Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns .44 Mag Case Trimming

I am loading my first batch of .44 Mags and am a bit confused on what stage to trim the cases? The instructions read like I should trim after I have resized and flared the case mouth but trimming on the flared mouth seems odd to me?

I never trim handgun brass, only rifle.

Once trimmed, I hardly ever do it again either.

That being said, if you're going to do it, or need to do it, trim 'em before you flare 'em. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Thanks, most were around the "trim to length" with the biggest diviation being .005 over. The RCBS instructions make it sound like you should trim right before seating.
They tell you to resize, expand the mouth and then it moves to seating and in this section is says:" Before proceeding, cases must be trimmed to the same overall length to assure a consitent crimp."

Even after 3 reloads using the max load of 2400 my brass didn't need trimming. I'll only trim if the brass varies more than ~.004" or is over max. I've never trimmed any of my straight wall brass (357, 44 rem mag, 45 colt).

Conversely, I have to trim my bottle necked cases every time.

375Matt - I did gage and trim .44 cases in real hot loads but mostly never did have to trim many and these were max'd out loads.

You might want to gage one once in a while just as a check.

All cartridge cases should be trimmed immediately after resizing and, in the case of handgun or straight-walled rifle cases, they should be trimmed BEFORE they are "flared" to accept the bullet.

Trimming any case, handgun or rifle, depends on how "hot" you load them. The hotter the loads, the more likely it is that you'll have to trim the cases.

While it's true that most rifle cases will have to be trimmed more often than handgun cases because most rifle cartridges operate at considerably higher pressures. However, the newer, hotter magnum handgun cartridges can generate some pretty high chamber pressures as well which leads to a lot more case stretching than mild target loads.

However, even mild loads will eventually cause both rifle AND handgun cartridge cases to get too long... and, if not "too long, the case mouths can get too uneven which can cause an uneven case mouth to "hold" and release the bullet unevenly thus causing the bullet to be slightly "tilted" as it enters the barrel's lans and grooves. Naturally, this can and often does adversely effect accuracy.

I always keep all my cases trimmed to the minimum case length or what is often called the "trim to" length. This insures perfectly "even" bullet release... making it much more likely the bullet to enter the barrel's lans and grooves in as accurate manner as possible.

Excellent accuracy is usually the "reward" for careful, consistent reloading.

Jus' my 2� worth... other's opinions may differ. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.