Chapo Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 Hey guys! Years ago I made a video where I talked about the benefits, for me, to do so minor trimming on 9mm cases. My rationale was that plenty of them do get stuck in chamber and they become FTF or FTE. So, to make them more uniformed, I was trimming them. (Now, I know there's a myriad of other reasons why they wouldn't feed.) To be honest, after I posted the video, I am not sure if it's worth trimming. In the video comments, understandably, many people commented that it was a waste of time. Thoughts??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 No! All I read was the title.LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
costeel Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 No, never. Yuck . Sounds painful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJH Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 I don't think I ever have, I also don't trim 40 or 45. Way back I did trim 45 one time when I hadn't been reloaded very long till somebody told me I probably didn't need to, especially since it generally gets shorter instead of longer. I also don't think, in any of my cases that I didn't trim for pistols, trim length was ever an issue that caused a jam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick303 Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 Never. If you have FTF or FTE it is because of something else that you should be more worried about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postal Bob Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 Never trimmed any straight walled pistol brass, including 357 and 44 mag. Like someone stated, my magnum cases generally get shorter over time. I believe because roll crimping actually takes off a sliver of brass each time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chapo Posted June 3, 2022 Author Share Posted June 3, 2022 lol. Thank you fellas!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobkoh Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 Never, the very few times I've had a FTF was due to overcrimping which stretched the cases. This was very rare when I was sorting out headaches of using .355 plated bullets, something I don't use anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chapo Posted June 3, 2022 Author Share Posted June 3, 2022 Thanks bob. I will try adjusting my crimp. JIC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHI Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 unlike rifle pistol brass gets shorter as it is fired. /reloaded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noylj Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 Only if you want to increase head space gap and decrease accuracy. What is the fascination with trimming straight-wall cases? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalTeacher Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 Lmao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lll Otto lll Posted June 11, 2022 Share Posted June 11, 2022 (edited) Every once in awhile I run into a case that’s too long. Here’s a S&B 9mm that’s grossly out of spec. But rather than trim, I just throw them in the dumpster. The photo below is actually one that's was too short....I guess I threw the long one away already. Edited June 11, 2022 by lll Otto lll Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chapo Posted June 11, 2022 Author Share Posted June 11, 2022 Thanks Otto. Be careful what you say here about 9mm. You may get lynched. Seriously, appreciate the feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HesedTech Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 (edited) On 6/10/2022 at 7:31 PM, lll Otto lll said: Every once in awhile I run into a case that’s too long. Here’s a S&B 9mm that’s grossly out of spec. But rather than trim, I just throw them in the dumpster. The photo below is actually one that's was too short....I guess I threw the long one away already. Seriously, do you really measure every case? I have already loaded about 15K of 9mm this season (all range brass) and have not measured a single one. If it doesn't gauge after loading it gets recycled (okay thrown in garbage). Not lynching BTW. Edited June 12, 2022 by HesedTech Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer Posted June 13, 2022 Share Posted June 13, 2022 3 hours ago, HesedTech said: If it doesn't gauge after loading it gets recycled (okay thrown in garbage). Can I pick up your garbage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer Posted June 13, 2022 Share Posted June 13, 2022 I once did a bunch of 45’s and while some of them were a little long most like 80-90% were short or right on. What I did find was there was a higher percentage of cases that weren’t square. Would almost say that 75% weren’t. It wasn’t much, maybe .002 but it showed up after a quick zip in the trimmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny_Chimpo Posted June 13, 2022 Share Posted June 13, 2022 On 6/10/2022 at 12:46 AM, CalTeacher said: Lmao LOL same here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelly Posted June 18, 2022 Share Posted June 18, 2022 NO, NO, NO......listen to noylj, you'll mess up the headspace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HesedTech Posted June 18, 2022 Share Posted June 18, 2022 On 6/12/2022 at 9:46 PM, Farmer said: Can I pick up your garbage? Sure, but the pickins are slim. Typically I reject 1 in a 1000 these days and it’s normally for a damaged case. There are some banana peels though; good for composting I’m told. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polaris13 Posted July 21, 2022 Share Posted July 21, 2022 Nope, never. I do go through the brass and pick out the head stamps that my guns/press doesn't like to eat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konkapot Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 How is there clickbait on this forum? When did that become ok? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khaot1c Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 If you check three different load manuals, you'll probably see three different TRIM TO lengths. I went down a pretty deep rabbit hole trying to troubleshoot an issue where my ammo wouldn't allow the slide to lock into battery with a Bar-Sto barrel. I sampled/measured about 200 pieces of brass after they were sized and grouped them based on their length. The next step was to try and find a crimp that applied the "best" crimp based on the length of the brass going into the crimp die. That would be great IF every piece of brass also had the same case wall thickness. Guess what? They don't. So IF you're going to trim brass, I think you also need to have the same head-stamp to give yourself the best chance of getting the results you're actually looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FN509Fan Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 (edited) On 6/12/2022 at 7:51 PM, HesedTech said: If it doesn't gauge after loading it gets recycled (okay thrown in garbage). I didn't have or didn't know about them fancy gauges when I started handloading and still don't have any. Hmm, Christmas is coming. Hopefully that bullet and powder gets pulled before the round goes in the trash. And heck with primers costing ~dime each, I'd want to gaute before wasting a primer. (I'm a tight wad.) I've never trimmed 9mm, but just started loading 45 Colt. Instructions with the NIB Starline brass included trimming (and not eating.) I forgot this instruction for my first 48 rounds, they were darn fine accuracy/consistency but I didn't chrono them. I ignored the instruction for the second batch. I only have 100 cases so once they are all dirty and cleaned, I'll probably measure a few and or trim them all. Edited July 28, 2022 by FN509Fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HesedTech Posted July 29, 2022 Share Posted July 29, 2022 (edited) 6 hours ago, FN509Fan said: And heck with primers costing ~dime each, I'd want to gaute before wasting a primer. (I'm a tight wad.) All my brass gauges after sizing and before priming and seating bullet. Sometimes with a progressive press during the powder drop or bullet seating the brass distorts causing a failed gauge. Brass gets thinned out, worked hardened or the bullet not feed in properly causing issues. Right now with 9mm it’s an average of 1 in a 1000 that fails to gauge or pass inspection (primer seating). No matter what the goal is developing a process which produces good, functional and consistent ammo for competition. Yes, those which fail get bullet pulled and powder recycled into the powder measure. Edited July 29, 2022 by HesedTech Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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