Case trimmer recommendations

[jglenn]

the Lyman universal has worked for me over the last 20 years for various rifle cartridges.. works just fine when you are only doing 20-30 cases.. Do get the drill attachment.. I use a small B&D 1/4" electric screwdriver for mine.


I do use my Dillon 1200 for mass production of 308 and 223..

 

[biker_bill]

Well... I also have a Ryobi 4V cordless screwdriver I use with the hand-trimmer... I might get creative and rig up a foot-switch to start/stop the drill.

That'll probably do just fine. You won't have to trim every one.

If you're making just range ammo sort them 1st as good to go or too long.
There's not usually many that are too long to load.

If you're making top notch ammo, you want all the brass to be the same size.
If you have a lot of brass, number some of those solo cups with the measurements and sort them in to the proper cup.
If you're real careful with every other part of the process they'll be your most accurate rounds.

 

[JohnS]

I've used the Lee trimmers for 223/300BLK, wishing for a Little Crow or a Giraud but not wanting to spend so much money.

I found a CTS Engineering trimmer for $42.95
http://www.ctstrimmer.com/case-trimmers/8-cts-trimmer.html

I clamped a corded variable speed electric drill on the bench and went to town.
After trimming just over a thousand cases, I have an opinion.

- CTS is faster than the Lee system and requires less effort.
- Simple design. Easy to set up. Cases come out the same size.
- I still need to do a light debur on the inside and outside of the case to make it perfect. It doesn't take long, but you handle 1K cases again.

 

[biker_bill]

I've used the Lee trimmers for 223/300BLK, wishing for a Little Crow or a Giraud but not wanting to spend so much money.

I found a CTS Engineering trimmer for $42.95
http://www.ctstrimmer.com/case-trimmers/8-cts-trimmer.html

I clamped a corded variable speed electric drill on the bench and went to town.
After trimming just over a thousand cases, I have an opinion.

- CTS is faster than the Lee system and requires less effort.
- Simple design. Easy to set up. Cases come out the same size.
- I still need to do a light debur on the inside and outside of the case to make it perfect. It doesn't take long, but you handle 1K cases again.

Yea that looks interesting, if I was in the market I'd trust your opinion.
I'd guess the biggest difference would be that this one is for a specific caliber where the Lyman has a bit for all calibers. That said if I was primarily doing just one caliber most of the time I'd pick up the CTS trimmer too.

 

[jjrock]

Just finished a few hundred rounds on the Tri-way cutter and while it is awesome, I wouldn't mind the big daddy trimmer he offers. I'm thinking of devising a way of making this stationary. I'm thinking of something like an inverted drill press. You can't really use a drill press as the shavings will fall into the cavity where the case goes and the case will not go hang up resulting in inconsistent trim lengths and eventually will not get any trim at all. A foot petal would be nice too

Back to reality....I'll probably just stick to doing 100 or so at a time as that might be a lot of work.

 

[richs]

OK, so I broke down, cracked into the last of my "discretionary funds" and got the Lyman trimmer. They didn't have the Case Trimmer Power Adapter, I'll have to order it on-line when I have some cash. So far the only issues I have having a "sample" case to set the adjustment and it didn't have a pilot for .40 S&W. I've carefully trimmed a .223 and 9MM case according to SAAMI specs to get my "sample" case. Once that case length is set, I over-drilled the primmer hole and drilled a couple holes in the shaft to ensure it won't get mixed up with the other cases.

What I have noticed, is most of the pistol shells are actually SHORTED than SAAMI specs, not sure what impact that will have.

 

[fathersam]

Lee deluxe power quick trimmer with a good drill.
Do not wast money on harbor freight scrap drill.

 

[D_Max]

One of out sponsors here at ODT makes a nice looking trimmer , Black Widow shooting supply , i do not own one but it looks almost like a copy of the Giraud

 

[watchingtrace]

that is very close, but looks like a good unit none the less

 

[richs]

Ok, so I think I got carried away...