Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles 223 brass trimming.

Just purchased my first 223 S/A, I am following the other threads for tips, but I need to figure out the best way to trim volume of brass for it. I have a Forster and an RCBS case trimmer already, what are yous guys using?

I have an RCBS power trimmer with their 3-way cutting heads.

There is probably a method, or adapter, to put a cordless drill on one of your manual trimmers.

I have a Giraud that is awesome except for one thing. Holding the brass in the trimmer is tough on my delicate hands.

I'd buy a Henderson if starting over.

Dillon 1500….. works for me

high volume trimming especially with smaller cases this is checker...

Yep, I use this one on the same setup you have

https://www.dacamreloading.com/cube/rcbs-power-adapter.html

RCBS makes this one

https://www.rcbs.com/case-processing/accessories/power-drill-converter/16-98930.html

Both are much cheaper than a new trimmer. Also would recommend the 3 way cutters as they work very well.

How often- as in how many firings do you guys find you need to trim brass? I'm only on two or three firings on most of my 223 brass and some of it is still virgin brass, but haven't noticed enough movement yet to trim brass.. hoping my 223 AI won't need it any more often than the parent cases but time will tell...

At MOST,I trim 223 once during it's life cycle. Bushing dies less an expander ball and Lapooey Virgins for me. Hint.

Cerrosafe anwers alotta questions and nips things nicely. Hint.

I can't remember the last time I trimmed a 223AI case. Hint...............

.223 is one of the few cartridge that the RCBS X dies are still available for. That has been my solution since they came out. I trim once then never again. Some of my brass has been fired 12-15 times in an A/R, some upwards of 20 times in a bolt gun. Nope, not sure where that brass goes with the X die but wherever it goes it is not causing me any problems, the 700 varmint is shooting roughly quarter inch groups with the 60 grain Hornadys and the AR is around half inch with a couple loads, sub MOA with many.

For other cartridges, and with the first trim on .223, I mostly use lee's trimmer chucked in a cordless drill. I've been tempted to upgrade to an RCBS power trimmer but since this is good enough for my volume it's hard to justify taking up bench space.

The biggest thing I'd suggest so far as minimizing trimming is to brush the case necks first to get rid of the powder / primer residue .. I've gotten sloppy at times and it turns brass prep from easy into quite a bit of work.

I crank the handle on a Hornady Trimmer. Kind of slow, but it works well.

Thanks for the replies....Good to know the brass doesn't need excess trimming.
I may just continue with my current method (drill on hand trimmer) or......I am curious about the Lee Deluxe power quick trim with the appropriate quick trim die for 223....seems reasonable for price, well under 100 bucks. I only need it for the 223.

Lee doesn't make a single fhuqking thing,which isn't a steaming pile of fhuqking schit. Hint.

"Brass" and "volume" don't connect ANY dots. Are you trying to "swoon" floor swepped schit from a "range"? Details fhuqking matter. Hint.

Again,Cerrosfae is your friend,so you KNOW what in the fhuqk you are dealing with. Hint.

Thank me later.

Just saying.

Hint.................

Do you FL resize or do you neck size?

I avoid trimming frequency by using a Lee collet neck sizer.





P

Yes range brass, my buddy has a 5 gallon pail of it out of his rifles, that is why the Lee trimmer looked pretty good because then it is all exactly the same, chamfered inside and out. Thanks lol.

I partial full length size most brass for a variety of cartridges, but haven't reloaded for the 223 yet, just looking for the most efficient way to trim a 5 gallon pail or more brass.

I have to use the SB dies for my semi autos. I have four AR rifles and three are Varminter and one is the 20” barrel open sights. The other Full Length dies I have don’t seem to cycle like they need to. When I trim, I use the Hornady manual trimmer and do just fine with it. I would love to have something electric, but I’m not there yet. I do see the advantage it has, but I only do about 200 at a time and can keep up easily. I tell myself that I’m better off spending the money on the expensive 69 grain bullets over the equipment. I trim to 1.742 if that means anything. Trimming is a must if you plan on crimping and it helps if all are on the knats ass. It’s such a big sizing of the brass when using the SB dies that I expect to only get about 4 loads per piece before they are used up.

For my S/A or short action 223 rifle, I bump the shoulder and use the equipment and methods I mentioned for the semi auto or S/A rifles. I get an unknown amount of reloads out of those. I’m on 12 loads with some of my brass and showing no caution signs.

If your goal is to trim and prep a chit ton of brass like 5 gallons at a time, I would say you’re better off with something electric.

As Stick noted, the .223 AI is the easy button for saving trim-time.

If you don't want to go that way, an electrically-powered trimmer where you push the case neck/shoulder into the trimmer is fastest. Traditional trimmers where every case has to be inserted into a rim-holder are the slowest--even if electric.

Floor sweep Brokedicktitude ain't my jam,but it's funnier than fhuqk to read about. Hint.

Fhuqking LAUGHING!................

Forster trimmer, power adapter and an electric drill. It goes pretty fast.

Little Crow WFT

I use the little crow as well.... works good enough for me.

Heck Stumpy, you're drunk most the time... you can't even remember what you had for breakfast or the last time you choked your chicken in the outhouse, and left the front door open.... for the world to see and laugh about...

Easy on Johnny one note. Lol.
He's a real hard charger.
It's a struggle, balancing getting the last word in to befoul every post with countless cut and past out of the endless files on us all, and virtual long range shooting competitions, "winning" with BC, OAL, and BS

Thanks for the idea's, I looked at all of the ones suggested.

I may just put a drill on my Forster trimmer for now, my RCBS hand trimmer has a real poor cutting head and I'm not sure about spending any $$$ on the RCBS.

Money spent on a good trimmer is money well spent.

Dirt cheap get er done option, for those with a case prep station: Lee 223 case length gauge and cutter, plus Lee 8-32 thread cutter adapter.

Slower than other options, as you are only trimming at the rpm of a case prep station, but it will get your brass trimmed for about 13 or 14 bucks.

I have a couple of the Little Crow WFTs and they work very well. If doing it over I'd buy a Giraud Tri Way for high volume brass trimming.

The Little Crow WFTs work very well, and so does the Giraud with the Tri-Way cutter.

Might also mention that the Tri-Way also fits in the similar Gracey trimmer. Discovered that after getting a really good deal on a used Gracey a few years ago.

Yep, works here.

Loading 223 in volume is what caused me to buy a Giraud. Yeah, its expensive. I can trim 15-16 cases per minute at a sustained rate and maintain .001 tolerance. It can be a little hard on the fingers but a rubber glove helps that a lot.

The Henderson looks interesting but I had the Giraud before the Henderson came out and I won't be changing.

I chuck a Crow WFT into my drill press and I rarely spend more than 5 seconds on each piece. Although, I have to chuck up the chamfer tool to get rid of the ridge inside of the case after trimming it in the WFT. I have another tool that eliminates the ridge on the outside of the case. I also chuck it up in the drill press as well. I did buy one of the RCBS hand crank trimmers recently. They aren't perfect but they work well enough on several types and sizes of cases.

kwg

For the 223 and the Blacky used in the AR I use the worlds cheapest trimmer.

http://www.newhighpower.com/brass-trimmers.html

For 223 getting the chamfer done at the same time is such a timesaver, it makes the tri way worth it if you do any volume.

I really like the worlds cheapest trimmer for other cases that aren’t as high volume. It’s just another step to chamfer but the trimmers are pretty sweet for $20.

I use a Wilson.
It's slow, but I'm never in a hurry

Trimming...actually the lack of....is THE reason I love the .223AI for large volume shooting. Low recoil, small powder charge, choice/availability of projectiles and brass, efficiency, accuracy, barrel life....I like all those things. I love less trimming.