SmallCaliberCentral

Hello gents, what are you guys using to trim your .204 brass back to size. for my .243&.308 i am using one of the Lee hand trimmers but cant find one for the .204

regards....neil

i am currently using a Lyman Universal trimmer. Its a descent tool for the money and trims accurately as long as you make sure the adjustment set screws are snug.

Using my old RCBS, hand turned trimmer. Just had to get a .20 cal pilot is all, to make it do the job, as it does on all my cases, from .20 to .375.. Have had this old trimmer since about 1960.. Bill K

Ran in to the same problem you did. I like the Lee trimmer, so I found a Lee in a caliber that was close enough in diameter with a long enough shank and turned it down to fit the .204. Honed the pin down so I get case length of 2.840". Can't remember the caliber I used....sorry.

L.E. Wilson trimmer in a Sinclair stand w/Sharkfin hold down. Was using the RCBS until about three years ago. I like the fact that the Wilson is "collet-free". This makes it easy to set the length with a pair of calipers, dead on.

I second the Wilson trimmer. Relatively inexpensive when compared to others and the case holder works great. I went through 50 cases in just a few minutes. Smooth and accurate.

Wow, im going to have to get a wilson trimmer, resonable price and a heck of alot faster than my redding trim die, and it sounds like its just as accurate.

I use a Dillon Case Trimmer for all of mine.

Pretty sure if you trim unsized, a 22cal pilot should work, a few thou difference between sized and not won't a big difference. A guy could expirement with the trim length then resize.

I turned a .222 rem mag Lee pin (mandrel) down to work with the the .204... word of caution: You may run into trouble if the cutter's hole is ever so slightly too big, causing the case to sneak between the mandrel and the I.D. of hole of the cutter into which it is screwed. I had several cutters on hand, and onel happend to be ok on this.

There is at least one thread here, and also on thefiringline.com about doing this.

I prefer the Lee over all others (yes, I have a Wilson, CH4D, and Forster and use them all) but because of the cutter dimension (I.D. of the hole) they can't make it work for .20 unless they re-tool. I sure hope they do!!

Just to clarify: The Wilson trimmer does NOT use a pilot/mandrel. Therefore, the cutter does NOT have a hole in the center of the cutter face. The cutter flutes go small enough to trim 20 caliber cases, even though they do sell a 17/20 caliber replacement cutter.

thanks for all the replies gents , i was thinking of getting a .222rem mag and reducing down the diameter ...except the .222 rem mag mandrils are as rare as rocking horse s**t , might do the same with a 22-250 .

i will keep you all updated

I had the same problem finding the center guide so I took the 22 cal center
that came with my lee trimmer and placed it in a drill and sanded it down to fit the 204. works great!
It was easy to do. Hope this helps.
Mack

I use a Forster that I've had since 1968. Works great with all the calibers I load.

..I should say that though I prefer the Lee, the Wilson and Forster are very, very good. Your life will not change for the better or worse with any of 'em!!