Question on case length

[Mr.Snerdly]

I trimmed a bunch of 223 cases and they are a little shorter than I would like. Most of them are about 1.740" and most reloading manuals say trim to 1.750". Would there be any negative effects to this? I trimmed them with the Lee trimmer and I think the pilot somehow got moved and I will adjust it to trim to 1. 750" and then Loctite it in place for the next batch.

[olddav]

Possibly a little more carbon in the throat and little less neck to seat bullets but other wise no real issues.

[PhilC]

Agree with olddav. I always measure actual chamber length and establish my own "trim to" length on any bolt action rifle. If asking about a semi auto, stick to SAAMI trim lengths.

[Dave Hoback]

Yep! Good to Go.

[charlie b]

After more than 15 reloads my .223 Lapua brass is still not long enough to touch the trimmer. It gets collet neck sized and then full length sized about every 5 reloads. Not bench rest accuracy but they shoot better than I can hold.

[pdshooter2]

yeah this.
best to buy the correct tool and measure NECK length of chamber and TRIM BASED ON YOUR GUN.
there is a ton of over engineering in a std chamber factory brass....great place for carbon to form

Possibly a little more carbon in the throat and little less neck to seat bullets but other wise no real issues.

[Texas10]

Do yourself a favor and buy a borescope camera. Teslong makes a good one that's not expensive, and you can chamber your brass and actually look at where the case mouth sits relative to the throat. I do this when setting the trim length so I prevent excessive carbon buildup, but also stay safe with adequate trim length.

I've seen what happens when a too long case gets squeezed into the throat and pinches the bullet. Bad things can happen really fast.

[Dave Hoback]

Hmm... I’ve seen a few of those. Never saw anything real bad from it though. Kinda the same as too much headspace. Seen that as well. Again, no KB. I’ve seen quite a few guns KB in CATASTROPHIC fashion. Every single one was due to either DOUBLE charged reloads or severe bullet setback before firing.

[Nor Cal Mikie]

"Do yourself a favor and buy a borescope camera" ??? Big mistake. BIG MISTAKE!!
First look will tell you your barrel is JUNK!! Shoots bug holes but it's STILL JUNK!! So, you're headed off in the wrong direction. :mad:

Worried about case length? Try chamber plugs from Sinclair. Made to tell you the actual measured length of your chamber.
Most chambers are cut about .020 LONGER than factory trim length. Short? Not much of a problem. Too long? That's where the problems start.

Try opening the bolt on a live round in a M1A with the case length too long? You'll learn real fast and from then on, your cases will always be the proper length. ;)

Kinda like using a Chrony. No matter how fast or slow the bullet is going, NEVER had anything out run one.
Used my Chrony once, maybe 15 years ago, put it back in the box and never opened it again.
Junk barrels in 5 or 6 + different calibers, five shot groups that can be covered with a dime. Can't ask for much more than that. :cool::cool:

And bottom line?? Good thing we all don't think the same.
If we did, all the parts/goody builders would go broke.
You do what works for YOU and always remember, it's a LEARNING thing. :biggrin-new::peace:

[Dave Hoback]

I agree. Worry about how it shoots. AFTER you’ve gone through the gambit of working up a load. If at that point your rifle is still shooting bad... then if you want to study it through a borescope, cool beans. Ahh, I mean, if a person wants a scope that’s is their prerogative. But the above is correct. Unless you truly understand everything very well, it will look bad to an untrained eye.

[Full Chisel]

I do initial trim on all my 223 brass to 1.740", which meets RCBS X-die recommendation of .020" below max. The only caveat, which applies to any case really, trimmed OR untrimmed, is that if you start seating longer with a short bullet and/or long throat, then you may not end up with bullet seated deep enough into case. But that's really a reloading 201 mistake, and not necessarily specific to the trim.

[Savage 94C]

Trimming brass shorter than recommended length! I've done that, not too often, but has happened, especially when setting up the trimmer. Unless they're really too short, I've kept the ones that are a tad too short from the rest of the proper length ones and seated the bullets separately and marked the 'too short brass' from the rest by marking the primer with a black marker so I know which ones they are in the ammo box. Usually shoot them separately from the rest, but have never noticed any difference in accuracy or performance. About 2 years ago I invested in some Little Crow brass trimmers for my most shot rifle calibers and they are a gift for those like me who hate brass trimming. Very accurate and fast. Wish they made them for revolver calibers.

I agree with Nor Cal Mikie in getting to absorbed with borescopes and coronagraphs. I've been reloading almost a dozen each of both handgun and rifle calibers over a 45 year period, stick to what powder, bullet, and reloading manuals say and suggest, taking barrel length and a few other factors into consideration, I know approximately how fast the bullet is going in fps, accuracy is what counts. A good bore light will tell me all I need to know 99% plus of the time with my firearms and in looking at new prospects. IMO alot of firearm accessories being sold is like the fishing 'this and that' industry, they market alot of their wares to catch fishermen, not fish--saying ya gotta have it to be successful. JMO!!!!! (and a few others I've talked with and what I've read)