Which case trimmer?

[Star1pup]

I'm going to use my Christmas gift certificate to buy a case trimmer and I'm undecided between Hornady & RCBS.  Any recomendations?

[YRUpunting?]

I went with the Lyman and bought the power adapter at the same time.  I use a small rechargeable drill/driver and it makes trimming go fast.  Hands don't hurt either.

[Flynmoose]

I have the RCBS 110V, it works great!
FM

[bulletstuffer]

RCBS has a rebate if you buy before 12/31/2012.


Good luck,


Bulletstuffer

[Star1pup]

I have the RCBS 110V, it works great!
FM

I have other RCBS equipment and it all seems excellent quality.  Mine will probably be a manual model as I only have so much money in the gift certificate.  I guess Santa is still a little upset about me shooting that buck with the red nose.

[bulletstuffer]

Star1pup,


It all depends on how much brass you need to trim and how much time you want to spend trimming the brass.  They will both work well for you.


Merry Christmas!


Bulletstuffer

[OldSchoolRanger]

I have the RCBS 110V, it works great!
FM

I have other RCBS equipment and it all seems excellent quality.  Mine will probably be a manual model as I only have so much money in the gift certificate.  I guess Santa is still a little upset about me shooting that buck with the red nose.

I know it's after Christmas, but if you haven't purchased a case trimmer yet.  If you have to get the manual model get the one that is upgradable to using a drill to power the trimmer.  I know Hornady and RCBS both make one that's upgradable, the other manufactures probably do also.

[necchi]

Take a look at the Lee system,
It's too easy, always repeatable, always the same.
 Did I say it's too easy?

[OldSchoolRanger]

necchi - I agree with your comment about the Lee Case trimmer, being easy, and repeatable. 

The only thing that I have a complaint about is that you have to purchase a different case length gauge/holder for every caliber that you reload.  This is a great system, if you only reload one or two calibers, but paying $6 for every caliber you reload can get quite expensive, if you reload many different calibers.  In my case it would be one for the each of the 12 rifle calibers I reload for.  This is not counting the pistol calibers, which I usually don't bother with case trimming.

[necchi]

I load for 6 different (so far) and I guess I just started with 1 and added as I expanded.
So picking one up here and there wasn't bad at all.
I did learn that the "Zip trim" tool by Lee is alot easier/reliable than the drill attachment they send with the cutter head.
 
I guess it would be spendy to have to jump in and by all the calibers at once, but most guy's starting out don't go that route,,

[OldSchoolRanger]

necchi,

I'm going to give the Lee Zip trimmer a try.  As a matter of fact I posted a WTB ad for the complete package in the reloading classifieds.  I'm only looking to use it for one caliber (223), as I have a lot of brass for that one.  The other calibers, I think I'll just stay "old school" and use the regular hand trimmer.

[sgte5]

I've been using the Lyman universal timmer with the power adapter for over 25 years and it has never given me a problem. It's very fast and easy to use. I wouldn't be able to guess how many thousands of brass I have trimmed with this system. The one thing I have to really be impressed with, is how many times I've pulled the trigger on my old Black and Decker 3/8 in drill. And it still works. I use it for deburring and chamfering each piece after using it on the trimmer. Not bad for a 43 yr old drill. I know the modern ones wouldn't hold up this way.

[scooter1979]

I too am in the market for a case trimmer.  Seems most of the brands are pretty good based on posts I've been reading.  Ive been using the lee trimmers for a while and have had good luck with them, but my newest toy (17 hornet) lee doesn't make a case gauge to use, so it looks like Ill be buying a regular case trimmer.  Sounds like the trimmers with the power adapters would be the way to go.  Thanks for the info in these posts
Scooter

[Buckskin]

I would go with the Lee, I have a Forester which works great, but since I started measuring actual chamber lengths I don't do much trimming anymore and a Lee would suffice. I'm trying to grow my brass so there is only .010" gap instead to fill the gap that is present if trimming to recommendations. Since doing this my accuracy has improved, I can load closer to the lands on some calibers and I save a lot of work. Instead of trimming, I just sort lots of brass based on length. You would be suprised how little brass grows when you want it to...

[D Fischer]

Not sure I understand all the discussion unless this is a high volume deal. Just get any one that will trim the case back to where you want. I use an old Forester, I think that's what I have. But if you went to the most expensive trimmer you could find and compared the results to the lee trimmer, the end result would be the same!

[quickdtoo]

I use the Lyman Universal for everything that Lee doesn't make a trimmer for, I have modified several Lee trimmers to work for those they don't, the 17s are too small tho, 204R is the smallest. I modified a Lee cutter to work in an RCBS Trim Mate as shown in Dave's video so I have a do-it-all prep station.

Tim

http://www.marlinowners.com/forum/reloading-stickys-only/20511-rcbs-trimmate-action.html

[SHOOTALL]

I have a very old Lyman that came with an elec. motor. It works great. BUT when possible I use the Lee hand case trimmers in a battry drill faster.