Suggestions for which Case Trimmer to get

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Harriw

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Hi folks,

I'm working on expanding my setup to include rifler reloading in addition to pistol (and 12 ga). Before I can get started, I'm going to need to get myself a case trimmer. I've read lots of reviews, but everybody seems pretty happy with all of them, except for a handful of bad reviews for each of them. Are there any that stand apart from the rest, or any I should avoid?

For absolutely no reason at all other than brand familiarity, I'm looking at the Hornady Cam lock Trimmer. I've been happy with my LNL AP and Hornady dies, and figure it can't hurt to have Hornady shell holders around as well in case I pick up a single stage press at some point. Looks like this model has a power adapter for a drill available as well.

As far as usage goes, I'm not really a hunter so I don't have much need/use for full size rifle cartridges (though things have a way of changing). I'll initially really only be trimming 5.56 (and possibly the odd pistol case I suppose). Being a WWII history buff I plan on hopefully adding .30 carbine some day as well. I wouldn't rule out 30-30 or 30-06 either (lever gun and/or M1 Garand).

Anybody have any suggestions on other models I should take a look at or avoid?

Thanks very much!!!
 
That’s the one I use. Like any piece of equipment, it has it’s quirks but overall gets the job done pretty painlessly.

Are you volume loading or 100 or so at a time?
 
I suspect more like 100 or so at a time. At least with pistol, I'm generally pretty good at staying on top of my brass prep and not letting it all pile up. So I figure if I do the same for rifle it should be mainly small batches. How bad would it suck do a larger batch in one sitting with a drill attached?
 
I suspect more like 100 or so at a time. At least with pistol, I'm generally pretty good at staying on top of my brass prep and not letting it all pile up. So I figure if I do the same for rifle it should be mainly small batches. How bad would it suck do a larger batch in one sitting with a drill attached?

Big batches get tiresome pretty quick. I generally do 500-1000 round runs. Check out Forster. They have a tri-cut system that does the length, inside, and outside chamfers all at once. They have hand crank, drill powered, and bench mount options. There are several other brands that offer similar features.

.40
 
I suspect more like 100 or so at a time. At least with pistol, I'm generally pretty good at staying on top of my brass prep and not letting it all pile up. So I figure if I do the same for rifle it should be mainly small batches. How bad would it suck do a larger batch in one sitting with a drill attached?
Out of curiosity, which pistol brass are you planning on needing to trim?
 
Out of curiosity, which pistol brass are you planning on needing to trim?

Hopefully none :) Just figured it might come in handy for who-knows-what in the pistol world sometime in the next 50 years :) For now I'm only loading 9mm. I plan to add .45acp, .45lc, and maybe .38 and/or .357 eventually. I'm still fairly new to this but I don't *think* any of those need to be trimmed, do they?
 
I'm not a hi volume shooter, probably less than 1500 rounds a year. Never had the money for any of the horizontal trimmers, so I use the Lee trimmer system. I started with 30-06 and never had a problem. 30 years later that is all I still use. After reading all these forums about uniform crimping and accuracy, and in a case of the "twilight zone", I bought "mandrils" for pistol carts. When I woke up from the "zone", I realized I will never shoot to that level of accuracy, so I don't trim pistol unless it is to make 38 Spl from 357. I don't have a 357 so there is no problem there. No one shoots my reloads and I don't shoot others.

Rifle, I usually trim 100 or less at a sitting. 75 yr old thumbs are beginning to get sore. Now, I use my drill press to hold the cutter and mandril, and a machinist vise bolted to the press platform to hold the case holder.

Install the cutter in the press; mount case to the holder and put it in the vise. Lower the cutter into the case and move the holder/vise around until everything lines up. Clamp platform/vise/holder in place. Run the press at low speed. Loosen/tighten the case holder to change case...lower cutter and repeat. Chamfer inside and out
 
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I long for one of these...

https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/hornady-lock-n-load-universal-case-prep-center

Oh, yeah. That’s nice!

But my Hornady trimmer works fine with the crank.
I guess.
Belabored sigh...:(

Pistol brass gets shorter with every sizing, so only trim for precision pistols and refined crimping for heavy recoiling pistols, usually revolvers.

Obviously the only proper one to get will be red and say Hornady on it.
The others simply do not work...;)
 
Hopefully none :) Just figured it might come in handy for who-knows-what in the pistol world sometime in the next 50 years :) For now I'm only loading 9mm. I plan to add .45acp, .45lc, and maybe .38 and/or .357 eventually. I'm still fairly new to this but I don't *think* any of those need to be trimmed, do they?
The semi auto cases no. You might want to trim all your revolver brass to the proper length ONCE so you get a consistent crimp if you’re shooting bullets with cannelures or crimp grooves.
 
I was using a Lee quick trim which is hand crank and a caliber specific die that you use to trim on the press. While it worked well, doing 50-100 at a time got tiring and I’ve done a few hundred.

recently just got a frankford Arsenal precision case trimmer that fits into a drill from Amazon that was marked down to $49.50. Last I checked the price went up to around $64.00. Jury is still out on how well it will work but I’m hoping it speeds up the process quite a bit.
 
Some places have the forsters on sale,
And they are a great choice in a hand trimmer.

I do not trim auto cases. I do trim revolver cases because unless you buy a batch of all one brand new, the lengths will be all over the place. Crimps are so much nicer and consistent with consistent case lengths. Since I bought .32 Long cases and they are nicely uniform, I did not trim them, just chamfered/deburred them. .38 Spl? I have a horrid mix of range brass, and I have trimmed all of it I am using right now, same for .357 Mag & .45 Colt. I bought Starline .32 Mag cases, so no trimming, just chamfer/deburr. You get the idea.
 
For straight wall cases, I use a Wilson trimmer on a Sinclair International base and micrometer adjusting stem. The trimmer also works for bottleneck cartridges.

But, for bottleneck cartridges, I like the WFT trimmer. There is another brand that functions the same as the WFT trimmer but I forget the name at present.
 
For straight wall cases, I use a Wilson trimmer on a Sinclair International base and micrometer adjusting stem. The trimmer also works for bottleneck cartridges.

But, for bottleneck cartridges, I like the WFT trimmer. There is another brand that functions the same as the WFT trimmer but I forget the name at present.

Giraud Tri-Way
There's also the Worlds Cheapest Trimmer.

The Giraud does it all in one pass.
 
For my 30-06 I use the Lee system, I have both the die and the simple one that has a stem and shell holder, and use one of them each loading to verify length depending on which press I use. They are cheap and get the job done. When trimming a lot of 223, I sometimes think an upgrade would be nice
 
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