New to loading 223

[EddieNFL]

so I dont see a manual as a wise investment.

Interesting point of view.

 

[Reefinmike]

^I have a speer and lee manual, I honestly do not see it worth the $30 to buy another manual so that I have the data hornaday suggests for their 55gr fmj boattail bullet when I can go off other books data for a generic 55gr fmj. worst case scenario, I can ask a range buddy if I can snap a pic of the 55gr load data for which powder I plan on using.

 

[Etkini]

Right now, I use the Lee trimmer chucked into my Dewalt drill. Fairly noisy, but I can get in a good rhythm while watching TV and do 100 cases before I know it. I didn't time myself when I did my .308 earlier, but I want an easier solution. I also tumble for an hour or two after sizing, which eliminates my need to chamfer and also takes the case lube off. Before I had a tumbler, this process was a royal pain in the ass - 300 .223s was a day project.

I remember e-mailing the guy who runs Little Crow Gun Works about 2-3 years ago when he first came up with the idea for the trimmer and trading back and forth some suggestions and such, and actually got the chance to try one out. I really liked it, but wished it could be press-mounted like the Dillon 1200B instead. I could probably finagle a way to do it, but chucking it into a drill and going to town works really well. It functions like a pencil sharpener and uses the case shoulder as the length guide. It would have been better in a drill press for sure, but I don't have the space for one anymore. It's about $70, but it's made for only one caliber. Link here

Other than that, there's the Dillon 1200B, or a Giraud - both way out of your budget (and mine) for now.

 

[Reefinmike]

yeah, I saw a video for that a while back and decided that once I get the money, im buying one... maybe. it takes me about 40 minutes to lube, fl size/decap, trim chamfer and deburr using the lee case length gage. I shot 90 of my reloads last week and none of them grew more than .002" out from 1.755 to 1.757. if they dont need trimmed very often, I may just stick with the lee case length gage and drill system

 

[cfullgraf]

if they dont need trimmed very often, I may just stick with the lee case length gage and drill system

I measure all my cases after sizing and trim only the ones that are over length. It is usually between 25% and 50% that require trimming.

I have had a World's Finest Trimmer for a year or more but finally got around to using it this past week. It is a nice trimmer. Down side is if you trim several different cartridges, the WFT trimmers will get expensive when buying a number of them. An upside, the cutter is a single end, four flute 3/8" end mill. A readily available cutter.

I have been using the Lee trimmer system is economical and works well but fitting the shell to the shell holder gets tedious at times.

I also have a L.E.Wilson trimmer with the Sinclair micrometer adjusted. I used it mostly for cases that Lee does not make a case gauge for. Since I trimmed 1500 reformed 300 BLK cases, I got a pretty good system going that I may not use the Lee trimmer much any more.

I just went back and looked at the information on the Giraud. It appears that one can buy a case holder and cutter set up for about the cost of a WFT trimmer. Once adjusted, the cutter/case holder can be swapped out without further adjustment. Giraud has a huge number of case holders available. The Giraud motor drive looks more convenient to use than a drill motor. I will probably give the Giraud a try in the new year.