Question for Hand Loaders (Spoon Related)

Craig T · 12-11-2015, 05:33 PM

Those of you the reload/hand load…After "sizing" do you measure EVERY cartridge EVERY time?

I've been measuring every single round after sizing. With 30-30 I get stretch and maybe 10% need trimming…But with 45LC and 357 they all seem to stay within the range.

Today I loaded 50 357 for the weekend silhouette match and didn't measure any of them. They all crimped inside the cantilever, so can't be too far off.

legion · 12-11-2015, 05:52 PM

Rifle cartridges I do.

Handgun cartridges I measure about 10% of the batch, and if all of those are in spec, I assume the other 90% is (because they were all shot at the same time). Any replacement cases introduced into a batch (because of lost of damaged cases) are measured as well.

MT930 · 06:13 PM

You should measure OAL over all length to make sure it's not to long.

Rifle brass ( Bottle Neck) stretches the most early, in the first few firings. Keep it under spec length.

The straight wall brass (Pistol Brass) does not stretch like the bottle neck stuff. the bigger the reduction the more stretch.

Case OAL length is a big deal, too long and you can have pressure issues.

Just set the calipers to the spec and if they are too long, trim. Keeping track of the firing numbers makes this easy. The brass work hardens after each firing.

sc_rufctr · 12-11-2015, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MT930

::: The brass work hardens after each firing.

Can you anneal them? (heat and quench)

legion · 12-11-2015, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Can you anneal them? (heat and quench)

Yes.

MT930 · 12-11-2015, 06:21 PM

Few different ways to do this, simple to elaborate but should be constant.

They start cracking and will not grip the bullets.

Arizona_928 · 12-12-2015, 03:40 AM

I load 45-70, and the only time I trim the cases is when I cut down normal brass to use the lever revolution pointed bullets. As long as I'm not loading hot rounds, they need very very little trimming.

RacerX1166 · 12-12-2015, 04:10 AM

When I was competing, I loaded and fired around 10k rounds of ammo per year (38 Super or 40 depending on division). Loaded a ton of pistol rounds for a solid 10 years. .357, 9mm, .45, Super, etc. I've never measured a case and don't own a trimmer.

Jeff Higgins · 11:42 AM

Depends entirely on the shape of the case, its operating pressure, and how tight the chamber is in which it is fired. Tapered cases with very gentle shoulders stretch faster than straight cases with sharper shoulders. Higher pressures will make them stretch fast. Loose chambers will make them stretch faster, unless one sizes for that specific chamber. Full length sizing makes them stretch more, so unless loading for multiple firearms, I avoid that.

My fastest stretching cases are .220 Swifts. They have two out three (tapered case with gentle shoulder angle, very high pressures) of the contributors. My various .375 H&H's are not far behind; while they operate at far lower pressure, the cases are tapered a lot more and I'm feeding three different rifles right now, requiring full length sizing. These all get checked after every sizing, but I only check about a dozen out of a batch. If one is too long, the whole batch gets trimmed. When they need their fourth trimming, they get tossed. I usually get 2-3 loads between trimmings, so 6-9 reloads before I scrap them.

I actually check a few of all bottleneck cases after sizing. .30-'06 and similar will go at least 4-5 firings between trimming. Same rule on number of trimmings, though - they get pitched when they need their fourth.

Straight cases will get trimmed when new and hardly ever even checked after that. Especially the black powder cases. I have .45-70's that are into their 70th-something reload and are still going strong, and were only trimmed when new. .45 Colts (for black powder) only get tossed when the mouths split from crimping too many times. Even high pressure .357 and .44 mag, along with high pressure smokeless .45 Colt cases, only get trimmed when new and then never checked. I guess how they crimp is the "check", in the end.

So, all of that said, one of my more modern calibers that operates at moderate pressure gets checked at every firing, and each and every case gets checked. These are the .308's that get fired in my new M1A. So far, I have found I have to trim after every firing. They require full length sizing, which doesn't help (but thankfully no small base dies), but something about the "timing" on the ejection cycle seems to allow them to stretch. I think the bolt must unlock and start rearward while pressures are still high enough to be forcing the cases to grip the chamber wall.

So, I guess the short answer is "it depends..."

Oh, and all of my cases get processed in "batches" - usually batches of 50, because that's what plastic MTM boxes hold. If so much as one exceeds maximum length, the whole batch gets trimmed. The rest are never far behind in stretching, and it sure makes it easier to keep track of trimmings. Like I said, when they need their fourth, they are gone.

tabs · 12-12-2015, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Depends entirely on the shape of the case, its operating pressure, and how tight the chamber is in which it is fired. Tapered cases with very gentle shoulders stretch faster than straight cases with sharper shoulders. Higher pressures will make them stretch fast. Loose chambers will make them stretch faster, unless one sizes for that specific chamber. Full length sizing makes them stretch more, so unless loading for multiple firearms, I avoid that.

My fastest stretching cases are .220 Swifts. They have two out three (tapered case with gentle shoulder angle, very high pressures) of the contributors. My various .375 H&H's are not far behind; while they operate at far lower pressure, the cases are tapered a lot more and I'm feeding three different rifles right now, requiring full length sizing. These all get checked after every sizing, but I only check about a dozen out of a batch. If one is too long, the whole batch gets trimmed. When they need their fourth trimming, they get tossed. I usually get 2-3 loads between trimmings, so 6-9 reloads before I scrap them.

I actually check a few of all bottleneck cases after sizing. .30-'06 and similar will go at least 4-5 firings between trimming. Same rule on number of trimmings, though - they get pitched when they need their fourth.

Straight cases will get trimmed when new and hardly ever even checked after that. Especially the black powder cases. I have .45-70's that are into their 70th-something reload and are still going strong, and were only trimmed when new. .45 Colts (for black powder) only get tossed when the mouths split from crimping too many times. Even high pressure .357 and .44 mag, along with high pressure smokeless .45 Colt cases, only get trimmed when new and then never checked. I guess how they crimp is the "check", in the end.

So, all of that said, one of my more modern calibers that operates at moderate pressure gets checked at every firing, and each and every case gets checked. These are the .308's that get fired in my new M1A. So far, I have found I have to trim after every firing. They require full length sizing, which doesn't help (but thankfully no small base dies), but something about the "timing" on the ejection cycle seems to allow them to stretch. I think the bolt must unlock and start rearward while pressures are still high enough to be forcing the cases to grip the chamber wall.

So, I guess the short answer is "it depends..."

Oh, and all of my cases get processed in "batches" - usually batches of 50, because that's what plastic MTM boxes hold. If so much as one exceeds maximum length, the whole batch gets trimmed. The rest are never far behind in stretching, and it sure makes it easier to keep track of trimmings. Like I said, when they need their fourth, they are gone.

Nice and definitive.

I never got into reloading, it was and is something that I'm gona do sumday? Mother just chimed in and said, "Yeah right Tabby, that will be the day they lower you into the ground.,"

Craig T · 12-12-2015, 06:58 PM

Thanks for the detail Jeff. Good info from the resident expert.

For tomorrow's long-range silhouette match, I decided to bring the 45-90. Amazing round, and a monster compared to the 30-30.

Arizona_928 · 12-12-2015, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig T

For tomorrow's long-range silhouette match, I decided to bring the 45-90. Amazing round, and a monster compared to the 30-30.

Cow boy loading those big boys?! I went shooting paper with hot 45-70 loads today. My brother, and I came back with bruised shoulders.

This is truly how simple reloading is.