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  #1  
Old 01-14-2022, 8:25 AM
mtenenhaus mtenenhaus is offline
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Default Which Case Trimmer do you prefer for Bullseye accuracy loads .45acp?

Hi,

i've been using a Frankford Arsenal cast trim prep center for my rifles and it's proven to be a very good tool at least in my experience.

...i'm hoping to begin bullseye pistol shooting as such, I called Frankford Arsenal for advice on how to set it up for pistol....i was informed that unfortunately this particular unit is not made for pistol case trimming.

that said....which case trimmer would you prefer for accurate bullseye type reloading.....mostly .45acp and .38 special...and perhaps 9mm Luger?

thank you as always
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  #2  
Old 01-14-2022, 8:30 AM
jsanch03 jsanch03 is offline
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Hmmm following this thread out of interest since the debate of trimming pistol brass has seemed to subside.

I would expect Guys that shoot precision anything would recommend a uniformed primer pocket for sure. Maybe even a de-burred flash hole that adds a slight cone shape to the flash hole. And of course premium components such as match primers, some type of VV powder and match projectiles.
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  #3  
Old 01-14-2022, 9:44 AM
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smoothy8500 smoothy8500 is offline
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Trim length is only an issue for roll crimp, which you will be doing on the 38spl in your target semiautomatic. You still have a little leeway, maybe up to .005" since the wadcutter has a rounded edge and the seating plug shouldn't hit the brass.

I find the phenomenon that pistol brass seems to shrink with resizing instead of growing.

Last edited by smoothy8500; 01-14-2022 at 9:46 AM..
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Old 01-14-2022, 10:10 AM
mtenenhaus mtenenhaus is offline
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Smoothy....as always your responses make so much sense and are very appreciated...thank you.

....so far all i've done is to deprime and clean the cases on a Lee universal decapping die.... but i've not yet sized the cases.

...i measured a bunch of my mixed brass .45acp cases and there does seem to be a small variability in case length (i didn't resize so i've not yet experienced that data).

i've read some forum posts that state that the case mouth on straight wall calibers establish headspace....as such the case length is felt to be very important when making accurate bullseye reloads.

i've read other posts which seem to disagree at least from a practical perspective, stating that it is rare to have to re-establish case length..even for bullseye shooting.
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Old 01-14-2022, 1:32 PM
divingin divingin is offline
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I don't trim bullseye pistol brass. I currently load for a 32SWL Pardini, a Model 52 Smith, and a lightly stroked Gold Cup. Never trimmed for any of them.

I also don't put a whole lot of effort into building super-accurate pistol loads, as I generate a tons more variance on the target than the ammo does. Might be just me though.
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Old 01-14-2022, 2:41 PM
mtenenhaus mtenenhaus is offline
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makes sense

appreciate the insight
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Old 01-14-2022, 2:55 PM
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smoothy8500 smoothy8500 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mtenenhaus View Post

i've read other posts which seem to disagree at least from a practical perspective, stating that it is rare to have to re-establish case length..even for bullseye shooting.
That's what I had read quite a bit in the past when Bullseye was more popular back in the 80's and 90's. On a highly tuned pistol with tightened slide, match bushing, cut lugs, etc, headspace could be a factor but not dramatically nor worth the effort.

Last edited by smoothy8500; 01-14-2022 at 2:59 PM..
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Old 01-14-2022, 8:06 PM
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Do not trim 45 Auto cases. In rifles, you heads pace on shoulder. In auto Pistol cases, you head space on case mouth. Increasing head space gap hurts accuracy, just like rifle accuracy. Pistol cartridges, at least up to 44 Mag have NEVER grown or needed trimming.
Sort sized cases and practice with shortest and shoot matches with longest. Thankfully, 45 Auto is very forgiving and really wants to be accurate.
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Old 01-14-2022, 10:02 PM
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ar15barrels ar15barrels is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mtenenhaus View Post
Hi,

i've been using a Frankford Arsenal cast trim prep center for my rifles and it's proven to be a very good tool at least in my experience.

...i'm hoping to begin bullseye pistol shooting as such, I called Frankford Arsenal for advice on how to set it up for pistol....i was informed that unfortunately this particular unit is not made for pistol case trimming.

that said....which case trimmer would you prefer for accurate bullseye type reloading.....mostly .45acp and .38 special...and perhaps 9mm Luger?

thank you as always
Sorry I can't help you.
I don't know anyone that trims 38 special or 45acp cases for normal reloading or even for match ammo.
The only reason I could come up with to trim 38 special or 45acp would be for converting them to some shorter cartridge.
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Last edited by ar15barrels; 01-14-2022 at 10:05 PM..
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  #10  
Old 01-15-2022, 8:07 AM
mtenenhaus mtenenhaus is offline
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thanks everyone..as you can tell i'm new to bullseye pistol shooting. i truly appreciate the information
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  #11  
Old 01-15-2022, 12:04 PM
sghart sghart is offline
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Years ago I asked this question myself. No one could answer it so I did a little experimentation.

I could be wrong but I swear that some of my cases actually got shorter. Maybe it was due to the 45 ACP headspacing on the mouth. I don't know.

I have never trimmed a 45 ACP case. Then again I am a terrible shot so YMMV.
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  #12  
Old 01-15-2022, 6:40 PM
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I have not trimmed a .45ACP case in 40 years...uh actually NEVER.
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  #13  
Old 01-16-2022, 3:01 PM
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My recommendation ( I used to shoot a lot of bullseye) is to get a gauge to check your completed reloads, if they fail the gauge, set those aside for practice.

I also use a Lee factory crimp die as the final step in reloading (on a Dillon 650). I don't trim pistol cases.

case guage: https://www.brownells.com/reloading/...rod119786.aspx
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  #14  
Old 01-17-2022, 6:25 AM
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Re: roll crimping
I have tried trimming 38 Spl, 357 Mag, and 44 Mag cases to increase accuracy.
I ran tests on trimmed and matching headstamps and untrimmed mixed cases.
Sorry, but in every cartridge, mixed/untrimmed were either very slightly more accurate or statistically as accurate as trimmed/matching.
I don't think pistols have the inherent accuracy for such fine details to matter.
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Old 01-17-2022, 7:13 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by noylj View Post
Re: roll crimping
I have tried trimming 38 Spl, 357 Mag, and 44 Mag cases to increase accuracy.
I ran tests on trimmed and matching headstamps and untrimmed mixed cases.
Sorry, but in every cartridge, mixed/untrimmed were either very slightly more accurate or statistically as accurate as trimmed/matching.
I don't think pistols have the inherent accuracy for such fine details to matter.
when we do it for rifles, usually it is to improve a group by 0.1" at 100 yards or something along that order. At 50 yards off hand, you aren't going to notice that order of improvement, even if the pistol were that accurate.
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Old 01-18-2022, 8:23 AM
divingin divingin is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sghart View Post
Years ago I asked this question myself. No one could answer it so I did a little experimentation.

I could be wrong but I swear that some of my cases actually got shorter. Maybe it was due to the 45 ACP headspacing on the mouth. I don't know.
There was a video out where some guys tested this. They ran some really hot loads, and reloaded the same one/few pieces of brass repeatedly checking brass growth rate. They found what you did: 45 brass length shrinks on repeated firings. They also found the cause of the shrinkage was due to the case head compacting, with the extractor groove getting smaller over the course of firings.
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