I have a Layman universal case trimmer and I set it up for 7mm-08's the other day and the pilot seemed to fit tightly in the case mouth . The cases were once fired Rem. brass (factory ammo)and had been neck sized in Lee collet neck sizing die .I measured the pilot and it measured .280" .Do you guys think this is a problem . You could see where the pilot had run in the case .

Put the pilot on a drill press or lath and polish it down some. roger

most case trimmer pilots are designed to be used before resizing!!

quote:

Originally posted by GREYGHOSTt:
most case trimmer pilots are designed to be used before resizing!!

I have no idea if this is really the intent of trimmer manufacturors or not. If it is, is it right? The expander ,after all is what controls the neck ID. You are at the mercy of neck wall thickness and chamber neck OD on the fired cases. roger

quote:

The expander ,after all is what controls the neck ID.

All the pilots I have, both ancient Bair and Forster are correct for resized cases. If you trim a case and then size it, it will change length...meaning it will get longer. The length of the case when the cartridge is loaded in to the chamber is what counts so they need to be measured and trimmed after sizing if required.

quote:

Originally posted by ireload2:

quote:

The expander ,after all is what controls the neck ID.

All the pilots I have, both ancient Bair and Forster are correct for resized cases. If you trim a case and then size it, it will change length...meaning it will get longer. The length of the case when the cartridge is loaded in to the chamber is what counts so they need to be measured and trimmed after sizing if required.

roger

I trim after I size. No problem

Never heard pilots are designed for use before sizeing. I think that is incorrect

or

I must have preped and loaded thosands of rounds wrong

quote:

Originally posted by GREYGHOSTt:
most case trimmer pilots are designed to be used before resizing!!

That isn't correct. It's a waste of time to trim before resizing, as resizing will cause the case to lengthen.

I've run into this problem from time to time, and it's a simple matter to turn down the diameter of the pilot.
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"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

quote:

Originally posted by GREYGHOSTt:
most case trimmer pilots are designed to be used before resizing!!

Not so. From the Lyman instruction manual:

"Preparing the cases
Before trimming,cases must be full length or neck sized and deprimed. Pilots are designed to be used only with sized necks."

Paul B.

Anyway, if the proper pilot's fit is too tight, simply use a one size smaller pilot. The cases will still come out square.

Polish the pilot up as suggested. I've had an engineering shop turn me a 0.475" pilot for the Capstick (actual diameter I think is 0.467") to fit the Lyman trimmer and it also marks the inside of the case ... it needs a good polish up. For reference ... Hornady basic magnum brass is just under 2.85" before FL sizing ... just over after sizing. Always trim after sizing the cases.
Cheers...
Con
Cheers...
Con

Here's another method that gives extremely consistent results:
1 - Do the initial "gross" trim on the fired cases. Chamfer the neck if the mouth has thickened, usually from a case that was cut back a lot.
2 - Collet size the necks
3 - Very lightly give them another trim. You should trim almost nothingat this point.
4 - I may give another light chamfer if I am going to use flat based bullets
5 - Continue to collet size the case after each firing until you need to set the shoulder back. You should not need to trim before then.

Case length variance is always less than a thousandth.

I get 5-6 firings in 22-250 before needing to consider setting the shoulder back.

Are you putting a touch of oil on the pilot? As posted, maybe turn your pilot in a drill motor with a light rubbing of 0000 steel wool. You don't want to really reduce the size of the pilot, merely smooth it up a bit. Then touch your finger to your oil pad and rub it on the pilot.
I always rechamfer after I trim cases.
FYI, I've never had this corrupt the powder.