Case Trimmer Recommendations

Uncle Duke · Mar 5, 2018

wabbit said:
I have a Trim-it case trimmer for .223 and .308 which works really fast and is better than the hand cranked trimmer I had before. The setup takes some time since you would adjust it a little bit at a time and measure the final cut, but once it's set, you wouldn't change it.
https://www.brownells.com/reloading...immers/trim-it-ii-case-trimmer-prod80329.aspx

Wabbit, it appears that the Trim-it requires a hand drill or a press with a minimum 3/8 inch chuck. Is that correct?

Curious, as I know the Little Crow WFT2 requires a minimum 1/2 inch chuck. And though the WFT2 is similarly designed with the bushing insert concept, it doesn't chamfer and deburr, nor does it have the micrometer feature.

cyclops · Mar 5, 2018

My Forster classic has served me well for many years.

erwos · Mar 5, 2018

So, I am relatively new to the case trimming game, but I've been using an RCBS Power Trim Pro in conjunction with a Lyman Case Prep Xpress with some success. I pop the resized case into the trimmer, pull the lever to "go", wait a second for the trim, pull the lever back to stop, pull the case, and then deal with fixing the case mouth and primer pocket. I could probably speed that up somewhat if I used the RCBS Trim Pro 3-way cutter (which would presumably fully finish the case mouth on the trimmer), but I'm otherwise pretty happy with the system for volume case prep. If anything, I feel like a faster way of priming and depriming than my single-stage would be more my concern - I'm pondering getting the Harvey deprimer and the Lee bench primer system and seeing how that goes.

inkd · Mar 5, 2018

kstone803 said:
You should do that and let me borrow it.......

Not a problem, if I get one

lkenefic · Mar 5, 2018

erwos said:
So, I am relatively new to the case trimming game, but I've been using an RCBS Power Trim Pro in conjunction with a Lyman Case Prep Xpress with some success. I pop the resized case into the trimmer, pull the lever to "go", wait a second for the trim, pull the lever back to stop, pull the case, and then deal with fixing the case mouth and primer pocket. I could probably speed that up somewhat if I used the RCBS Trim Pro 3-way cutter (which would presumably fully finish the case mouth on the trimmer), but I'm otherwise pretty happy with the system for volume case prep. If anything, I feel like a faster way of priming and depriming than my single-stage would be more my concern - I'm pondering getting the Harvey deprimer and the Lee bench primer system and seeing how that goes.

I'll have to look into that setup for case trimming. For me depriming is part of resizing on my Dillon 550... after resizing, it's off to case trimming and primer pocket prep.

danimalw · Mar 12, 2018

For what it's worth, I use the rcbs trim pro-2 case trimmer and rcbs brass boss (to chamfer/debur/remove primer crimps). I'm doing just over 2 per minute and that includes measuring each case afterwards

wabbit · Mar 15, 2018

Uncle Duke said:
Wabbit, it appears that the Trim-it requires a hand drill or a press with a minimum 3/8 inch chuck. Is that correct?

Curious, as I know the Little Crow WFT2 requires a minimum 1/2 inch chuck. And though the WFT2 is similarly designed with the bushing insert concept, it doesn't chamfer and deburr, nor does it have the micrometer feature.

Yes, the shaft on my Trim-it cutter fits a 3/8 drill, and I use it with a corded drill since my cordless Makita doesn't last too long on one charge. All the work is in the setup and fine adjustment, but once it's adjusted, the trimmer works really well for large batches of brass. I have two collets for .308 and .223.

K-43 · Mar 16, 2018

I have a Forster I got in the '80s that I mounted to a board and C-clamp to the desk when I need it. It's been reliable for trimming and reaming conversion brass. I also have several Lee trimmers for mass trimming, like Military 7.62 and 30-06. Chuck the shellholder in a drill. Some times the Lee trimmers can be a pain if you don't get the holder ring tight and the knurling will eat your finger tips tightening them. But they're less tiring than the hand crank and collet on the Forster.
Primer pocket crimps I swage out with an RCBS set in my old Lyman Spartan.

Case Trimmer Recommendations

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