Reloading gurus - trimming cases on a progressive?

[shredder]

Just like the title says.

I know that when you shoot whatever ammo in a semi-auto (pistol or rifle) the cases tend to stretch out beyond max length and therefore must be trimmed.

Particularly for pistol and .223 calibres, how does one do this on a progressive press, when typically the first cycle of the lever deprimes, sizes, and primes all on one stroke?

Is it safe to trim AFTER you've primed the case?

Do you trim the cases BEFORE you resize/deprime?

I know Dillon has a cutter die available for certain calibres that mounts on their progressive presses, but I'm betting it ain't cheap.

As you all can tell, I'm new to reloading. I've got the batch methods on a single stage press down pat, but that's pretty slow when you want to load 500+ rounds of 9mm or .223. Doing a run of 500 means you pull that lever an awful lot of times to get the finished product.

I did do a search but couldn't find the info I was looking for. Please help a fellow reloader out!!!

 

[Obtunded]

I must be honest, most of my pistol brass has remained well within tolerances and i would simply get more brass rather than trim. I found primer pockets loosening before I ever found them requiring trimming. With a straigt walled case, I can't see that as ever being a big issue. The bigger issue is proper full length resizing. Most dies do not size right to the base of the case, and this causes more feeding problems than case length. I have loaded tens of thousands of pistol rounds over the years, and cannot say I ever had an issue with too much length.

that is only MY experience, and i'm sure others will have different ideas.

All military rifle cartridges with less than 25 degree shoulders will "brass flow", and they will require trimming more frequently. It also depends on the chamber used. If using a factory gun with a generous SAAMI spec chamber, you'll see it more often, but don't load too hot. Match chambers and good brass such as Lapua reduce those issues considerably.

 

[sunray]

Hi. There are trimming dies, but it's usually done on a separate trimmer. Trim, chamfer and deburr after resizing but before priming the .223. Shouldn't hurt anything if you trim after priming, but some trimmers require an empty primer pocket.
9mm and most other handgun cases will rarely need trimming.
"...Dillon has..." Powered unit is worth $229.95US. Requires a special .223 die at $46.95US. Has a vaccum to suck the chips away though.
Lee makes their 'Zip trim' at $24ish US, but it doesn't come with everything you'd need. No trimming cutter for one. And the shell holders are not the same as the press type.
RCBS makes a powered trimmer too. $358.95US. Doesn't clean up after itself or put itself away either.
"...pretty slow when you want to load..." There's a technique to it. A bin of empties on one side, an empty bin on the other, then, using both hands(in the shell holder with one hand, operate the ram and out with the other. Takes a bit of practice.), do one operation to all the cases then switch dies and do the next. You can get all the cases to the point they just need powder and bullet and store 'em. Coffee cans are good for storing 9mm. Shoe boxes work well for rifle cases. Anything with a lid will do though.

 

[Canuck223]

I used to use a two toolhead setup.

The first toolhead was just used to prep the brass.

1) Small Base size
2) Primer swage
3) Trim

The second toolhead had a universal decapping pin in station one to make sure the corn cob media was cleared of the flash hole.

Since you need to lube cases prior to sizing, but want them clean for shooting, you can either tumble live ammo, or tumble them after processing. (As in tumble in clean corn cob media to strip the lube, not clean them for the first time.)