38 spl case length?

Ozzieman,
If you set the expander die to be just enough at maximum cartridge length and you have cases that are shorter then they won't be expanded enough. If you adjust the die for cases at "trim to" length and you have cases that are longer they will be expanded more - sometimes enough to split the case.

Having all the cases at the same length, and keeping them at that length your expansion die will do a good job on all of them.

This is part of the reason that I always trim cases (or at least run them through the trimmer) with each reload. The crimp is consistent and the expander opens the cases just enough to start the bullet.
 
I load LSWC and I always get a perfect crimp without ever trimming a 38 case; some of those have been reloaded way more than a dozen times.
 
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