I have some brass that was trimmed way way to short, I aquired it for something else but want to know if it will effect accuracy if I use it for what it was intended. Its lapua 6br brass that after sizing comes out at 1.480 rather then 1.550 so its really short for a regular 6br chamber but I am wondering if I loaded this for 6br would accuracy suffer?
brass thats trimmed to short and accuracy issues??
- Thread starter yodave
- Start date
I know the cases will stretch, and that their main purpose is to hold the powder.
Some say the case has little to do with accuracy as well so I guess the best thing to do is to try it, I am going to buy some new brass as well so I will have something to compare it to, I have a couple hundred of these short brass and I was going to blow them out to 30br but idle times have got me thinking funny thoughts
Some say the case has little to do with accuracy as well so I guess the best thing to do is to try it, I am going to buy some new brass as well so I will have something to compare it to, I have a couple hundred of these short brass and I was going to blow them out to 30br but idle times have got me thinking funny thoughts
I'm having trouble figuring out what you mean, by the title.
"brass thats trimmed to short and accuracy issues??
It appears your asking about trimming the brass to get short and accuracy issues?
Or, by any chance did you mean you are wondering about, "Brass that's trimmed too short??"
"brass thats trimmed to short and accuracy issues??
It appears your asking about trimming the brass to get short and accuracy issues?
Or, by any chance did you mean you are wondering about, "Brass that's trimmed too short??"
He's asking if the brass that is trimmed short, 1.480" instead of normal 1.550", will affect accuracy in any way compared to the standard trim length 1.550"
I don't think you will sufer to much but try and let the brass grow by full lenth sizing it between firings for the first few times.
Your brass is quite short though about 1/16" so depending on the lenght of the throat and bullet choice you will have less to hold on to .
I overtrimed some of my 6ppc brass a few years ago by almost the same as yours and it still shot good but is taking time to grow due to the tight chamber.
Your brass is quite short though about 1/16" so depending on the lenght of the throat and bullet choice you will have less to hold on to .
I overtrimed some of my 6ppc brass a few years ago by almost the same as yours and it still shot good but is taking time to grow due to the tight chamber.
Thank you, I thought it was pretty clear the way I typed it
Maybe his coffee hasn't kicked in yet because he usually has some great answers and foresight into matters like these.
Sometimes I try to be funny.
Of course, I knew what you meant, but was only pointing out how many time people use "to," when they mean, "too."
yodave
There was a time when cartridges were purposely made with long necks. There were several reasons for it. Mostly, the reason for it was to hold the bullet straight in the neck.
If you are using good dies, like Wilson competition dies and are single loading at the bench and if your bullets are seated tight into the lands, as many if not most bench rest rifles are, you should be OK.
If indeed you are shooting a bench rest rifle, then get a bag of brass and shoot it in your rifle. You won't be saving any money on that short brass and it may cause other issues that you won't like.
The Boers learned a harsh lesson during the Boer War when it came to cheap brass. Now keep in mind their conditions were a lot harsher than anything you will likely encounter.
They were shooting the 7x57 Mauser cartridge in their Mauser rifles. They got a good deal on reloaded and reformed brass. They bought this ammunition from a company in Europe. They had a lot of 7.65x53 Mauser basic brass that hadn't been sized yet. They offered it to the Boers at a discount and sized it to a short necked 7x57. The necks, were about 3.5mm shorter than the standard necks on a 7x57 cartridge.
When the short cartridges were used as made from the factory for the first firing, all was well. They had some reports of poor accuracy, because the long for calibre bullets, supposedly weren't being held straight by the neck. I doubt that was true, but it was one of the complaints. The Boers, being frugal people and of course having their supply lines cut off, reloaded as much of their brass as they could get returned. They had several blow ups with the short necked cartridges. They came up with several theories but nothing that I recall definitive.
When the Swede Mausers were first dumped into Canada, 6.5x55 cartridges and brass were almost unobtainable. Canadian manufacturers had quit making it long ago. Some people made it out of 7x57 cases and others, including myself, made it up out of 308 Win cases. As long as it was fireformed properly, it did a great job. The necks were extremely short and did not hold the bullets as well as would have been liked. They were fine for shooting from the bench. We also had some access to 7.62x51 Blank cases. These were fine. The crimp at end could be cut off and the neck resized to 6.5 etc. These cartridges lasted many reloads even though they had a swell after the initial fireing.
IMHO, for a bench rest rifle, that brass is readily available for, I wouldn't use the shortened brass you have access to. I won't go so far as to say it will be unsafe but you may just have some neck tension and consistency problems because of the short necks. There will be enough neck to keep them straight though so you might just get away with it.
The other problem is that bench rest bullets are hard to come by and are by no means cheap. You will have to work up a load for them in that case because it will be different.
Now there is also the issue of your chamber. If, you have a tight bench rest chamber and matching dies, you will have to turn the necks to fit. New brass is much easier to turn than used brass. Another thing to consider, if you indeed do have a bench rest rifle and chamber, your brass will, virtually last as long as your barrel. The chamber tolerances are so tight that the brass hardly moves.
There was a time when cartridges were purposely made with long necks. There were several reasons for it. Mostly, the reason for it was to hold the bullet straight in the neck.
If you are using good dies, like Wilson competition dies and are single loading at the bench and if your bullets are seated tight into the lands, as many if not most bench rest rifles are, you should be OK.
If indeed you are shooting a bench rest rifle, then get a bag of brass and shoot it in your rifle. You won't be saving any money on that short brass and it may cause other issues that you won't like.
The Boers learned a harsh lesson during the Boer War when it came to cheap brass. Now keep in mind their conditions were a lot harsher than anything you will likely encounter.
They were shooting the 7x57 Mauser cartridge in their Mauser rifles. They got a good deal on reloaded and reformed brass. They bought this ammunition from a company in Europe. They had a lot of 7.65x53 Mauser basic brass that hadn't been sized yet. They offered it to the Boers at a discount and sized it to a short necked 7x57. The necks, were about 3.5mm shorter than the standard necks on a 7x57 cartridge.
When the short cartridges were used as made from the factory for the first firing, all was well. They had some reports of poor accuracy, because the long for calibre bullets, supposedly weren't being held straight by the neck. I doubt that was true, but it was one of the complaints. The Boers, being frugal people and of course having their supply lines cut off, reloaded as much of their brass as they could get returned. They had several blow ups with the short necked cartridges. They came up with several theories but nothing that I recall definitive.
When the Swede Mausers were first dumped into Canada, 6.5x55 cartridges and brass were almost unobtainable. Canadian manufacturers had quit making it long ago. Some people made it out of 7x57 cases and others, including myself, made it up out of 308 Win cases. As long as it was fireformed properly, it did a great job. The necks were extremely short and did not hold the bullets as well as would have been liked. They were fine for shooting from the bench. We also had some access to 7.62x51 Blank cases. These were fine. The crimp at end could be cut off and the neck resized to 6.5 etc. These cartridges lasted many reloads even though they had a swell after the initial fireing.
IMHO, for a bench rest rifle, that brass is readily available for, I wouldn't use the shortened brass you have access to. I won't go so far as to say it will be unsafe but you may just have some neck tension and consistency problems because of the short necks. There will be enough neck to keep them straight though so you might just get away with it.
The other problem is that bench rest bullets are hard to come by and are by no means cheap. You will have to work up a load for them in that case because it will be different.
Now there is also the issue of your chamber. If, you have a tight bench rest chamber and matching dies, you will have to turn the necks to fit. New brass is much easier to turn than used brass. Another thing to consider, if you indeed do have a bench rest rifle and chamber, your brass will, virtually last as long as your barrel. The chamber tolerances are so tight that the brass hardly moves.
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- Golden Lake
Are there some history buff out there with better memories than mine who know about the Boer War? I remember reading about the Boers getting a shipment of ammo from Europe (Belgium?) for a Mauser cartridge (7.65?) that had short necks - there was a big problem with the cartridges.
Hey Bruce: There's another member on one of these forums whose motto is "Spelling and Grammar count". I have a friend who corrects spelling on "For Sale" ads in supermarkets.
I think it's only us old guys who care about spelling and punctuation. I know my son thinks I'm a hopeless old fossil when I chide him about his spelling (or lack of it).
Hey Bruce: There's another member on one of these forums whose motto is "Spelling and Grammar count". I have a friend who corrects spelling on "For Sale" ads in supermarkets.
I think it's only us old guys who care about spelling and punctuation. I know my son thinks I'm a hopeless old fossil when I chide him about his spelling (or lack of it).
The short answer (pun not intended) is there should be no accuracy issues due to a slightly shorter trimmed neck. It is the cartridge oal length (bullet fit), and whether or not the bullet is held firmly and straight in the neck, that will make any difference.
As for comparing this to a 100+ year old rumour about cartridges provided during a war - please!!
As for comparing this to a 100+ year old rumour about cartridges provided during a war - please!!
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- Point clark
Correct me if i am wrong , but if there all consistently trimmed and sufficient neck tension , there shouldn't be any loss in accuracy ??
