Best Case Trimmer

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

roc1

Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2007
Messages
541
Location
Lubbock Texas
Best Case Trimmer

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What is the best case trimmer available without breaking the bank?I have heard of the Giraud but have heard it is expensive?I have used the lathe type but really do not like them.I use the Lee now it is ok but is slow.I have been told by a cousin who uses Dillon that the electric trimmer really does not work that well on 223.I would like to speed things up if I am going to load the 223 for my AR.Hand trimming is ok for other calibers but will be to slow for the 223.I load pistol on my Hornady Ap and my Dillon presses.I do not ever trim pistol so it is no problem.I will load the AR progressive instead of Single Stage like other calibers of rifle.
Thanks for your input in advance
roc1
 
If you're trimming thousands, bite the bullet (ha!) and buy the Giraud.

Buy quality, and buy once. Youtube Giraud and you won't go back.

Ed
 
I would like to speed things up if I am going to load the 223 for my AR.
Click to expand...

If you are trimming 4000 the Dillon will take about 2.5 hours. It works great with .223. The Giraud is a great trimmer but not even close to the Dillon when it comes to speed.
 
jmorris,

If you want cases deburred and chamfered, the Dillon isn't even close to a Giraud. If you want just blastin' ammo, then Dillon is perfect for that, but for match ammo, deburring and chamfering is a necessary step.

Doug Giraud
Giraud Tool Company
 
Giraud.
that thing is crazy. what ever you do dont try to do it by hand all day. i have one of the lee zip trims. works ok. i once tried to trim a few by hand an it takes for ever and does numbers on your hand
 
The best one for ruining your fingers, cramping your hand muscles, and causing you to remeber swear words you thought were safely forgotten - the Lee hand trimmer! Even withthe wooden ball it is a medieval torture. I still use mine because i trim in very small batches, and I have no$ for the high speed/low drag versions. But if what you want is self inflicted pain, that's the best!
 
I could have paid for at least half of my Giraud with all the gizmos I've tried.

They've ranged from Wilson/Sinclair (beautifully constructed but slow) to a Forster product for use on a drill press (total botch).

If you ever order a few thousand once-fired from brassman, etc., and imagine working your way through that pile with a dinky tool, you'll probably bite the bullet and buy a Giraud, or give up and buy some Wolf.:D

I haven't tried the Gracey trimmer, so I can only pass on those who have tried both tend to give the nod to the Giraud.

For high volume reloaders, this is one of those instances where "Buy once, cry once" is appropriate.
 
I've always used a Forster trimmer.

Never a problem. Quality workmanship and won't break the bank.

With that being said, you may have to buy a certain trimmer for a certain length cartridge and use another collet holder for other cartridges.

For example, I needed a different collet holder for my S&W 500 Magnum cases than the collet holder I was using for .223. Since I had to do this anyway, I also purchased the longer trimmer so I could have two set up at my loading bench (short & long) and just use the appropiate collet setup.

So, for two completely different cases, I might have a total of about $180 into the trimmer bases, two collet holders, two collets and two pilots. Any more that I need to buy for different calibers would just be collets and/or pilots. The collets are each good for several different case sizes, and of course the pilot for a .223 would be good for all .22 high power rifle cases (as far as I know).

The collet holds the base and clamps it tight. The pilot goes into the mouth of the case to center the trimer while you activate the manual knob in a cranking fashion.

In several evenings, at about an hour a session, I went through 500 .223 cases and, about the same amount of time for 500 500 magnum cases.
 
jmorris,

If you want cases deburred and chamfered, the Dillon isn't even close to a Giraud. If you want just blastin' ammo, then Dillon is perfect for that, but for match ammo, deburring and chamfering is a necessary step.
Click to expand...

per OP
I would like to speed things up if I am going to load the 223 for my AR.
Click to expand...

Again, your tool is a great product, just not as fast as the Dillon. FWTW if you are getting burs with the Dillon it's time to index the carbide cutter.
 
I tried a lathe type trimmer and it drove me out to go buy a Giraud. I did 800 pieces of brass last night while watching TV. Try that with any other trimmer. :)
 
PecosRiver

What brand is your dad's trimmer.

It may be that he just needs a longer base. If it's a Forster, I know there are a couple of screw holes in the collet holder and I think also in the cutting tool handle holder.

It may be, if you remove those two parts, that you might have extra holes to put a bit of a wider separation between them.

I would go to the web site for your father's trimmer and see what they recommend for his cartridge. Just about all web sites have all the technical information on them, the only other question would be if you have dial-up:banghead: or a high speed connection:):D.

With dial-up:cuss:, I wouldn't want to be browsing a site, trying to get a list together of all the different parts you might need:(, for example, making a big shopping list on MidwayUSA.
 
Giraud Trimmer

Well, I read it enough here, I had to look it up.
I guess that is a quality trimmer! You can see the quality!

Actually, I didn't know such a good trimmer existed.

That being said, I don't think with how little I reload I'm ready to shell (sic) out almost $400.

Now, back about 15 years ago, I used to reload a lot of 44 and 357 and had an RCBS progressive press. Once set up, with the powder measure and cases all trimmed, cleaned and ready to go, I could literally load 600 rounds per hour.

I wish I would have had the Giraud Trimmer back then!

We had an indoor range and would shoot 600 rounds some evenings between two people!
 
What brand is your dad's trimmer.

It may be that he just needs a longer base. If it's a Forster, I know there are a couple of screw holes in the collet holder and I think also in the cutting tool handle holder.
Click to expand...

Thanks I called him and that's the one he's got (it's so old I guess it's the orig. and we need to order the longer base.)

Thanks for your help
 
My webiste is www.giraudtool.com. From there you can navigate to the trimmer page and find all the info you need. At the bottom of the page is a link to the instruction manual in .pdf format. Feel free to download a read at your leisure.

Thanks,
Doug Giraud
Giraud Tool Company
 
It's always a big +1 in my book when the owner/designer of said product stands behind his products on gunboards. :)

I'm gonna gets me a Giraud trimmer, even if I gotta sell lemonade on a sidewalk for a week!
 
I always thought a giraurd would be way too far out of my league for price- but I broke down and got one.

I'd never go back
I won't recommend anything else.

If you want speed and awesome quality- its worth the pennies.
 
Another vote for the Giraud trimmer, but it’s not just a trimmer it also deburrs and chamfers at the same time. It works great!!! I load 223 for my AR-15 and there are two things I use that I recommend, a Giraud trimmer and a (Dillon Super Swage 600 if your primers are crimped).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

H
  • Locked
case trimmer questions
Replies
14
Views
1K
mc223
M
F
  • Locked
Power case trimmer
Replies
11
Views
1K
lightman
L
T
  • Locked
Looking for a case trimmer
Replies
14
Views
796
Muttt
M
F
  • Locked
Case trimmer - is there a happy medium?
Replies
10
Views
714
rnovi
R
S
  • Locked
Dillon Case Trimmer questions?
Replies
6
Views
563
Weber
W
Back
Top