Who uses a power case trimmer?

[epcii]

Forster 3-in-1.

[EWILKE]

power trimmer

I did 300 cases with a redding trimmer then I ordered a dillon trimmer and .223 and .308 dies the next day now I have trimmed 1000's of cases and never regretted this buy worth every penny. and no need to de bur the necks just tumble after trimming and use boattail bullets.

[Striker9]

It also depends on if you want to do other prep things like pocket uniform/cleaning and flash hole uniform. That is where the RCBS Trim Mate is really handy. I trim them all first on the Pro, then use Trim Mate to chamfer, debur, flash uniform, primer pocket uniform and clean. And you can use the Trim Pro for many calibers, as well as the Mate. Maybe a little slower than Gracey and Giraud but don't have to spend the extra for additional calibers.

[Pthfndr]

How hard/long is it to change calibers and adjust on a Giraud? Or is it a 1 caliber investment? I would use it for 223 and 308.

Right now I use the Sinclair Micrometer Trimmer with power adapter.

If you only have one cutting head, about 5 minutes to change and set up for another cartridge.

If you get extra cutting heads (I know, more $) so you have one for each caliber (.223, 6,5, .30, 7mm, 8mm, etc) then it takes about 60 seconds.

[joelogic]

Dillon 1200. Sizes and trims while leaving a smooth edge.

[Munk]

If you have a power drill, you can get a Lee trimmer set and you basically have a power trimmer.

It indexes based on the OAL of the case (pin runs entirely through case to the steel base of the caseholder while case is locked into place), which I like, however it's not friendly on the hands. The case holder has to be tightened by hand against the base, which works well most of the time, but I've run into a few times where a case may have had a ding the the neck and the trimmer bit hard, causing the case to be knocked free (that hurt a little).

I also tweaked the trimmer a little bit by adding my own over-sized wood knob handle; this takes an AMAZING amount of stress off your hands. The original trimmer is a 1/2" piece of steel, so it's a bit of a pain to grip for trimming multiple cases. (Used a piece of green wood, drilled 1/2" hole in the knob I made, pounded the trimmer in... gently. Then let the wood dry around it. It's in there more firmly than if I had superglued it thanks to shrinkage).

Threading the pin to change the caliber is difficult bare handed; fortunately the steel is strong and pliers with a bit of tape on them don't mar it.

Cons: Painful to use if unmodified. Hand threading the base-holder sucks. Atrocious to use for high volume case prep (heck, it sucked to do 300 .30-06 in this thing, anything more would have driven me insane)

Pros: Cheap. you can still trim, debur and chamfer the case while it's clamped in using cheap hand tools.

Neutral: Indexes the length off of the OAL of the case, rather than the shoulder or the base inside the case.

Possible awesomeness: Since the normal handle is a 1/2" piece of metal, you can chuck it into some drill presses. If it's precisely aligned enough with a clamped/vised caseholder below, then you have the ability to use it without the length pin if you set it to the correct plunge depth. This can increase case volume considerably if you have the press at your disposal. (I'm thinking I may chop half a depth pin and round it to use as a "guiding" pin, rather than a length limiter... will try when I have more money). Might also need to replace the existing case holding ring with something that can take a wrench, this would make the case swapping MUCH faster. (This whole modification would turn the Lee's functionality around. Rather than using a spinning case with a hand held tool, you'd be spinning the hand-tool while locking the case.)

[RaymondMillbrae]

Bruce,

For regular ole. 223 rounds for 3-gun matches, the Dillon case trimmer cannot be beat. Between practice and 3-gun matches, I literally go through thousands of .223 rounds. There is NO WAY I am going to trim and prep those rounds individually!!

You can check out the link to my .223 video tutorial below my signature.

But if you are trying to squeeze out accuracy for high-power shooting, then that is a different story. Prepping each individual round is necessary for exacting quality control, as you do not fire that many rounds during a whole match. The Girard would be totally justified in the latter case.

In Christ: Raymond

[ivanimal]

I have a Gracey and I love it

[Spyder]

The Giraud is AWESOME. I can crank out 600 .223 cases in under an hour. It 3way cuts them, so you don't have to chamfer or debur or anything. I use it for .223 and .308.

Also, as long as your dies are set up right, it's MORE precise than a lathe style trimmer because it uses length off of the shoulder, instead of OAL. If you're setting up your dies and resizing your brass correctly, you'll get a more precise trim length off of the shoulder than off of the base.

...BUT, It costs over $400 to get the trimmer and the .223/.308 setup. That's not for everybody.

[sargenv]

If I had my druthers, I'd likely get a Giraud, however, I have a Dillon trimmer that mounts on my 650 (or RC or whatever) and have used it to process thousands of rounds of 223, 30-30, and 308.. I like the fact that it has an attachment for a vacuum cleaner to suck the trimmings out of it. I've loaned it to a few ppl over the years.. they usually replaced the blade as part of the "rental" of the unit.. It does size, it does not punch the primer or process the primer pocket.

[stphnman20]

Another possum hollow user here. I use that to trim then the RCBS prep center to debur and chamfer.

[sonnyt650]

Possum Hollow in a mini metal lathe here, holding onto the end of a case in a machine that can rip fingers off is a concern but that's true of a drill press, etc. The lathe was purchased when I was going through a machinist wannabe phase so doesn't count towards the cost of the setup; again that's true of a drill press, etc. It's pretty quick and I can do some volume, but it still cramps up my hands holding onto the tiny case heads.

[bruceflinch]

SO many choices! Dang! I'm only limited by my checkbook & imagination...

[joelogic]

Borrow. I use my trimmer maybe 7 days a year. Probably because I do 5k at a time, and swage for the rest of the year.

[ds272]

Giraud is the ONLY way to go. I borrowed and tried several of the others listed, but ended up selecting the Giraud.

Find some local reloaders and try their systems before you drop your hard earned $$$$