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Posted: 7/15/2009 3:21:15 AM EDT
| Does anyne know where I can find the min case lengths that is written or download, whatever, my two books only show the trim length and I have a ton of 9mm that is below the trim length. Obviously looking for more than the 9mm lengths but rifle and handgun min lenghts also. |
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The "Trim To" lengths are the established minimums. You can trim shorter or use shorter lengths but I doubt anyone will say how far below. But RCBS X Dies say to trim .010" below minimum for the dies to work as designed. Depending on the case you can trim well below that, i.e. bottle neck rifle cases, belted magnum rifle cases, and rimmed rifle and handgun cases can be trimmed as short as you want as long as you can grip the bullet tip. Will that ammo be in Specification, No; will it work, Yes.
Rimless auto pistol cases headspace off of the case mouth and they must be pretty close to the established guidelines; also they should not be roll crimped for the same reason. |
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Your manuals show the recommended "trim to" length.
The lengths of straight cases for auto loading pistols should be treated with a little care. These cartridges headspace on the case mouth. If the case is too short or improperly crimped, the cartridge floats in the chamber between the breach and the headspacing ledge. Some pistols hold the case in the extractor well enough that they function okay, but you will get light primer strikes. If you have cases that are too short, what is the dimension? If they're a couple of thousandths, don't worry about them. If they're 10 thousandths, then that might be a problem, and it might not. Short pistol cases also mean the bullet has to be seated deeper, raising the chamber pressure, so that needs to be taken into account, too. Virtually no one trims straight wall pistol brass. I've trimmed .44 Mag cases one time to get uniform lengths. |
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