SmallCaliberCentral

I want to get a case trimmer and would like some recommendations. Which ones do a good job at a reasonable price? Thanks in advance.

l e wilson.enough said

Lee - very cheap for hand held job. Then add a zip trim, or electric screwdriver, if you get sick of doing it by hand.
Only problem is they don't make a length gauge for .204
They can make one for you if you send a sample case (already trimmed to your desired length)
I bought one length gauge for .223 because the shell holder fits .204, then bought one for 22-250 and bought the diameter down to suit. Also needed to take a little off the tapered section.
Took a little work but gets the job done well.
May be easier to get another brand that accommodates for 204 already, but these are CHEAP and if you have only one case already the right length, might be worth sending it in - see what they come up with. They might start churning them out for the rest of us

My vote would go to the Forester trimmer. Mine has worked flawlessly for over 30+ years, and with the added ability to also do outside neck turning, neck reaming, hollow-pointing, and simple trimming among other tasks, it's the ticket for what I do, and I do alot of handloading.

Set up for outside neck turning on some R-P .17 Mach IV cases:



This unit also accepts a power screwdriver or drill if you feel more speed is required. The neck turning attachment turns necks to .0003" consistency.....good enough for the rats I shoot.

I have to 2nd the Forster case trimmer. Darn good trimmer for th emoney and it will do other tasks.


BTW Rick, how does it do on the neck turning?

L.E. Wilson Love mine and it trims SQUARE to the case.

the foster looks the same as the l e wilson and i bow to the outher guys knowledge. knowing me its the same thing but cheaper

Predator1 wrote:BTW Rick, how does it do on the neck turning?

It does what it's supposed to do, and much less tiring on the hands than the hand-held units I've tried and quit using. I check random cases for consistency, and find it usually is accurate in neck thickness to about .0003" to .0005", which is as accurate as anything I've tried over the years. I usually neck turn in lots of 100 cases; the hand-held units would kill you for that kind of work. I had to use a tubing mic to find the spread above, as a three decimal digital caliper shows no difference case-to-case.

When neck turning, about every tenth case, I smear on just a tad of Imperial Sizing Wax on the neck mandrel with a Q-Tip, and cases come out perfect every time with minimal effort.

Never had a problem with trimming square to the case either. Be aware that the Wilson trimmer requires a case holder for every caliber case, one for new and one for fired cases. Excellent unit, just not for me.

RIO-
My Wilson case holders work on my new and fired brass.

I just found out my sons are getting me an RCBS trimmer for Christmas. Does anyone have any experience with one of those?

I do have, and use an RCBS trimmer, the Trim Pro model. For me, anyway, I am very happy with it. The first trimmer I bought was a Lyman. What I did not like, was the shell holder. About 3 years ago I did add the power unit for the RCBS trimmer, and use the 3 way cutters with it, which if set up right, trims the case and chamfers inside and outside of your cases, all at the same time. I am not saying this is the set up for everyone, but really saves me a lot of time and hand work, and I am very satisfied with it.
JMHO

futuretrades wrote:I do have, and use an RCBS trimmer, the Trim Pro model. For me, anyway, I am very happy with it. The first trimmer I bought was a Lyman. What I did not like, was the shell holder. About 3 years ago I did add the power unit for the RCBS trimmer, and use the 3 way cutters with it, which if set up right, trims the case and chamfers inside and outside of your cases, all at the same time. I am not saying this is the set up for everyone, but really saves me a lot of time and hand work, and I am very satisfied with it.
JMHO

+1 The 3 way cutters are a bit tricky to set up (the 1st one is), but they are terrific time and hand savers. Mine seem to cut very square mouths

I've been having a great time playing with my Christmas present, trimming 204 and 300WSM cases. I would highly recommend the RCBS Trim Pro to anyone interested in getting a case trimmer. It's easy to set up, holds the trim length right to the thousandth all the way through the run, and the case mouth is trimmed dead square. It will be interesting to see if my groups shrink using this brass. I hope everyone had a great Christmas.

glad you like your new christmas gift,nice to have a new toy.just for the record tho my wilson trims fired and sized brass hope it helps.

If you want a hand-held case trimmer that is simple to use like the Lee case trimmer and won't require fooling around with modifications to make it work for 204 Ruger cases, then get a Possum Hollow Kwick Case Trimmer 17/222/222MAG/223. Works great for 204 Ruger case trimming and won't break the bank.