Trimmer inquery..

[Bessy]

Need input from the pros here,

So here's the deal fellas. I'm starting to process quite a bit of rifle brass, and my rcbs powered trimmer is simply not cutting it anymore (pun totally intended). It's taking way to long to trim brass. I'm currently using the 3 way cutter. I've been looking at the Dillion, the Gracey and Giraud trimmers.
I know the Dillion doesn't Debur and Chamfer, but I've been told it will work well enough for bulk rifle loading. I'd be willing to manually debur/chamfer for precision loads provided it could be used without for bulk loading. Does anyone have experience with the dillion, with a progressive setup, how did you have it setup, how well does it work?

How does the Gracey compare to the Giraud?, what type of output should I expect from each unit?

Thanks a ton guys!

[EJSG19]

don't forget the hornady case prep center. i've used that one (and that one only).

Did 100 cases with the whole work over, trim, chamfer, deburr flash hole, clean primer pocket etc. in an hour or two, having no prior clue what I was doing.

Seems quicker than doing it all with a drill by hand at least.

[Bessy]

don't forget the hornady case prep center. i've used that one (and that one only).

Did 100 cases with the whole work over, trim, chamfer, deburr flash hole, clean primer pocket etc. in an hour or two, having no prior clue what I was doing.

Seems quicker than doing it all with a drill by hand at least.

Good recommendation there, the 3 pilot cutter I have does chamfer and debur. I've got a separate case prep center for cleaning primer pockets and what not.... I'm looking for something that is even faster than this, though.

That being said the hornady prep station does look like a slick unit.

[Stradawhovious]

I've used the dillon trimmer wth a vac attachment fro collecting the trimmings. True, it doesn't debur, but its slicker than crisco.

I was able to trim 1,000 sized cases in about an hour and a quarter. The only issue I ran into was the noise. Unbearably loud with the trimmer and the vac going. Wear hearing protection and if possible run an MP3 player or the like under them. It will help you retain your sanity. I will eventually purchase one, but I don't load enough necked brass to make it worth the expense right now. From what I understand it will be necessary to get a seperate die for every caliber with the Dillon trimmer.

YMMV

[EJSG19]

that said the giraud doesn't cost that much more than the Hornady Case Prep center. I really have no clue how they compare for just trimming buckets of cases in short order.

[justaguy]

This has been hotly debated on probably every other rifle site many times. I don't think the 50 or so posters of MGT is going to have anything ground breaking to add. Its Glock vs 1911.

[Bessy]

This has been hotly debated on probably every other rifle site many times. I don't think the 50 or so posters of MGT is going to have anything ground breaking to add. Its Glock vs 1911.

Except the advice I get on this forum is usually coherent and good. Yourself excluded of course. If you don't have anything to add please for once in your life shut up.

[Norsesmithy]

Are your case lengths approaching the max specs?

If it's just blasting ammo, you might not need to trim.

[DeanC]

I'm using one of these in .223 right now. Not sure how well it works yet as I'm just starting out. http://www.gunaccessories.com/rcbs/X-Dies.asp

[justaguy]

This has been hotly debated on probably every other rifle site many times. I don't think the 50 or so posters of MGT is going to have anything ground breaking to add. Its Glock vs 1911.

Except the advice I get on this forum is usually coherent and good. Yourself excluded of course. If you don't have anything to add please for once in your life shut up.

Betsy, don't blame others because your comprehension skills are lacking. And please for once in your life try to keep up.

[livnlg55345]

The Giraud is the only way to go. It has no peers, hell Doug makes upgrades to the Gracey, that tell you a lot right there.

You can easily watch TV and use the Giraud. You can trim pretty close to the 800 plus an hour. The Dillon only makes sense if you have the 650 with a case feeder, but it will not do the job of Giraud. Buy once and cry once!

[Bessy]

I'm using one of these in .223 right now. Not sure how well it works yet as I'm just starting out. http://www.gunaccessories.com/rcbs/X-Dies.asp

So dean and Norse both bring up excellent points.
I've got some x-dies the problem is trimming the 308 to under trim length the first time (as stated in the instructions). Takes FOREVER we are talking like 30-60 seconds per case. That and the way the m14 mangles brass I'm wondering how effective they are going to be. Norse the once fired stuff I get for free can very in size quite a bit, I suppose I could take to sorting it by overall length..

Also I have a LNL AP press with a case feeder.... so there would be an advantage with the dillion there...

At this point I'm looking at either the Giraud, and the Dillion, based on what I've read the gracey is probably not the way I want to go.

All great stuff to think on.

[usnret]

I have had the Dillon for about 15 years and have trimmed a lot of brass with it. I have mine set up on a separate single stage press. You can't use it on the press while you are loading. You do need a separate Dillon sizing die for each caliber that you are going to trim, as the die is a full length resizing die. The carbide blade is spinning fast enough that you don't need to chamfer/debur the cases. It is very fast, but it is pricey.

[forcefed]

Probably a little bit more expensive option... But I use the endmill at work. Goes pretty darn quick!

[JFettig]

For large quantities, I always used my lee trimmer setup on my mill. I took some 1.25" hex and adapted that to the case holders so I have more grip, and then I sometimes use a wrench. Clamp the base in the vice and wrench on the top hex to loosen it. I run the head up so the quill bottoms out at the trim length.

I recently bought a lyman hand cranked trimmer because Lee doesn't make a trimmer for .204 and I actually liked it and did about 400 .204 cases and a couple hundred .308. The plan is to convert it into a powered trimmer with a 1/2hp garage door opener motor I have laying around.

Jon