Hey reloaders, I have about 300 pieces of Hornady Brass. They are measuring 1.237 to 1.248. My Speer manual says trim to 1.280. I know that if there a bit short , it's ok. But are these to short? Should I trim them all to the shortest length , that would be easier than trying to sort them all. And finally if I trim them all to 1.237 and make them 1.570 COL as my manual says, will they still have the same velocity ?
Are my .357 brass too short?
- Thread starter Brianma65
- Start date
The case lenght has little effect on velocity. I don't sort my 357 brass or even trim them if they are over 1.280.
The only length issues is if the final cartridge fits your gun's chamber. I find I get a bit of an accurcay advantage if I load them long. .
I would just load them up and shoot them. SAAMI specifies a maximum case length of 1.290" and the manual sets trim length as .010" shorter as a rule of thumb.
The only handgun brass I have ever trimmed is .44 Magnum cases that have cracked at the case mouth. If the crack isn't too long, they can be salvaged by trimming to .44 Special length.
The only handgun brass I have ever trimmed is .44 Magnum cases that have cracked at the case mouth. If the crack isn't too long, they can be salvaged by trimming to .44 Special length.
i don't check or sort my pistol brass, start low and work up and you'll be fine. you will have a different amount of crimp but i wouldn't work about it. i would find a case that's in the middle of the min and max cases you have to setup up your crimp die if you really worried about it.
Would this Hornady brass happen to be from Leverevolution ammo? This is a common problem with their Leverevolution line as the cases are shorter to allow for their proprietary bullets. Can be a royal pain in the butt cuz it looks like you loaded the bullet too long when it is actually the correct COAL. If u werent aware of that and were loading to the cannelure, by pushing the bullet further in to the case you also increase the pressure well above what you were expecting. I experienced this short brass from the Leverolution line in 45-70 and 45 Colt and point it out to as many reloaders I can. I also brought this to the attn of the local Hornady rep who has done nothing over the past 2 years since being advised. I saw it in boxes of virgin brass marked 45Colt, but clearly it was destined for the Lvrtn line but got mixed in with std 45LC line. Given the potential for mishap from a careless loader, I would have thought Hornady would have been more caring...
You're supposed to measure pistol cases? Wow,guess I've been doing it wrong. Oh well,why mess with success. Like a previous poster said,lifes too short to worry about the length of pistol cases. I load them till the mouth cracks or the primers start to fall out.
for best accuracy with cast bullets that have to be crimped, consistent length is important. most handgun shooters don't need or desire the most accuracy their handguns are capable of. a few that shoot revolvers at longer ranges trim cases, weigh their bullets and do everything to be consistent, so will a few target shooters. still it only matters if it is important to you to shrink your groups by an inch at fifty yards, most handgunners plink at closer distances.
This depends directly on what powder you intend to use. I shot handgun silhouette for many years and was very good at it, I trimmed all my 44 RM brass to the same length to get a consistent crimp, which is critical when using H110 or Win 296. I load my 357s with the same powder and I also trim these to get the most consistent crimp possible. The wonderful thing about pistol brass is once it is all trimmed to the same length, it never seems to change and doesn't ever require trimming again through it's life. Powders like Unique and 2400 don't seem to care, but I like knowing my brass is all the same length and if I need to crimp I won't buckle some cases while having no crimp on others. JMHE
Were I you, I would trim all my brass to the shortest length and proceed from there, or scrap all that Horn crap brass and get some real brass. Starline brass is very good and relatively cheap and is sold by a couple sponsors on this site.
Were I you, I would trim all my brass to the shortest length and proceed from there, or scrap all that Horn crap brass and get some real brass. Starline brass is very good and relatively cheap and is sold by a couple sponsors on this site.
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