Handloading Mistakes I Have Seen 1

Case Trimming...

Nobody’s perfect - perhaps others can learn from some of the mistakes I’ve seen and done…

Trimming rifle brass: When I was 18, this was something I didn’t know about. The 6mm Remington was a great varmint, coyote and deer rifle and I enjoyed handloading for it, first with a tiny little Lee Loader, and a bit later with a set of RCBS dies on Dad’s RCBS press. I loaded up a bunch of max level 75 grain hollow points for rockchucks and headed afield… Had to force the bolt closed - which had never been hard to do. What had happened was that the brass was stretching, mostly during resizing I suspect. This can lead to severe over-pressure when the case gets too long to fit in the chamber! The case mouth ends up getting jammed where it has no business going.

My 1974 Lee Loader, which I still have and use occasionally. It’s a simple setup, easy to use, no press required and doesn’t work the brass very much. Yes, it produces good ammunition. Photo by Ultimate Reloader.

CAVEMAN Reloading (No Press Required) – Ultimate Reloader

Me shooting the 1974 vintage 6mm Remington. It’s still great! Only a couple of years ago my youngest son took a muley buck with it and handloaded ammo using the 95 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip at well over 3,000 fps.

Solution - trim the cases! Check the loading manual for the proper case length and trim them. Some handloaders trim every time they shoot a case, heck some anneal the case every time. That may not be necessary, depending on your requirements. But trim ‘em!

I’d learned to handload from my father. In those days surplus military 30-06 ammo was readily available and inexpensive. He’d shoot that then reload it once or twice and toss it. Didn’t even own a trimmer and of course as a young man, I had no money for my own case trimmer or loading setup. Fixed that post haste with a Lyman trimmer and a set of calipers. There are many different case trimmers. Typically I use the Lyman trimmer, the RCBS trimmer or the Wilson trimmer. All work well.

I started handloading in the 1960’s when Dad and Grandpa let me seat the bullets for their rifles: 30-06 and 257 Weatherby. Since the 1970’s I’ve reloaded many thousands of rounds for handgun and rifle. I’m a handloader, hunter, conservationist, a Marine Corps veteran and a retired cop. I still shoot once or twice a week. Articles and videos re various case trimmers can be found at UltimateReloader.com

Load smart and shoot well!

Guy