trimming 223REM cases

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thechineseguy

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my WFT just arrived from brownells. woot

anyway, i have a bunch of cases that have been resized with rcbs small base die and most of them are 1.760-1.769" so i know those will need to be trimmed to 1.750" but i also have a handful of cases that are below the saami minimum of 1.750" (they are around 1.743-1.748") and was wondering if i can still reload those and discharge them safely?
 
I was just looking at the specifications, and I read them differently. The specification from SAAMI is 1.760 - 0.030 which means that the case length range is 1.730-1.760

h ttp://www.saami.org/pubresources/cc_drawings/Rifle/223%20Remington.pdf
 
I have reloaded a good handful of "plinking rounds" that were in the 1.734, 1.738, 1.744 etc etc. and they all worked well, cycled and what not. I also inspected these multiple times, with calipers, headspace gauge etc. Gotta remember that these were already once fired. From factory spec. I say reload them and plink away. I also did the push test on the projectile to see if the neck held the round, and it did fine on all accounts.
 
thechineseguy said:
my WFT just arrived from brownells. woot

anyway, i have a bunch of cases that have been resized with rcbs small base die and most of them are 1.760-1.769" so i know those will need to be trimmed to 1.750" but i also have a handful of cases that are below the saami minimum of 1.750" (they are around 1.743-1.748") and was wondering if i can still reload those and discharge them safely?
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Yes you can. To add to this, if I encountered brass below sammi that have been fired a few times , I will chuck them
 
silverfoxdj said:
Yes but that is when it gets too long not the minimum as far as I know there is a difference I'll have to look it up I believe it was a percentage of the norm for minimum...
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Are you referring to saami specs.? It's 1.760 - .030. Yes your right but as per all the reloading manuals they say trim to length is 1.750"
 
SAAMI .223 case length spec is 1.740" to 1.760". The "trim-to" length is simply put in the middle of that range to make allowance for +/- errors. Anything in the range is fine.
 
I bought a Frankford Arsenal Platinum Case trim and prep center off Amazon for $200 last year... best purchase ever! :) I sit down and watch a movie or two and trim 500 cases to exactly the same length (1.750 for me ). I would definitely recommend it. I plugged in a primer pocket reamer to remove crimp also.... sweetness

 
Tenguns said:
Not 1.48". Big difference between that, and 1.730" is what we're saying.
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Agreed, don't think I mentioned 1.730 which is the SAMI absolute minimum tho... believe I said 1.740 to 1.760 and the 1.750 is the agreed middle of the pack but can use cases shorter for practical use down to 1.740 practically speaking which takes a little away from bullet grip but can be used for most uses is all..

So practically 223 brass is 1.760" +0.000/-0.020. In other words, 1.740" to 1.760". pretty sure not +- 0.030 or 1.730 and the SAMMI specs are usually guidelines not absolutes..
 
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