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Thread: To chamfer or not to chamfer...

  1. #1
    Private klausg's Avatar
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    Question To chamfer or not to chamfer...

    Whether it is nobler in the hearts of men to cramp one's fingers...Sorry about that, I watched Hamlet this weekend and I've got Shakespeare on the brain . First a little background, I learned to reload pretty much on my own; Dad never did, (of course he made pretty good money, and didn't shoot nearly as much as I do). I think my first reloading manual was a Sierra, (back when they were green & two volumes) and my first tools were a Lee Loader in .25-06, a plastic mallet and a Redding scale, (still have that stuff somewhere). To make a long story short Sierra said to chamfer, so I did, still do and am not likely to change.

    Anyway, while facing the daunting task of prepping 1000 rounds of .38 SPL brass, I was lamenting to my buddy, (whose wife I am teaching to shoot with those 1000 rounds) about how much of a PITA it was to trim & chamfer all of that brass. His response was "Why bother chamfering?"; I think he was trying to save me from some cramped fingers, or he's just become incurably lazy in his old age. His theory was that since you were going to bell the case mouth anyway... I like to think that chamfering allows me to use less bell, giving me longer case life, (I'm so cheap that I nearly hold funeral services, w/full military honors, every time I have to throw out a piece of brass ). Still his theory has some merit, so I thought I would start this thread & get all of your thoughts on the matter.

    Still on the same subject, have any of you used the Lyman VLD chamfer tool? What are the advantages/disadvantages to the sharper angle of cut? The big advantage that I see is that it has a real handle that would save at least one hand from cramping. Thanks in advance for any input, take care.

    -SSG Klaus

  2. #2
    Gunload Grunt kg42's Avatar
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    Hi Klaus!

    I used to chamfer all brass due to serve lead bullets.... but can't remember doing it for last year's batch... .
    The idea is to avoid shaving the bullets when they leave the case; some have a nasty edge on the inside and I would certainly do these. It's no big work, one rotation and it's done, and my expanders seem to do some polishing in this area.

    On the other hand, what I really dislike is the case trimming... unnecessary in 45 auto, it is said to help accuracy in 9mm (see Ken Water's Pet Loads) but I haven't tested that yet.
    In revolvers I trim them once if they were factory loaded and then use a light functionnal crimp, relying on neck tension; as I mostly shoot 38 cases in 357 chambers I feel confident I would notice if cases grew that much to make problems.
    But frankly, I kept a closer eye on my 44 Mag cases and with the light crimp they don't need much trimming after the first time; a far cry from the regular chore due to heavy crimping.
    The only caliber i needed regular attention for was 45 Colt, as some guns I used had oversized chambers causing more case expansion and growth.

    kg
    Last edited by kg42; 05-08-2006 at 08:55 PM.

  3. #3
    Gunload Grunt kg42's Avatar
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    On the longer case life, I'm not sure chamfering would allow less belling, as it is done with 50(?) degres tools, but then, you seem to put lots of heart in it . Even with minimal neck work my 38/357 cases split a lot.

    The funny thing is that 44 brass seems to last forever (Win and Fed) whereas other calibers can split like hell.... Maybe there is more respect for chamber standards in 44, I've sure seen lots of difference between 45 auto chamberings.

    kg

  4. #4
    Great Master kodiak1's Avatar
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    klaus if I trim I usually chamfer. On the other hand I get lazy and just bell once in a while. My thery is if you are loading lead and not shaving with a bell keep on loading. On the other hand if you are shaving lead chamfer one turn does make a big difference.
    Keep loading and shooting. Keep wondering and asking that is how we all get better at this game. There will be more people read this thread than post in it so some of us have to learn something here.
    Ken.
    Ken.

    Love to Live, Live to Shoot!
    Live by the Gun...Die by the Gun...

  5. #5
    Dogs Like Him versifier's Avatar
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    I chamfer new and once fired cases, and I chamfer and deburr after trimming. I have found that I can seat .30cal gas checked boolits without belling until I go up to .310. I bell the minimum amount that I can get away with on .357 and .38 cases, and I get very good case life without neck splits, even with heavy roll crimping. I think chamfering helps to prevent base damage in pb boolits and makes seating easier for all of them.
    "Stand your ground.
    Do not fire unless fired upon.
    But if they mean to have a war let it begin here."
    - Capt. Parker, Lexington Militia, April 19, 1775

  6. #6
    Gunload Grunt kg42's Avatar
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    Versifier, does it mean that you mostly use 2 dies sets in rifles, without special expanders? Or is it a .30 cal. thing due to the dies brand?

  7. #7
    Dogs Like Him versifier's Avatar
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    I neck size whenever possible. I have been trying to find some workable loads with Lee 150FN and 180RN in my .308, and neither mould throws a boolit bigger than .308. They seat just like bullets, so I do not need to expand the necks. I realized that I probably need not have been using the M die for my .30-30's. My soupcan mould throws .311's, something I didn't realize was totally amazing luck until I joined the CB board. For those, I size .310 (custom Buckshot sizer) and use an M die. (I do not know the reason why, but all the .30-30's I have owned shoot .308-sized boolits accurately and with minimal leading, a phenomenon also noted by many others equally mystified. This has never made any sense to me as the barrels slug the same sizes as my .308's and -06's, but it is a fact I cannot deny, even though I am unable to explain it.) Unfortunately, the .308's and -06's will not shoot the smaller diameter boolits accurately and they lead up like a mother with them, too. But they are easy to load.... Next on my to get list is a C312-185-1R to cure that problem so I can have a deer hunting load.
    "Stand your ground.
    Do not fire unless fired upon.
    But if they mean to have a war let it begin here."
    - Capt. Parker, Lexington Militia, April 19, 1775

  8. #8
    Great Master Bullshop Junior's Avatar
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    Default klausg

    If you bell, you do not have to chamfer.
    If you chamfer, you do not have to bell.
    DANIEL/BS JR.
    Last edited by Bullshop Junior; 05-10-2006 at 05:33 AM.

    (Reminds me of what I do to my brothers)

  9. #9
    Great Master Bullshop Junior's Avatar
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    Default Kg42

    Quote Originally Posted by kg42
    Versifier, does it mean that you mostly use 2 dies sets in rifles, without special expanders? Or is it a .30 cal. thing due to the dies brand?
    That is all that I ever use for bottle necked cases. The only rifle cases that I bell are 45/70.
    DANIEL/BS JR.

    (Reminds me of what I do to my brothers)

  10. #10
    lovedogs
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    If your .38 Special cases are all of uniform length you have no need to trim. If you don't trim you have no need to chamfer/de-burr. Once your cases are of uniform length and you crimp, bell, and all that other stuff, your cases shouldn't grow in length or require trimming.

    This usually applies to all straight cases, be they pistol or rifle. Bottle-necked cases are another story.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
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LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check        

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