.223 / .556 case length variation question

[dogslayer1313]

I recently pick up some brass I watched another shooter shoot out of his AR. The head stamp looks to be either PSD or PSA. I am pretty new to reloading and was wondering how much case length variation is considered normal for a batch of ammo. It appeared to be factory bulk ammo as he was pulling it from a bulk box. After depriming and resizing these cases vary in length from 1.752-1.769.

[tiller]

I recently pick up some brass I watched another shooter shoot out of his AR. The head stamp looks to be either PSD or PSA. I am pretty new to reloading and was wondering how much case length variation is considered normal for a batch of ammo. It appeared to be factory bulk ammo as he was pulling it from a bulk box. After depriming and resizing these cases vary in length from 1.752-1.769.

I would trim everything.... If it were me

[csburtch]

They're all going to expand differently. Trim and enjoy!

[bryant]

as long they don't pass the max lenght you good to go

[mls204]

trim anything over 1.760" and don't trim any shorter than 1.750". That variation is pretty normal.

Make sure you trim AFTER you resize. If you're shooting out of a semi-auto like the AR15 or Mini-14 do a full length resize, and not just neck resizing. You should make a dummy round and use it to check if it will properly load in your rifle. If it does not, you may need to get a small base resizing die.