Cheapest, easiest way to trim a lot of .223 brass?

[z7]

I have a Wilson trimmer and it works good, but it’s slow

Considering a WFT (little crow gunworks) but I’m open to suggestions if you know of a cheaper option

I probably have 500 pieces of brass that need trimmed, and will likely have another 500 in a few weeks

 

[Charlie98]

500 cases is nothing. Do 100 each day... you'll be done in a week.

I still use my old Hornady (ex Pacific) trimmer, 5.56mm brass goes through that thing like hot buttered rum compared to something like .30-06 or .308 brass. I am currently working on about 6K 5.56mm cases.

To actually answer your question... the most cost-effective trimmer is likely to be the Giraud TriWay trimmer.

Giraud Tri-Way Trimmer

The Giraud Tri Way Trimmer is designed to be powered by your typical drill motor, drill press, or other dedicated rotating power source. Got an old motor laying around and some mechanical...

www.giraudtool.com

I actually had one of those, but it spaces off the sized case shoulder, so OAL can differ a bit if your brass isn't all sized the same. My issue was some brass sized better than others (all LC brass, BTW.) I decided to sell the TriWay, and just do it the old fashioned way.

In my experience, 'cheapest' and 'easiest' are somewhat exclusive. There are a number of solutions that work very, very well, but carry a price tag to match.

 

[Soonerpesek]

Won’t break the bank…..

 

[2ndtimer]

Not the cheapest, but easiest for large volumes of .223 cases, can also be used for other bottle neck cases.

Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Case Prep Trim Center

The Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Case Prep and Trim Center offers 4 work stations to quickly and easily prepare brass for reloading. The permanent...

www.midwayusa.com

 

[AJC1]

Won’t break the bank…..
View attachment 1199664

I second the Lyman trimmer, works good and easily converts to any bottleneck case. I also use it on 308.

 

[TEXASJD]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/125410693194?itmmeta=01HS4YCHTDF6YXBQ3ZRM7F33JM&hash=item1d330f504a:g:LmMAAOSwAXZa48th&itmprp=enc:AQAJAAAAwKpGNVckQy7mwQZNx9vTR9dAVWybcK7n+jEcRG+SIotHuRCRs7CLXd5bfSv+0bYgZrsHDDGo7+pg2jOuGTUMQ02sVrrCAfywHF7lt1JNQomLDlzepD11zdJ5fDQK+w8InqR9XV03Jp6AAckk5IWm6weA5/y3IP2EppMBKT0eYUXkDUeGfCEhAZFtZw0mEQZSGkEuzi0fq7msOU6tffRFuminTt2kfUvSY6L7pGup6RxyoytfMfOAo2fpwZ2tSdk9Fg==|tkp:Bk9SR6Kdsp7JYw

Fast and cheep

 

[Walkalong]

I have a WFT for .223 and it works great. It's not one of the "Triway" type trimmers, so you
sill have to deburr and chamfer, but I do it all on the little hobby lathe, so it's not too bad.

 

[sisyphus]

Giraud Giraud Giraud
buy once cry once

I have the Little Crow or whatever it's called for 6.8 SPC since Giraud doesn't make a 6.8......the time spent chamfer and deburring with that one really illustrates what a time saver the Giraud is, not to mention how much easier it is on your hands

 

[irishlad]

Giraud tri-way for my 223 & 308.

 

[Charlie98]

Giraud tri-way for my 223 & 308.

...and maybe the TriWay in .308 might work better for me... it just didn't in 5.56mm. Part of it was trying to hold those cases... even with gloves. Or maybe I was doing it wrong....

 

[Bill M]

For just a few hundred cases, I use the old Pacific case trimmer my friend Pete gave me. I loaded 400 rds. last year for my Garrand, probably a lifetime supply for me, no more than I shoot it.
For 223, I have a Gracey I traded for several years ago, I try to keep the kids supplied with "plinking" ammo, so it makes things easy. I also have a 308 guide with the trimmer, but when I priced one for 30-06, I decided the old Pacific was just right!

 

[HJ857]

Here's a video of the RCBS Trim Pro with the three way cutter head (trim, chamfer, deburr in one step). Also shown is a RCBS primer pocket swager. The brass in the video have previously been run through the swager. Un-swaged brass requires more force than is shown. I run all brass through this routine regardless of whether it needs it or not, it's simpler than trying to separate old from "new" once fired brass.

I no longer know pricing so I can't say if it's cheaper or not.

If you look into this trimmer, note that you do not need a power drill adapter. The Trim Pro comes with a hand crank installed, just unscrew that handle and chuck the spindle in to any 1/2" drill.

Imgur

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

i.imgur.com

 

[Chuck R.]

Giraud tri-way for my 223 & 308.

View attachment 1199705

My method as well, with the same exact drill press..

 

[EricBu]

Cheap and fast: Lee quick trim and a drill you already have...throw it on a single stage press, and away you go. Actually kind of shocking how accurate it is too. I switched to a RT1500 on a 750 for more speed and the case feeder...but was doing a couple thousand a month on the single stage and lee quick trim with no big problem. And the Lee chamfer while trimming too which is nice.

 

[507Reloader]

Get you a Henderson Trimmer. 500 pieces is about 10-15 minutes. I held off for over a year and finally pulled the trigger last year. If someone stole it, I would quit reloading until I got another one. Saves so much brass prep time. Trim, chamfer, and deburr in 1 little push.

 

[Kaldor]

Cheapest? WFT from LittleCrow. It just works. Just need a drill.
If you buy the WFT2, you can change the trim chamber and trim more stuff.

 

[jmorris]

The Dillon trimmers are the fastest ones I have.



Can deprime/size and trim more than 1000/hr but it's loud. If I have a bucket full to do, its worth it though.

 

[jmorris]

Get you a Henderson Trimmer. 500 pieces is about 10-15 minutes.

I'd like to see a video of that in action. 1.2-1.8 seconds a case is fast especially for a manually fed trimmer to average over 500 cases. How do your fingers feel after that?

 

[Charlie98]

The Dillon trimmers are the fastest ones I have.

He said 'Cheapest.' That automatically puts Dillon out of the running... I'm not a Dillon fanboi, but truth be told, I've been eyeballing that Dillon press mounted trimmer for years....

 

[zeke]

Might depend on your definition of "a lot" is. If a lot means thousand(s) or so cases, or hundreds done often, depends on how you value your time. If your time is more valuable in other pursuits, a Giraud can start looking inexpensive.

 

[anothernewb]

another vote for the Giraud here. I actually not only paid for it, but was able to pay for a 308 one as well by "renting" them to a few other reloaders at my local club.

in the end, it's only $100 and change. I've spent a lot more and gotten way less for my money.

 

[Rule3]

I have a Wilson trimmer and it works good, but it’s slow

Considering a WFT (little crow gunworks) but I’m open to suggestions if you know of a cheaper option

I probably have 500 pieces of brass that need trimmed, and will likely have another 500 in a few weeks

Cheapest is just use what uou already have. For 500 cases it's not a big deal

Faster? Attach a motor to it.

I have a RCBS manual, attached a 1/2" drill chuck variable speed corded drill (thanks Dad) Made a wood cradle to hold the drill lined up.

 

[Walkalong]

I'd like to see a video of that in action. 1.2-1.8 seconds a case is fast especially for a manually fed trimmer to average over 500 cases. How do your fingers feel after that?

Me too, but they look pretty quick

 

[jmorris]

He said 'Cheapest.'

Fair enough but its not real fast, I got stuck one weekend in need of some 308 ammunition and didn't have any of my trimming equipment. Took a couple off inches of 1.25" steel I had and drilled a sized neck size hole through it, then a base size one as deep as the shoulder. Then machined both ends the lengths I wanted them. Sand down the brass to the steel and stop.



This is what it looks like after 200 rounds or so, only suffered through one belts worth.



$0.0, unless you count the beer...

Would have paid 4x as much as one of these cost for one, that night.

LEE QUICK TRIM Archives

Looking for Lee Quick Trim Case Trimmer? Titan Reloading is a Master Distributor of Lee Quick Trim Case Trimmer. Call 262.397.8819 to learn more.

www.titanreloading.com

 

[lightman]

Giraud Giraud Giraud
buy once cry once

I have the Little Crow or whatever it's called for 6.8 SPC since Giraud doesn't make a 6.8......the time spent chamfer and deburring with that one really illustrates what a time saver the Giraud is, not to mention how much easier it is on your hands

I bought a Giraud when I was faced with trimming thousands of cases. I can trim at a sustained rate of 15-16 a minute and hold the tolerance to .001. Smaller case are harder to hold than larger cases.