444 Marlin

[Onesock]

I just started reloading for my 444 and have a Lee case trimmer. It seems hard to get in the case and after trimming there seems to be a small bulge in the brass. Can I use emery paper to make the shaft smaller
without screwing anything up? Also how do you know if there is enough crimp or too much? Thanx in advance.

[Roskoe]

Are you trimming before or after resizing?

[bronko22000]

Are you using a 44 caliber pilot or 45? Pilots are usually a couple of thousands smaller than the bullet diameter. I always trim my cases after sizing and never had this problem.

[Onesock]

Trimming after sizing.

[bronko22000]

Onesock - As for your crimping. I like to use bullets with a cannelure. You should just crimp enough tha you can see a slight curvature at the end of the case (if you're using a roll crimp like in a RCBS die). If you're using Lee's Factory Crimp die you should feel it crimping around the case mouth. You can also visually see the collet crimping the case (please don't look straight down into the die for safety reasons).
One easy method to see if you have enough crimp is to load your rifle up and fire all but the last round. Cycle that round through the action and inspect it to see it the bullet has backed out any.