Lee case trimmers or other option

T

trooperjd

New member
Guys I am putting together a reloading set around a donated RCBS partner press. I ha e funnels, press, loading blocks, lube pad/lube, and neck brush.

Now I need to decide case trimming options. I will load for 17 rem, 223, 22 hornet, 204 and 270. I have lee case trimmer for all but 17 and 204. What trimmer option to go with to prep all these cases including 17 and 204? Lee doesn't make trimmer for 204 and 17 I think.

Question is what's best option?
 
Here you go.




And I can use it for my .221 Fireball, my .17 Rem, my .204 Ruger and my .223 AI as well as my .223 Rem. All you have to do is adjust the cutter for which ever case that you are trimming, and that takes less time than it does to type this.

Using my battery drill I can trim 50 rounds of brass in about 5 minutes. I would say that was pretty darn fast.
 
Trim dies are the right price or you might look on Craig's list for a used case trimmer . I would think you could find one for about $25. I have bought a couple that way.
 
Lee trimmers suck for high volume. I use a possum hollow its similar to the one rustydust posted. I put my drill in the vise upside down lock the trigger and go to town.
 
If you pick up or have an RCBS case prep center, you can have a hole drilled and tapped in the cutting end of a LEE trimmer, so that it can be attached to the power points of the RCBS. PRESTO this gives you a very reasonable "powered" trimmer, that is easy to change to different calibers and all your cases can be trimmed to the same identical length.
 
I reduced the shank on the Lee trimmer. Now high volume is no problem. I just chuck the trimmer up in the drill and hold the cases with the case holder.

Mike
 
Both the WFT and CTS look to be very quick, simple and accurate.

I can find the WFT online to purchase ($70) but no luck fidning the CTS which looks to be around $30 less than the WFT. I have emailed the designer (Jim) of the CTS but did not get a response.
 
I've used Lee hand trimmers for many years & the cases have never looked like the ones in the video used for comparison to the 'CTS' trimmer.
I like the idea of the 'cts' trimmer & may buy one but I can say, IMO, that the comparison case trimmed with a 'Lee' to the 'cts' is false & denigrates the results.
What interest me about the 'cts' trimmer is of its simplicity to use. I can put my 'Lee' trimmer in a cordless drill & do the same thing as the 'cts'. Have been for years.
Would purchase the 'cts' trimmer mostly because I want to & because I like simple solutions to do simple things.
I have a Lyman trimmer that is, IMO, not so simple to use & therefore I do not use it.
 
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Originally Posted By: Widow maker 223Lee trimmers suck for high volume. I use a possum hollow its similar to the one rustydust posted. I put my drill in the vise upside down lock the trigger and go to town.

Everyone develops their own techniques which work for them, and rightly so. While shooting HP rifle competition, I shot a minimum of 100 rds. of 30-06 ammo per week (practice) and often up to 350-400 rounds in competition once a month, requiring what was, to me, high volume reloading.

I found it easier to trim every case each time fired than to measure each case and trim as needed using the Lee trimmer. To speed things up a bit, I made a simple holder so that each sized case coming off the press was handled only once:

IMG_2588.jpg


The case was held in the Lee case holder & chucked in a cordless drill. While spinning the case, following steps were accomplished:

1) Wipe off case lube
2) Trim case to length
3) De-burr case neck inside & out

Had previously trimmed thousands of cases with a Lyman trimmer, but found the Lee to be much quicker.

Regards,
hm
 
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