I hate Trimming!

[itman]

Ok so now that I have said that. I think I really hate my RCBS II and its Collet. I was hoping that the good people from the Firing line may have a better way to size brass.

I reload mostly 300 Wim Mag (long range target shooting) and .44 Mag (target shooting) with a few .223 and 380.

I was looking at the Sinclair Catalog and I found a few items I was hoping someone has some experience with them. Good or bad.

The first thing I say was the Hornady Lock-N-Load case prep center.
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct...tnumber=314017
Ok it is $$$ but I only want to buy something once. So..

Also the Sinclair Stainless Ultimate Trimmer
http://www.sinclairintl.com/1/1/7559...rnational.html
It is 1/2 as much as the Hornday but after paying for all the Case holders it will be getting up there.


Any comments? Are there any other trimmers I should consider?

[troy_mclure]

i got a deal on the wft by little crow gun works for .223. i havent used it yet, but the guy i got if from loved it, he was just not liking .223.

[Jim243]

Hornady Lock-N-Load case prep center

Pricey but will get the job done.

Jim

[PA-Joe]

The simpliest way of trimming cases is to use the LEE Case Gauge and cutter, No thinking No adjustments. Just trim.

[deepcore]

Yup. Second that.
Got tired of my RCBS Trim Pro and tried the Lee system in .308 and so far liking it a lot. Great price too.
I chucked the cutter in my drill press though.
Turning the cutter instead of the case.

[troy_mclure]

The simpliest way of trimming cases is to use the LEE Case Gauge and cutter, No thinking No adjustments. Just trim.

its also the slowest.

[troy_mclure]

heres my "i hate trimming brass" thread.

lol

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=449601

[NWPilgrim]

I use the Wilson trimmer which is the non-Stainless version of the Sinclair, and is only about $79 without the micrometer. I like it a lot. Very precise and consistent. I've done thousands of trimming on it. The trimmer can also take an adapter to chamfer case mouths, and another to cut primer pockets (uniforming or another for removing crimped pockets).

The only thing you need for different cartridges is to buy a case holder for each cartridge family: one holder for .308/.30-06 family, one for .223 family, etc. I believe each case holder is about $10.

The Lee trimmer looked very simple and reliable but as far as I can tell it is not adjustable. Probably not an issue for most but I just like being able to control exactly the length.

The Wilson/Sinclair trimmer is very well made and should last forever. The cutter can be replaced, sharpened or replaced with a carbide cutter.

BTW, this would not apply to your situation since you are shooting one rifle in bolt action and just neck sizing, but for my semi-auto cartridges I size with an RCBS X-die which requires only one initial trimming. Works as advertised. Although others have documented easily getting 15-20 FL sizings out of cases with the X-die (and still no failures or out of specs) I plan to run my own test with a small group of new cases just for my own experience. So far I have just a couple of loadings of several hundred .223 and .308 and .30-06 and there is no change in length or neck thickness (beyond the pre-existing variances of different headstamps and number of previous firings/trimmings).

[G-DOG58]

The Hornady Prep Center is SO SWEEEEET ! ! ! ! !
I've never trimmed handgun brass. The .223 and .308 that I run through the AR or M1A get's stretched plenty, there's some trimming to do there for sure.
The HK91 is another story, nothing makes brass ugly faster than the 91.....

[kxkid]

I use the rcbs trim mate with the Lee cutter as one of the 5 stations. Got the idea on YouTube. Look for rcvs trim mate Lee cutter modification, or something to that effect. Does what the hornady does but for a whole lot cheaper

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[kxkid]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-710xkyKNU&sns=tw. There's one video

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[Clark]

RCBS Trim Pro 3-Way Cutter 22 Caliber,
Lee Shellholder 223,
Lee Lock stud,
Rockwell mill,
Kurt vise,
vise grips,

Some fooling around to get the 3 way cutter adjusted, but once it was adjusted, it is a fast way to trim and chamfer brass in one step.

But for bolt action, falling block, break action ect [Not semi auto] rifles, the real trick is not trimming.

Neck size with a Lee Collet neck die, and at 65kpsi, get 20 firings, and throw the brass away, along with the trimming gear.

[Ideal Tool]

Hello, itman. I have posted this before, Since you have Sinclair,s catalog, look up their chamber length gage plugs..the ones that fit into a cut-down ctg. case. You might be surprised just how much longer those chambers are than the published trim-to length dimensions in the reload books. You might very well be trimming your cases much shorter than you need to. In checking some of my rifles, there can be from .030" to as much as .045" extra length in there..I think the Mfg. do this as a built-in safety factor...One more reason we should be paying attention to the dimesions of OUR rifles, and not blindly following SAAMI specs designed to allow thousands of various ctg./chamber combinations to work together. This is what seperates the term Handloaders from reloaders.

[chasep255]

I got the Lyman Universal trimmer and power adapter for under $100. I can trim over 200 cases per hour.

[itman]

Thanks everyone for the help. I went with the Sinclair. I read some reviews online. And some people have been finding some alignment issues with the Hornady. Also I really liked the consistency of the Sinclair.

The only issue I have is that no .380.


I well post again when I spend some time with the trimmer.

@ Ideal Tool I completely understand what you are saying. Right now I'm just reloading to feed the habit of shooting.
I'm also a little shy about going out side the book. I have had a few loads not chamber. I will get there in time.

[jimbob86]

The simpliest way of trimming cases is to use the LEE Case Gauge and cutter, No thinking No adjustments. Just trim.

its also the slowest.

Horsefeathers.

Chuck the case lock stud into a 3/8" drill and go to town. Trimmed, inside chamfered, deburred, and polished in 10-15 seconds. Uniformly. Case mouth square and concentric.

[troy_mclure]

Horsefeathers.

Chuck the case lock stud into a 3/8" drill and go to town. Trimmed, inside chamfered, deburred, and polished in 10-15 seconds. Uniformly.

except for the 2 min case change.

[jimbob86]

except for the 2 min case change.

How on earth would it take you two minutes to put the case into or out of that lock stud? You using vise-grips? I understand some folks are all thumbs, but ye gods and leetle fishies, two minutes?

[chris in va]

On a side note, I discovered a quick way to remove military crimps from my 30-06 and 223 range pickup.

Lee has this chamfer tool for case mouths that costs about $3. If you have a 1/2" cordless drill, lightly chuck the brass into the drill itself and chamfer out the crimp. Takes all of a second, very easy.

except for the 2 min case change

Yeah, the trick is to not crank down on the lock ring too much. I still find pliers are necessary to unlock it on occasion.

[jimbob86]

Just out of curiosity, I stepped over to the bench and trimmed a few of 30/30 cases ..... averaged out to about 14 seconds per, including hitting start and stop on the stopwatch.

Yeah, the trick is to not crank down on the lock ring too much. I still find pliers are necessary to unlock it on occasion.

I've been using this set up a long time now, and have not had that problem.

Neck size with a Lee Collet neck die, and at 65kpsi, get 20 firings, and throw the brass away, along with the trimming gear.

Follow this advice at your own risk. ^^^

My .270 WIN loads are supposed to be developing only 52K CUP .... I neck size only, and the neck still needs trimming. I trim them every time I load them that hot, and shave a bit of brass off each time. If I did this, eventually (way before 20 firings) I imagine a too long neck would pinch the bullet in place, making life ...... very interesting. YMMV.

[hooligan1]

Chrisinva, thats' going to save my carpel-tunnrel ridden hands some pain. I'm going to set up just like that next time I get some .223 range brass or some dang new brass. Why doesn't it come camfered? And the next time my son picks up .223 range brass, he can trim it, oh btw we use a Forster trimmer, it works well unles your looking at a couple hundred or so cases, then it's work. But I can't complain because it's just another step in the process of handloading.

[deepcore]

I found out you can press fit the Lee Chamfer tool into a 11/16 socket, run the socket in your drill with a socket driver and run the brass into the set up.

Pick a side of the Lee Chamfer tool, do one side (inside our out) then reverse the Chamfer tool's position in the socket and run thru the batch again.

I lay my drill down on it's side on my bench to prevent hand fatigue, use my foot switch to free up my hands.

Saves chucking time.

[jimbob86]

I lay my drill down on it's side on my bench

I set mine on a towel o my lap. After trim, chamfer, and deburring, I wrap the end of the towel around the brass and give it another spin to remove any lube or oxidation.... untill I started shooting pistols (carbide dies need no lube), I did not even own a vibratory case cleaner.....

[That'll Do]

As usual, we all have our different methods and suggestions for fast and accurate trimming of brass. I despise trimming too, and so far this is what I do to speed the process:

The trimming part is still slow. (Lyman Universal Trimmer...soon to be replaced with an RCBS Trim Pro Power Trimmer. My wrist gets sore processing all that 223 brass, after all, 3 AR-15's have a big appetite)

But after trimming, I use the RCBS Trim Mate Case Prep Center. It really speeds along chamfering, primer pocket crimp removal, and flash hole de-burring and primer pocket uniforming (I don't do the last two on AR brass, unless I come across a high primer).

I guess the key is to keep up with your brass prep. I'm guilty of having several outings worth of brass (1000 pcs.) piled up waiting to be prepped. Not fun at all. :/