I load mostly 38 spl. 148 gr. wc for match shooting. I have every brand headstamp you can imagine. I trim my cases so I will get a uniform crimp. Is it necessary to deburr inside & outside of the cases? I shoot both S&W 52-2 & 27-2. Also, Is it any advantage to sort cases by headstamp? Thanks, Tedog.

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Who are those guys?

1. If you absolutely insist on trimming, then deburr.

2. The consistent thing about a crimp on a WC is that there practically should not be any. Just straighten out the bell. The bullet is held in by the case sizing, not a crimp on a target WC.

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Science plus Art

Life is too short to trim pistol brass.

If you're going to do it though, yup deburr inside and out.

I don't trim for uniform crimp. Consistency is the key for accuracy. Match bulls eye is the ultimate for grouping. Next sort your brass. Put them over a Ransom and see what the difference is. My guess you can't beat the rest. I just bought another taper crimp die for 38/357 and will put it to the test.

I trim for consistant crimp. Deburr for the same reasons. But for .38 spec wadcutter ammo , I don't sort brass by brand.

You should first sort your brass by Mfg., it can make a difference. You should trim your brass initially, but then you could go many loadings without re-trimming, the .38 WC target load doesn't build enough pressure to make the case stretch enough to measure. Consistency is the key, when you get any different brass, trim to the same length, then leave it alone. a couple thousandths tighter crimp can affect accuracy more than length. Tune the load to your gun.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Out of habit, I sort my brass by mfg. for all my reloads. While it may be more critical in higher pressure rounds, I do it for my .38's also.

Brass can vary widely in actual capacity, and in .223, anyway, I do notice variances in POI between like loads using different headstamped cases.

OTOH, my Dad loads exclusively .38 wadcutter ammo for his Model 52, and from what I've seen of his ammo boxes, he doesn't sort by mfg. Apparently it doesn't matter much, since in a couple of successive years, he took Bronze & Silver in his local Senior Olympics.

I see the main benefit of deburring as it minimizes lead shaving when seating cast bullets. Lead shavings get up in the seater die and will alter COAL. IF you're loading just Jacketed bullets, I would not worry about it.

The Lee FCD applies a crimp that doesn't depend on the case length. Why don't you use it instead?

If you do trim definitly deburr inside and out. I keep my new case's together in those 50 round plastic boxs for the useful life of the cases then they become range blasting brass until they split. Been useing a taper crimp for the light and medium loads with good results, the Lee taper crimp die is not fussy about case length, according to them that is.

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Stay safe people!

Deburring does two things: 1. It removes sharp edges that tend to shave lead; 2. It removes any tiny nicks that can be starting points for splits/cracks.

I've never seen the need to trim pistol cases. I suppose one can create the perfect round...only to be shot by imperfect humans.

You don't need to and shouldn't crimp target loads w/ WC bullets. Case length variation is a very, very small issue and not important w/ these loads. As others have said, do sort cases by headstamp (I keep it simple and only use one kind w/ each caliber).

I'm not saying that case length isn't important - it certainly is for finest accuracy in magnum cartridges due to the firm roll crimp and the need for consistency here.