I am starting to load rifle cases after reloading pustol cartridges for years. I will be reloading 22-250 & 220 Swift. I have about 4-500 cases for each caliber.

What case trimmer would you recommend I buy?

Thanks, Lewel

If you're going to be trimming large batches of cases, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one of the powered ones. I have an RCBS and it works great. I mounted it on a slab of one-inch hardwood I bought a Lowe's or Home Depot and clamp it to my bench with a C-clamp when I use it.

If you don't do a lot at one time, any of the manually operated ones will serve you well. I had a Forster and liked it nut an RCBS or Redding would do fine as well.

Ed

I bought the Lyman Universal Case Trimmer this year when I first started reloading. I spent a few extra bucks and got the one with a hand crank and also a "power adapter" so you can use a drill instead of cranking the handle by hand. It's easy to set up and pretty consistent. All my cases come off +/-.001" which is good enough for me. I've even set it up to be used in my drill press which does make it much faster for large runs. So far it's trimmed about 1,500 223/5.56 cases and I'm very happy with it.

Here's a link to the one I bought from Midsouth Shooters Supply:
Universal Trimmer With Power Adapter and 9 Pilots by LYMAN

I like the RCBS, but I removed the handle and inserted a bolt with the head turned down and chuck my cordless drill to it. I have my RCBScase prep machine right next to it to chamfer and deburr the cases as well as ream/clean the primer pockets. My current rifle reloading is primarily 22-250 and .222.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Wilson- accurate, can be upgraded for power if you really need it.

Look at the Gracey if you want/need powered- pretty costly just to do 1K cases.

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Good shooting.

A good trimmer will remove brass as well as...........

remove brass from the outside of the neck and the inside of the 22-250 cases, to get uniform, cases for those into better accuracy but you will need to study up on the amount to be removed, if any.

Rifle cases can be 96% perfect and still shoot well. A ding or dent does not mean you have to get crazy, fixing a small problem.

They all work........... good shooting.

Thank you for the info. This is the information I was looking for. Please continue with your information

I got a Lee hand trimmer tool for about $10 and the spacer for each caliber is less than $5. I chuck it into my half inch drill press and trim like gang busters. Only takes a few seconds to put the case in the holder and a few seconds to trim each one. I believe they make them now so they will fit into a smaller drill. Get yourself a little drill press or use a hand drill and knock yourself out for not much $$$.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Lee's trimming tools are not a bad way to start out. They work well and worst case minimize your expenses until you learn how you'd really want to do it. You insert a cartridge-specific rod into a cutting head, put the case in a caseholder, insert the rod into the case and spin the cutter . . . either by hand or by drill.

There are some very good trimmers that index off the case shoulder . . . they are made by Giraud. I have the original World's Finest Trimmer in 223, and was not happy with adjusting the length nor with the cleanliness of the cut nor with the fact that I had to hold each case against the cutter's torque. It got harder each year. Unfortunately I don't think the Giraud Tri-Way is made in your caliber, but if it is It's a good choice. The Giraud Power Trimmer is a $460 base-cost item that includes the motor; a terrific trimmer but likely overkill for your useage.

After those two trimmers, my old hands just couldn't take it any more. And after trimming there was more case prep to do, again holding the case. So I bought a RCBS Universal Case Prep Center. I don't hold the case while trimming, and the other case prep operations are done (holding the case) while the next case is trimming.

The universal case holder doesn't use a shellholder, so they stay with the dies where they belong. The micrometer length adjustment works very well, giving easy choice of lengths. The cutter requires deburr and chamfer; I have the RCBS 3-way cutters but was not satsified with the way they chamfered/deburred . . . YMMV.

I use trim dies or a hand crank to trim most of my cases. I also have a Gracey powder trimer that I use for my 223. Works great, but if I had to do over I would look at the one Dillon has.

GTC Home

I own one and would not take for it. Period. Pricey, and it takes a different die for each case, but if your re-sizing is consistent this tool will make the trim consistent to .001.

I would go with Sinclair's version of the Wilson trimmer. W/ carbide cutter and upgraded handle. On the stand etc. of course. Power just doesn't give me the control I like. Just my choice.



Little arbor press on the left came frome Habor Freight, I added the brass rod holder as I do not like beading out the brass from the case holders with any kind of hammer.

The two I would recommend are the Wilson (with the Sinclair International accessories as seen above) The consistency is unbelievable. The other would be the Forester, it is a trimmer that has accessories that allow neck turning (outside), and neck reaming (inside). There are power adaptors for both brands. The Wilson requires a body die for each family of cartridges, I have 12 dies and that covers just about all common and a few exotic rounds. The Forester has 4 collets to cover all standard rounds, then there is the Classic for big cases like Sharps 45-100 or 505 Gibbs. There are 4 collets for this too ( There is a 50 BMG set up also)

These are THE two best systems out there. Buy the good stuff the first time and you won't be replacing it in a year or two! I have had RCBS, Hornady, 2 different Lyman's, stacks of Lee trimmer pilots, and several of the RCBS trim dies that use a file.

For precise ammo it requires precise equipment!

Ivan