Question when Changing Brass/Giraud Trimmer

[Batteriesnare]

I've done quite a bit of reloading for .223 in the last year with S&B .223 brass. It's worked well, no crimp on the primers, and seems pretty consistent lot to lot. Unfortunately the brass is on its 6th reload cycle, so I'm starting to process the Wolf Gold brass that I had in buckets.

My process is:

Decap
Wet tumble
Dry in dehumidifier
Swage (for Wolf)
Size
Trim (Giraud)
Load on 550B

This worked very well for the S&B, and I was consistently getting 1.745" trims from the Giraud. Without changing anything, the Wolf brass is trimming from 1.747-1.500. Obviously I can change the trim length, but I'm curious why this would be the case when the brass changes. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

I'm also not particularly thrilled with having to change my seating and crimp dies on the 550 every time load a different type of brass. Will this extra .002-.005" make a meaningful difference in either? Bullets are Hornady 55gr FMJBT w/cannelure over 24.5gr of TAC.

I'm also curious on the swaging (using Dillon 600). From what I've read less is more on .223, but I still get 10-15 cases in a run of 100 that are very difficult to seat primers on (won't go in on 550). Should I increase my swage across the board, or just set those aside and restart the process with more swage for those pieces?

Thanks for your help!

[Batteriesnare]

Anyone have any thoughts - input greatly appreciated!

[Great-Kazoo]

1.747 - 1.750 is within spec. If anything your crimp would be the only thing to readjust. Bullet seating / OAL will not change. If it does, it's usually due to bullet OAL. I finally decided to separate brass by HS. My LC is 1.748 - 1.75, other brass runs 1.745 - 1.750, without readjusting the trimmer. Yet all of it still gives me same OAL.

[Hoser]

Length is not a big deal at all. It is a deal if it gets long. As long as they are close to being the same length you are good to go.

For what its worth, I trim my 223 brass back to 1.740 or so that I never have to screw with trimming it again.

I am guessing the Wolf brass had a little more spring back and the shoulder did not bump quite as far so the shoulder to base length is longer. The shoulder to neck length is most likely the same.

[Batteriesnare]

Thanks for the replies, they all went through the case gauge just fine but the calipers gave the difference in length.

Any suggestions on the swaging? I've experimented a little with more swage and the primers seat like a dream, but they are significantly easier than I've experienced before so I'm concerned it may be too much. Is there a good way to gauge? I've loaded up a few batches with different swage amounts to shoot tonight and see if they pop any primers (the load is pretty mild) but I'd rather not wear out the brass unnecessarily.

[Jamnanc]

Swage gauge from ballistic tools.

[Batteriesnare]

Outstanding, I've ordered one up. Thanks for the help!

[Great-Kazoo]

Outstanding, I've ordered one up. Thanks for the help!

I'm doing some shopping there myself.

[Batteriesnare]

I'm doing some shopping there myself.

They seem to be pretty on top of it. I placed an order at 1730 and had a shipping confirmation in less than an hour. I picked up their three gauge set - swage gauge for SRP and LRP, and .223/.308 neck tension.