Do you trim your handgun brass?

[FWiedner]

... or do you use it a couple of times with real loads and then load down or toss it?

[guido4198]

I've trimmed some over the years. The .41 mag which I shoot for group and hunt with, the .357/44 B&D, and the .375 JDJ. All the others just get "loaded until lost" or show signs of possible failure.

[M. M. Wright]

I used to trim .45ACP. When I would buy a new batch (couple of thousand) I'd run all of it through a trimmer set up on my drill press because it headspaces on the mouth of the case. Don't do anything with the hundreds of 44-40 I load now days. The Lee factory crimp die puts a good crimp on regardless of length. Ditto for 32-20. 220 Swift gets checked for length and trimmed when necessary, but that's not handgun is it?

[Griff]

Exceedingly seldom. But then I don't do loads that push the envelope. New brass may need trimming to meet the case length my dies are set to, after that, it's rare that any give me a problem. But then, I only load for 3 pistol cartridges, .38/.357, .45ACP & .45Colt.

[Borregos]

I have never trimmed handgun brass until recently when I got a 45-70 barrel for my T/C, I trimmed that because the lengh varied too much and I wanted a consistant crimp using 5744. But I guess that does not count

[Hobie]

Trim it all for either consistent roll crimps or consistent headspace (as with 9mm and .45 ACP). Load it until it isn't up to standards and must be pitched.

[stretch]

Life is too short to trim 45 ACP, 9mm, etc. - unless you're REALLY going for accuracy.

I trim revolver brass, though.
And it IS a PITA.

-Stretch

[J Miller]

"Do you trim your handgun brass?"

Only if it exceeds the maximum case length, not trim to length, when full length sized. An exceedingly rare occurrence.

I am too poor to waste good brass by throwing them away when they shrink or no longer meet certain length criteria.
They get shot till they split or won't hold primers any more.

Joe

[rjohns94]

"Exceedingly Seldom" .... "Exceedingly Rare" .....

Hmmm, just not sure what to make of those.


Ohh, and I use to trim .44mag to overall case length but found it wasn't worth the effort. I do keep track of the number of times the brass has been sized and fired and when the lot starts to show wear, it gets chucked.

[kimwcook]

I only trim if the brass showing problems with length.

[Malamute]

I don't shoot tons of full bore magnum loads in 44, and don't worry too much about the brass life, I have quite a bit of it. The medium loads I'm certaily not worried about as regards brass failure other than mouth cracks. I've never trimmed any handgun brass, don't think I've ever even checked length, other than running some thru the Lee hand trimmer, and they didnt cut any when I tried them. I recall reading many years ago an artical about Ross Seyfried, the then world champ in one of the "combat" shooting styles. He stated he never ever trimmed 45 auto brass, and never separated brass in any way, just shot them til he lost them or they cracked. I followed his lead on the matter of auto brass as well.

[AJMD429]

I've trimmed some over the years. The .41 mag which I shoot for group and hunt with, the .357/44 B&D, and the .375 JDJ. All the others just get "loaded until lost" or show signs of possible failure.

What do you shoot your .357/44 B&D in...?

[foxtrapper]

Never ever, from 45acp to 510GNR

[RKrodle]

Nope, and shoot it til the neck splits and then toss it.

[kragluver]

Nope - never had a need to.

[Idiot]

Yep, for uniform crimp in revolver rounds, and for reliable head spacing and feeding in semi-auto rounds. Of course I'm on the quest of minute rock each and every time I pull the trigger.

[Chris83716]

I just did several thousand 45 APC but only because th
ey were all range pickups. Free is my favorite thing.

Chris

[adirondakjack]

I would if I shot sillywet or some other "hot" loaded stuff where minute degrees of accuracy counted a lot.

But for most uses, in either .380, .45 ACP, or low to middle pressure revolver loads, brass is simply a gasket and a powder container. If it gives up I trash it, but even that is rare.

[Chuck 100 yd]

I buy my brass new/un-primed and measure a few and if the sample is not over the spec. listed in the load manual I don't worry about it at all. Load em and shoot em.

[Ysabel Kid]

"Do you trim your handgun brass?"

Only if it exceeds the maximum case length, not trim to length, when full length sized. An exceedingly rare occurrence.

I am too poor to waste good brass by throwing them away when they shrink or no longer meet certain length criteria.
They get shot till they split or won't hold primers any more.

Joe

Joe is my twin!

[adirondakjack]

Even the cheapest stuff brass (well, except A-Merc, I wouldn't wish that on anybody) can be used many times without trimming, primer pocket care, etc. When I bought my first .45 Colt revolver, I bought the only box of .45 colt the place had, "3-D" cowboy loads (the blue box, new, not reloads). For probably two years, that was the only brass I owned. I loaded it HOTTTTTT many times, including heavy JHP bullets with doses of 2400 that made cases turn blue.... Not long ago I stumbled across one of those lonely old cases. I noticed it because it primed so easy, I probably coulda seated a primer with a thumb. There is almost no headstamp left visible, and the brass itelf is so weak, it won't honestly take a strong crimp anymore. But is it serviceable for plinkers? if that's all I had, I'd use it.

[claybob86]

I do spot check measurements after resizing. If some are over max, I trim the lot. If for no other reason, to keep the crimps as uniform as possible, One of my reloading books says to discard the cases when they need a fifth trimming, but I've been reloading for about 20 years and haven't reached that point with any of my brass. I probably need to shoot more!

[guido4198]

I've trimmed some over the years. The .41 mag which I shoot for group and hunt with, the .357/44 B&D, and the .375 JDJ. All the others just get "loaded until lost" or show signs of possible failure.

What do you shoot your .357/44 B&D in...?

Single action Ruger. I bought the .38/.357/9mm 2-cylinder combo and had a local gunsmith bore out the 9mm cylinder to take the .357/44 Bain and Davis round.

[Birdman]

Nope. I shoot it until I see a split and throw it in my recycle bin.

[Old Ironsights]

Never... though I DO take a good look at my brass after shooting whompumstompers.

Only thing I've determined is that Nickle Plate & Kaboom don't go well together, so Whompumstompers get Brass Only from now on.

[BAGTIC]

Case trimming is the part of handloading that I hate the MOST. Handgun brass seems to stretch VERY little compared to some rifle brass. I sure as hell anin't rich but I'm not so poor that the time spent trimming handgun brass isn't more valuable to me than the little it costs to buy new brass. By the time it has stretched too long is is getting near the end anyway. The brass that is trimmed off the neck came from somewhere that it was needed. Penny wise and pound foolish.

[JesterGrin_1]

If I get a bag of New Brass for my pistols I size and trim them one time. And as others I will check now and then and if need be will trim again. As I feel consistency is important in reloading. But everyone has there own way of doing things.

Much of this also depends on how HOT the load is and how tight of a crimp is used.

[Sixgun]

Never---For 99% of my revolver brass, when it splits, I wing it and replace it with one from the raw material box. Hunting brass is inspected with detail in mind. I don't care what Brian Pearce says, I can still hit a 10" gong at 300 meters with uninspected brass out of a proven gun and load -----------------Sixgun