How crucial is it to prep .223 brass?

[MarkCO]

Well, I was witness to a realitive's KABOOM ! From him not resizing and trimming his 223 brass every time reloading. According to the manufacturer of the rifle when what was left was sent to them, the neck of the case was too long, jammed the bullet into the rifling. When the trigger was pulled, the Mini 14 disassembled itself into several parts where it wasn't supposed to come apart.

Something else was going on because, even with a mini-14, that failure mode is not possible just due to a long case.

[Zombie Steve]

.010 over seems a bit long for my taste. Once I trim mine I usually load it three or four times before I even bother checking it again. I have never had an issue running it if it is four or five thousandth over. Your mileage may vary.

I don't worry too much about keeping the primer pockets squeaky clean as long as the flash hole is clear and the primers seat all the way.

1.760" is considered max, 1.750" is the trim-to length... so nothing is over yet as far as we know...

[ray1970]

1.760" is considered max, 1.750" is the trim-to length... so nothing is over yet as far as we know...

Thanks. For some reason I had it stuck in my head that 1.750 was max.