Using brass that is under min length

chalkriver

chalkriver

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I had some 308 brass that was fired out of my rifle neck sized and when I measured the brass a lot were under the recommend 2.005 trim length .
A lot were 2.002 or so ..I am using a moderate charge not near the max load is this brass still safe to use ?
 
chalkriver said:
I had some 308 brass that was fired out of my rifle neck sized and when I measured the brass a lot were under the recommend 2.005 trim length .
A lot were 2.002 or so ..I am using a moderate charge not near the max load is this brass still safe to use ?
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Why on gods green earth would they not be safe? Does anyone REALLY think that .003" under length would make any difference at all? Do you have any idea what affect neck length has on the case and why case length is of any issue at all? Maybe read up on it and then you won't post ####e like this.

The people who insist there are no stupid questions are dead wrong. The internets is full of them.
 
Suputin said:
Why on gods green earth would they not be safe? Does anyone REALLY think that .003" under length would make any difference at all? Do you have any idea what affect neck length has on the case and why case length is of any issue at all? Maybe read up on it and then you won't post ####e like this.

The people who insist there are no stupid questions are dead wrong. The internets is full of them.
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Settle down there turbo. He just asked a question. Since he wasn't sure he did the right thing.
 
Three thou isn't enough to matter. Your cases will very likely stretch that much on the next firing. 50 pound off set paper is 4 thou thick.
 
sunray said:
Three thou isn't enough to matter. Your cases will very likely stretch that much on the next firing. 50 pound off set paper is 4 thou thick.
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Sunray, that is a good post you have and I am not being critical of it, but just going to add a bit.
I too, have used the paper thickness bit when commenting on reloaders talking about miniscule amounts regarding case length, distance from the lands, etc. Only I was using a different thickness for paper.
So I took a sheet of 20 pound printing paper from my computer and measured it. I used a Millers Falls, 0 to 1" micrometer, using the tension knob to weight it to the paper. The thickness of the paper was .0042".
So WOW, the case in question was not that far away from being the thickness of a piece of printing paper shorter than the manual said it should be!
 
Suputin said:
Why on gods green earth would they not be safe? Does anyone REALLY think that .003" under length would make any difference at all? Do you have any idea what affect neck length has on the case and why case length is of any issue at all? Maybe read up on it and then you won't post ####e like this.

The people who insist there are no stupid questions are dead wrong. The internets is full of them.
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Wow...chill-pill time eh??
For what it's worth, a lot of my 308 brass is trimmed to 2.000 on purpose....no issues here
 
The tolerance inside the chamber will probably be + a few thou anyway so even max length brass is not completely filling the chamber.
If you were loading 1000 yard competition ammo for F-class world championships, it may be best to put it aside for less critical loads, but for any normal use being even .010" too short is perfectly fine.

I've used brass .150" too short to no ill effect but that was with cast bullets and very low pressures.
 
.003 is literally a ¢unt hair, you can feel it, but it won't harm anything. And now you know the rest of the story.
 
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A week or so ago, there was a near identical thread on CGN. I commented that in the past I had quite often made 270 brass by sizing down 30-06 brass. The 270 brass ends up about .01" shorter than the book length for a 270. For shooting full power in a very accurate Sako rifle, no difference in accuracy, or anything else could be noticed.
Regarding how short can you go, I made the remark that the neck had to be long enough to hold the bullet!
These threads come up constantly, month in, month out, year in, year out. No wonder some people get annoyed at the start of such a thread with the same old monotonous questions asked. They wonder why can't people learn from other peoples posts.
 
Suputin said:
Why on gods green earth would they not be safe? Does anyone REALLY think that .003" under length would make any difference at all? Do you have any idea what affect neck length has on the case and why case length is of any issue at all? Maybe read up on it and then you won't post ####e like this.

The people who insist there are no stupid questions are dead wrong. The internet is full of them.
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Agreed,
I load Federal 223 brass and after sizing/depriming I measure every piece, they are sorted for length with the ones that are at book length tossed in one ammo can, the ones that are long get toss in another can, and all the ones that are short get tossed in another can. I only separate the shorter ones because I'm already measuring them anyway and just throw them in a different ammo can thinking that if the batch I make are all a tiny bit short it will be more consistent. Next loading most will prob get tossed in the correct length can then the loading after that they will need the "to be trimmed" can.

As usual Suputin is 100% correct, the answer may have been a little harsh but I understand the frustration with seeing the same questions pop up every few weeks. As stated by someone else, it's better to ask if you're unsure but it would be nice if people tried looking things up before just coming on here and asking.
 
Nobody has even noted what affect neck length has on the round.

If the case neck is too long, it can get thrust into the chamber throat, which has the effect of crimping the case mouth into the bullet, which can result in over pressures. However the chamber neck length is considerably longer than the case neck length so a case has to be seriously over length to cause any issues. I rarely trim brass for length because it is a serious PIA and I hate doing it, and ultimately it doesn't need to be done all that often.

A short case neck has no effect on anything. The case neck would have to be in the order of .1" to .2" too short before you would notice any difference. Just for the OP, that is 30 to 60 times shorter than your .003". And even then a short neck would only cause an issue as it became too short to properly hold the bullet in place. This would likely not cause any safety issues, only accuracy issues as the neck tension and straightness of the bullet were impacted.


it would be nice if people tried looking things up before just coming on here and asking.
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Understatement of the year!
 
Don't do it, your rifle will explode.

1 thou out and its critical mass.
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please send me the brass for disposal, i am a certified brass hoarder.
 
H4831 said:
A week or so ago, there was a near identical thread on CGN. I commented that in the past I had quite often made 270 brass by sizing down 30-06 brass. The 270 brass ends up about .01" shorter than the book length for a 270. For shooting full power in a very accurate Sako rifle, no difference in accuracy, or anything else could be noticed.
Regarding how short can you go, I made the remark that the neck had to be long enough to hold the bullet!
These threads come up constantly, month in, month out, year in, year out. No wonder some people get annoyed at the start of such a thread with the same old monotonous questions asked. They wonder why can't people learn from other peoples posts.
Click to expand...

I made a mathematical error in this post yesterday.
When 30-06 brass is sized down to 270 brass, the case ends up about a tenth of an inch shorter than nominal length for a 270, which is .1" and not .01" as I posted.
Bruce
 
The trim lengths listed in loading manuals are meaningless if you don't know the actual length of your chamber to compare to. Just like recommended COAL's. Your brass is safe to use and probably .025 to .050 shorter than it needs to be already. Sinclair makes a nifty little tool one can use to measure chamber length. I have one for every caliber I own so I know when it's time to trim. I don't like trimming either.

I'll never understand why people get so worked up on here when someone asks a question. Isn't that what these forums are for?
 
Actually, case length does matter a bit.


Too long for the chamber can be very serious high pressure. Depending on the chamber reamer, your chamber neck might be close to "max" case length in the book, or a lot longer.

If your brass is too long, trim it all to half way to the 'trim to" length in the book.

A short case neck increases the hot gas turbulence of the gasses hitting the end of the chamber neck and deflecting into the throat, increasing throat erosion.

If you do a lot of shooting and replace barrels regularly, longer necks is one way to reduce throat erosion.
 
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