SmallCaliberCentral

Here's my dilemma. I have been using the Lee 4 piece case length gauge dealy-o. I've always liked it because its cheap and easy. About $7 for any new caliber.But apparently they dont have one for.204. The website says while there is no caliber too big for them to make, .22 is the smallest. I know that trimming methods have been covered at length before but I have to admit I was sleeping in class at that time as I thought when it came time to trim that I would just pick up the Lee gauge for my new lil buddy. So my ? is, since I'm already set up to trim all of my other calibers what would ya'll suggest for the .204? Cost is a concern so I've been skulking around FleBay looking for a deal. there are several out there but the descriptions are not all that good. So any advise would be muchly appreciado-ed. Please include pertinent info on what bushings/gauges/parts and thingamajigs are needed for your particular girogizmo-setup.
P.S. I'm not really into the whole Match brass wizardry but if buying one tool for trimming would bring me 3 steps closer I may give it a looksee. I've always just trimmedum-powderedum-seatedum and shot < 1" groups.
P.P.S. Would it be a very good or very bad idear to buy the Lee part for a 222 and give it the grinder to come up with a .204"? Again, it's only $7!
Tanks in advance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rugerdogdog, I use a Wilson now. I have had, and still do have a Redding but I never liked the collate idea. It is just not repeatable. Are they "good enough"? I guess but if I'm going to invest the time to do something I am going to do it the best way I think it can be done. I know the case holder is a better mouse trap. It just has to square the case mouth better to the axis of the body of the case. I don't think the cost of a bare bones Wilson will set you back more than any other good trimmer. I would sugesst you save your money and get something that will please you for a long time. I know that a lot of people use th Forster and really like them also. They are a collate type, as are the RCBS.

I'd do the one-time buy, and get a good stainless steel set of dial calipers. You can then measure a zillion things related to reloading, all calibers, length, base diameter for pressure readings, neck thickness, expanded neck size, and on and on, and not do the caliber-specific gauge thingie.

If cost is a biggie, just get one of the plastic dial mic's from Lee, RCBS, Dillon, etc. They are quite accurate for the cost, but if you bite the bullet once, you'll have a SS set that will last for life. You can even buy a cheap Chinese dial caliper for about $25 if you want to go that route. General offers one at most hardware stores for about that price, and they'd be much better than any sheetmetal gauge.

I purchased a 4" Mitutoyo SS dial caliper in 1975, and still use it every day, even though I've got regular mic's up to 4", and a Mituyoyo 4" digital that reads out to .0001".

If you want to reload forever, get a good dial caliper and be done with it. You'll be amazed at how many things you'll use it for on the reloading bench.

As for a case trimmer, I use and very much prefer the Forester, as it will also do primer pocket reaming/cleaning, trimming, inside neck reaming, outside neck turning, and will last a lifetime. Just my .02.

I have the Lee trimmer and have had it for > 20 years. What I’ll do when I get to the point were I need to trim the 204 is either take a 22 pilot to a machine shop with a case that has be resized and have them turn it down I bet someone would do it for $10, or chuck it in a drill and use a file and sandpaper to get it down to the right size.

I picked this up at the local Harbor Freight Tools for I think it was $15. Six inch digital calipers.

Glen
Don't forget to tell everybody it comes with a extra battery A new guy at work picked up the same set,And I got to admit,They're not bad.Deburr the sharp edges on the jaws and they're good to go!! You will see that exact caliper with different names on it for $50 and up .


Rugerdogdog
The hole in the blade on the lee trimmer is about .210.Thats why the 222 rem mag CAN'T be turned down to .204. I was going to do the same thing about a year ago.

I agree totally with whistlepig. A trimmer that uses a collet is just not repeatable and will trim brass to varying lengths. I've noticed this big time trimming 204 brass that had different case head diameters.

I ended up buying a Hornady trimmer. Much more accurate than a collet trimmer as it indexs off the case head rim. Downside is you need to buy seperate shellholders for each head diameter.

You're right Hawkeye!! It does come with a spare battery. Maybe one of these days I'll find a machine shop to check it for me. There must have been 100 of those in that box that day. Plus 4" & 8"'ers there too. I have seen the exact same ones for considerably more.

I just bought the basic Wilson case trimmer. It cost about $30 and another $7 for a case holder for the 204 (you may actually need 2 holders if you trim new brass AND once fired). It's a neat little unit and you can add more accessories to make it even easier to use if you want to later.

For the level of precision, ease of use and price you pay, it's a great buy.

Brian

Thanks for the info guys. Glen its funny you post that pic! I do in fact have that very caliper. I really miss Harbor Freight since moving out to the sticks. The spare battery is nice but how long has everybodys 1st batt. lasted? I've had mine not quite a year and the 1st batt. is dieing. I probably only use it about 30 mins. a month total. Then again, the display has been flashing for a couple months too.
Hawkeye That makes sense. I figured there had to be a reason Lee wouldnt make what I could make.
jo191145Are you familiar, will the new pilots you can buy from Hornady fit the older trimmer? There is a good deal on ebay but its smallest pilot is .224.
30 bucks for the L.E Wilson is a good deal. I just didnt know if it was a good idea because it is SO much cheaper than the RCBS, Lyman..etc.

My bad
The Hornady trimmer uses standard shellholders. No idea how I forgot that except I've had it set up exclusively for 204 since I got it.

Sorry I have no idea if Hornady has changed thier pilot style. Thier trimmer will come with a set of standard pilots but not a .204. Redding and Forster pilots are compatable with the Hornady. I believe my .204 pilot is a Forster unit.

As a note Midway advertises the Hornady as a micrometer die. It is not. While it is finely adjustable there is no micrometer on it like a mirometer die.

I do not own any Wilson reloading equipment yet. All top of the line benchrest quality stuff with an excellent reputation. I think what put me off originally was the added cost of the bench stand and different shellholders. That and the fact I had planned on sending back my Forster collet trimmer to Midway once the Hornady arrived and I was satisfied it was more accurate. I made a neck turner out of the Forster instead of sending it back.

Rugerdogdog Going back to your original post. For a caliber specific 204 trimmer at the cheapest cost with excellent accuracy I would suggest a Redding trim die. $21.99 at Midway.
Very good consistency in trim length that even the Hornady would have a hard time competeing with. Basically its just a die body that the case mouth protrudes from. Simply put the die in your press and file the brass off flat with the top of the die. Use a fine flat file. DO NOT USE A STONE A stone will remove die metal whereas a file does not.
There is one downside. Your brass must reach the length where it will protrude from the top of the die. It is possible to remove metal from the bottom of the die or shellholder to shorten it but care must be taken to assure your not bumping the shoulder back excessively in doing so.

jo191145 wrote:My bad
The Hornady trimmer uses standard shellholders. No idea how I forgot that except I've had it set up exclusively for 204 since I got it.

Actually, the Hornady trimmer that I purchased 6 months ago, ONLY uses Hornady brand shell holders. The center hole in the Hornady brand are larger than all other brands.

But, you can drill all of the other brands to the correct size....but you will need a good drill press and drill press mounted vice.

Wow I'm losing it folks. acloco is absolutely correct and I thank him. It seems the 308 shellholder I've been using in my press is actually a Hornady shellholder.
I do not even remember ordering it but I must have.
I pulled the shellholder out of a used RCBS press that I have yet to set up and sure enough it will not fit in the Hornady trimmer.

I now officially retract my retraction and return you to your regulary scheduled programming whilst I slink away to reorganize and conduct inventory contol measures on my reloading bench

jo191145--You don't really need a bench stand for the Wilson trimmer if you have a vise on your bench. I just place the base of my Wilson case trimmer in my vise, tighten the jaws up and WA-LA!! I am a happy case trimmer.

While I would like to have one of the micrometer adjustments on my Wilson trimmer, I have been making do without it. I did buy another used Wilson case trimmer and now I leave one set up for my .17 Remington casings and the other one is set up for my .204 Ruger casings. When I need to trim 22-250 casings, I may look for another used Wilson case trimmer and set that one up for my 22-250 case trimming needs.

jo191145 wrote:Wow I'm losing it folks. acloco is absolutely correct and I thank him. It seems the 308 shellholder I've been using in my press is actually a Hornady shellholder.
I do not even remember ordering it but I must have.
I pulled the shellholder out of a used RCBS press that I have yet to set up and sure enough it will not fit in the Hornady trimmer.

I now officially retract my retraction and return you to your regulary scheduled programming whilst I slink away to reorganize and conduct inventory contol measures on my reloading bench

Trust me, I was one P.O.'d son of a gun...new trimmer and could not use it. Me, a shell holder or two, a drill press and a vice fixed that up. Trick is to put the drill on the slowest speed and use lots of lubricating oil. The shell holders are hardened. Used a gold coated bit, standard HSS would not touch them.