, hardness, tension etc will have greater impact at least in my testing.

If you aren't crimping no worries at all....shoot 'em until they "grow"...if ever to the max length. If you are crimping, trim all uniformly to shortest case.

Gary
DRSS
NRA Lifer
SCI
DSC

On Varmint Al's website it states that all rifle chambers are different in length. For best accuracy, he recommends determining your chamber length which determines your trim-to length for THAT RIFLE.

http://www.varmintal.com/arelo.htm#Chamber_Length