Looking for advice on buying a case trimmer.

[Delkal]

As to the chance of overly long brass "self crimping" when the brass meets the rifling,

When you crimp a bullet the only thing holding the bullet is a thin piece of the brass. The crimp and the neck have room to expand in the barrel. Crimping does not do much (if anything)......THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS JAMMING THE BRASS INTO THE NECK!!! When you do that the bullet is held tightly by the barrel with the brass case in between. Pressures can spike (think bore obstruction). This is thoroughly explained in reloading manuals (especially Hornady)

shoot the rifle (after all we are talking about bottle necked cartridges, and not 7.62x25 or SIG Sauer 38's, so it must be a rifle) a 200 times and the rifling will move (BE moved) ahead enough so that the chance of that happening will disappear.

Are you saying the rifling will wear away and make everything OK? That is wrong. Look at a diagram of a chamber. There is a neck section (where the case neck goes) the end of this is where an overly long case can crimp the bullet in. This section is not going to move or be eroded away. Then you have the freebore section then the rifling starts. Rifling will eventually be eroded (called throat erosion) but this is a slow process. With a .223 you would need to shoot a thousand rounds to make any measurable difference.

You can get higher pressures by jamming a bullet into the rifling but this IS NOT the same as having a overly long neck. Either way the steel barrel will not magically "erode" faster than a thin piece of brass and make you safe.

[glc]

I am primarily loading just .223 for an AR but load small quantities of .30/30 and 7.62x54r.

Presently I trim using a Lee case gauge and cutter. http://leeprecision.com/gage-holder-223-rem.html
Then I use as chamfer tool on the inside and outside of the case mouth.
This is quite tedious and I am looking for a better alternative.

I was looking at
http://leeprecision.com/deluxe-quick...e-trimmer.html

Thoughts or alternates?

Eta. Oh. I'm working on a small budget

So anyway, have you decided on one yet? If not, another vote for the Little Crow WFT. It takes a bit of time to get the cut depth just right, but once it's set, it is a very consistent trimmer for sure.
As posted, it doesn't chamfer, but a couple seconds with a chamfer/deburring tool and you're good to go.

[psweigle]

Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Case Prep and Trim Center
Great little center for the reloaded, you can catch them on sale for $150.

This one!!!!!

[dkf]

Bottle necked rifle cartridges must be trimmed occasionally. Or the longer case will not chamber or the neck will jam the bullet in tight giving higher pressures. It will happen.

Most standard / low velocity pistol cartridges don't need trimming (at least thats what I do). They usually neck split or get lost before you have any problems clambering them

Yep Pretty much all of them require trimming eventually. My .458socom brass I don't trim, ever anymore. Friggin brass can actually shrink in OAL, even after over 10 firings. But the .458 is the exception not the rule.

The .223/5.56 brass is all over the place in trim length in my experience, some minimum length some over max. If you want consistent crimps you have to trim, though the .223 FCD does make trim length less critical. I use the RCBS X die to minimize trimming, usually I only have trim once in the life of the brass using it.

[OldSchoolRanger]

This WFT sounds good. Does it chamfer the cases?

No, the WFT does not chamfer the cases, you still have to do it by hand, or using one of the power tools. If you want something similar, to the WFT, that chamfers, spend a couple of extra bucks and get the Giraud Tri-Way trimmer.
It's not the top of the line Giraud, but it does the job; trims and chamfers. It costs about $20 - $30 more than the WFT.

[markshere2]

The solution to your problem is easy and cheap. DON'T TRIM BRASS!! Trimming is a waste of time and the need to trim is usually related to bad resizing practice. While neck sizing is nice and I recommend it, when using semi-auto OR more than one firearm, full length and SAMMI dimensions must be retained. Case length has NOTHING to do with cartridge OAL or head space. Uniform case length may be required when crimping, otherwise the longer cases may be over crimped or otherwise deformed. SO STOP CRIMPING!! .223/5.56 do not need crimped. Stay away from AR15.COM and other sites where "experts" are posting. Good Luck!
Steve

No. This advice goes against all the experts and amateurs and industry advise.

"Well, I read it on the internet, it must be true!"

Just, no.

I tried a few different trimmers. Now i have the frankford arsenal power one and it works great.

[MD66948]

Two thumbs up for Giraud.

Attachment 98741

I've been using one for nearly 12 years on multiple rifle calibers (.223, 270 Win., .30-30, .308, & .30-06)

Here's the link: http://giraudtool.com/giraud-power-trimmer.html

Buy once, cry once?

I bought a Giraud with heads and blades for 556, 308, and 30-06. Great Product and well worth the cost.

[OldSchoolRanger]

I bought a Giraud with heads and blades for 556, 308, and 30-06. Great Product and well worth the cost.

I did too, with heads and blades for the 223/5.56 & 308. Well worth the cost, but it still hurts in the wallet. BTW, doesn't the .308 & 30-06, along with the 7mm-08 use the same heads and blades?

[DukeConnor]

i use the same collet for 308 and 30-06. just have to make some adjustments

[X Hunter]

The Giraud trimmer has two jam nuts on the on the shell holder that regulates the trim length. Every time you change shell holders, you have to re adjust the jam nuts to set the trim length. Purchase lock rings for reloading dies. Replace the jam nuts with one lock ring – set it and forget it. You will never have to goof with jam nuts again and you can change shell holders as easily as you change dies on a single stage press.