Case Trimmers

[P.B.Walsh]

As of now I am not looking for .25" groups as I am not up barely a 1 MOA shooter. I'd like like to have good consistency and take my rifle system out of the equation and focus on me as a shooter. If my reloads can print .5 MOA, then I will be super happy.

Realistically, half MOA is all I will ever need as I do not particuarly enjoy bench rest shooting and focus more on field/practical positions.

I am not looking for that "nth" degree of accuracy, just consistency across my ammunition that fires in the same spot every time, with the lowest possible ES / SD.

 

[Nature Boy]

Load any for your SPR yet?

 

[P.B.Walsh]

Not yet, awaiting equipment and components. Just show factory stuff so far, have 122 peices of brass right now (LC, Win., FC headstamps).

 

[Dudedog]

I am really happy I spent the money on a Worlds Finest Trimmer (WFT) for .223/5.56. It does need a drill with a 1/2 chuck but Harbor Freight has some that work fine.
Trimming brass is no longer a pain.

They have a newer model WFT2 that will trim different calibers, the one I have the WFT is just for .223. It is adjustable for trim length.

 

[destroyer85golf]

WFT

I have the worlds finest trimmer, and I love it. I trimmed 2k .556 for a prarie dog hunt that I went on earlier this year. I did it all in a few hours. I do recommend wearing gloves though. as I had a mean blister the next day. The only down side I have ran into is that every 50 rounds or so, I had to stop and clean out the part where the shell indexes. it would get a few shavings in there and my trim length would start to grow. I see that the WFT 2 is now basically a shell which you can do caliber changes for about 25 dollars. that will be the next one I buy.

 

[snuffy]

To all of you who use cheap HF drills, how do they hold up? I suppose it could be smart to not waste a new Dewalt on brass trimming.....

The drills last a long time,,--BUT the batteries are no longer available! What good is a drill-motor if you have no way to power it? repeated contact with HF led to no batteries. The recharger even quit charging the one and only battery I still had, so the drill is worthless. I looked into getting replacement individual cells for the battery pack, but with no way to charge the battery pack----!

I'm going to look into a name brand cordless drill, maybe if I get something like black & Decker, they will make batteries for it for more than a year after the sale.

Oh sure I have a corded drill for spinning the lee trimmer, but it interferes with my digital scale.

 

[Dudedog]

My Harbor Freight drill is a Russian 1/2 hammer drill. Corded only.

Set to drill only, plenty of torque. (Twists heads off cement screws without a hiccup.....oppsss, got to control that trigger finger)

I bought it to drill holes in cement, it dosen't even breath hard turning the WFT.

 

[gtscotty01]

I used my new Frankford Arsenal Platinum trim and prep center for the first time tonight on 50 .308 cases. I really like it, it's easy to set up and much faster than the Lee trimmers + Dewalt system I was using before. $130 well spent.

 

[Gtscotty]

Well that's weird, Tapatalk went from screwing up my posts per usual to messing up my user name...

 

[Sudden Impact]

I use a Lyman case trimmer for bolt buns. Right now there are some on Ebay for $74.95 with free shipping. Worth a look.

 

[refuse2bafool]

I just bought the Lyman Universal Case trimmer. The version that comes with an adaptor for the power drill and the hand only version with a carbide trimmer are about the same price. $95.

I went for the carbide unit and am glad I did. Great tool. I think the carbide cutter is about $50 purchased separately and it cuts much smoother and cleaner.

It cuts clean enough that I don't feel the need to bevel the outer edge. I just use a multi cut drill bit to chamfer the inside of the mouth and call it good. Since you are cutting brass you don't need a high quality bit. Mine is a cheapie from Harbor Freight that cost just a couple of bucks that I already had on hand. It works fine. The better ones at Home Depot go for about $$40.

 

[Henry45]

For 308 and 223/556, i have one of each caliber Giraud Tri-way. It's spot on, consistent and easy to use and fast.

For 270, 300 mag, 30-06 and such, i use a LE Wilson trimmer with the micrometer.

You absolutely get what you pay for. If it's cheap, then it's going to be just that.... keep that in mind.

Buy the best you can afford. It'll pay off in the long run.

 

[judgedelta]

I used a WFT the last time I trimmed .225/5.56 and with a drill press I can get about 6 cases a minute. An exam glove helps with the friction, so you don't have to grip so hard. (good for older fingers). I think some of the new ones champher and debur at the same time, which saves a bunch of time and effort. Using a drill, you probably won't get as much speed. I have found the consistency with these type of trimmers to be very good.

 

[P.B.Walsh]

Really liking the idea of a WFT. Maybe I can get one after tax season with a cheap drill. As long as I can set it to cut at a certain length, I'll be very happy!

 

[Nature Boy]

It's fully adjustable and consistent once you have it set.

 

[cwall64]

For 308 and 223/556, i have one of each caliber Giraud Tri-way. It's spot on, consistent and easy to use and fast.

For 270, 300 mag, 30-06 and such, i use a LE Wilson trimmer with the micrometer.

You absolutely get what you pay for. If it's cheap, then it's going to be just that.... keep that in mind.

Buy the best you can afford. It'll pay off in the long run.

I use the exact same tools, Giraud TriWay for the two high volume and L.E. Wilson for the rest!

 

[Dudedog]

Maybe I can get one after tax season with a cheap drill. As long as I can set it to cut at a certain length, I'll be very happy!

Easy to set the length. Once set it stays consistent.
The end of mine requires a 1/2" drill.
One thought would be do you really need a cordless drill or would a corded one be ok?
I tend to trim a bunch at one time so I don't mind dealing with the cord.

 

[P.B.Walsh]

Corded would be fine actually, probably cheaper too.