Which Case Trimmer to buy?????

[gifbohane]

Just buy a Giraud power trimmer and be done with it. I spent twice as much money on various trimmers than the Giraud would have cost me if I bought it first.

https://www.giraudtool.com/giraud-power-trimmer.html

Duke-

Did you buy/like the three way Giraud ($100+) or the stand alone unit ($500+) of the Giraud trimmer? Also, how long do you expect the cutters to last?

I have the LE Wilson lathe type and like it. The process, while perfect, is beginning to get on my nerves with the inserting the case into the bulky holder, loading the two into the lathe, drilling and removing. THEN chamfer and deburr.

Also inside of a few years I wore out two cutters. I am not what I consider a volume user.

Getting lazier but still cheap for spending over $500.

 

[DukeConnor]

On my case trimming journey I purchased a tri-way for 223. Very nice trimmer.

I then purchased the power trimmer after using a friend's. I don't know how long the blades will last. I've had it for about 5 years and have done untold number of cases including converting 5.56 to 300bo which takes a lot of trimming.

Deburing trimming and chamfer in one step is the way to go.

 

[jonc]

I had the lee press mounted trimmer before I bought the wilson/sinclair and I hated it. The wilson is really nice and accurate and it leaves the neck perfectly square. I really only reload for bolt action hunting rifles though so it's ok if it's slower because I want precision over anything else. For other rifles that get shot a lot I would get something else

 

[cfullgraf]

I like the Wilson/Sinclair trimmer for cartridges that I have small quantities to trim (30-06, 308W, 6.5x54 Mauser, 221 Rem FB, etc) and the WFT trimmers where I have a large quantity to trim (223 Rem, 300 Blackout, 204 Ruger for prairie dogs).

I would like the ability to reload brass in every die I own
Heres a list of the dies that I inherited with the rl550 when my dad passed. He also left some new brass in a couple of these calibers.

338 WinMag I dont have rifle in this caliber
308 Win
375 Super Mag Dont have rifle
243 Win
30-06 Springfield
45 ACP
380 Auto Dont have rifle
38/357
44 Mag/ 44 Spec



Dies i bought which I will be reloading regularly

223
300 Blk This caliber is one reason I need a trimmer as I have a bit of Lake City I plan to cutdown
9mm Luger


Thanks alot for that little bit of info as 9mm will be one of the calibers I mostly reload.

The rifle cases need to be trimmed on a regular basis. The act of firing and resizing lengthens the case.

The handgun cases rarely, if ever, need to be trimmed. I never trim 45 ACP, 9x19, or 380 ACP cases. They virtually never grow under the firing and resizing process.

When operating rimmed handgun cases at near full power loads, it is beneficial to trim them to a uniform case length to get a uniform roll crimp. A uniform crimp helps provide uniform ignition of the powder charge.

 

[Mikhail2400]

The handgun cases rarely, if ever, need to be trimmed. I never trim 45 ACP, 9x19, or 380 ACP cases. They virtually never grow under the firing and resizing process.

This is something I wasnt aware of but then pretty much all of this stuff is new to me. Thanks for shedding some light on what I will need to watch for

 

[lightman]

Duke-

Did you buy/like the three way Giraud ($100+) or the stand alone unit ($500+) of the Giraud trimmer? Also, how long do you expect the cutters to last?

I have the LE Wilson lathe type and like it. The process, while perfect, is beginning to get on my nerves with the inserting the case into the bulky holder, loading the two into the lathe, drilling and removing. THEN chamfer and deburr.

Also inside of a few years I wore out two cutters. I am not what I consider a volume user.

Getting lazier but still cheap for spending over $500.

The cutter on the Giraud is carbide and will last a long time. You should get a carbide cutter for the Wilson too!

 

[Johnnyd]

For bulk rounds I use Little Crow WFT or Dillon rt1200 and for smaller runs I use RCBS Trim Pro 2.

I recently purchased the Lyman case prep express to remove the crimp, chamfer and deburr. I purchased it because it was so quiet compared to the RCBS or Hornady. I only have 3k rounds through it but so far so good.

For build plinking rounds of 223 and 308 I use RCBS x dies. You only need to trim once.

 

[Skeptic13]

I have to vote for Forester as well. It is relatively easy to adjust and will trim the vast majority of calibers. I really like mine and it has served me well.

 

[Mark_Mark]

with reloading equipment... you pay for what you get! that being said, Lee quick trimmer!

 

[sisyphus]

well I was going to buy a Redding but this thread talked me into a Wilson/Sinclair

 

[lightman]

well I was going to buy a Redding but this thread talked me into a Wilson/Sinclair

You can't go wrong there. Some claim that its slow but once you get the hang of it things move fairly fast.

 

[Walkalong]

You can't go wrong there. Some claim that its slow but once you get the hang of it things move fairly fast.

And nothing is more precise on OAL of the case or the squareness of case mouth.

 

[MonkTx]

You can't go wrong with a Wilson

I have trimmed many thousands of cases on mine over about 20 years of use. I finally broke the pot metal crank handle on it 2 weeks ago and the replacement handle they sent is a chunk of billet aluminum, stronger and lighter! Still on the original cutter blades for it too.

 

[MauriceSam]

I started with the Lee setup and thought I was satisfied until I got a Hornady setup. I thought that was pretty great until I got a used RCBS and now that is my go to. I still use the Hornady, but the Lee is just taking up space. Everyone has an opinion, but do your research and buy smart the first time. Not necessarily the most expensive, but something that will get the job done.
And not knocking Lee products, I have a lot of their stuff, just as far as trimmers go, there are certainly better options.