Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles opinions on Lee Case trimmer?

I have a forester but its always a pain in the neck when you go back and forth between several cartridges. The lee system with the set case gauge if you just buy 3 complete sets of case guage's and trimmers I thought might be a good idea? Anyone use the lee trimmer? I was going to get 4 case length guages, 4 cutters with the ball grip and one of the cutters with lock stud to put in the drill.

They work quite well. The advantages are speed and relatively low cost per caliber. The disadvantages are that if you load many calibers it can get pricey, Lee doesn't make them for oddball calibers, and you are limited to a preset case length. The case length gauge is easy to screw into the cutter and each case length gauge comes with a shell holder. Each cutter comes with a lock stud. I have two cutters, because I misplaced the first one and only found it after buying a second. They work well in a cordless drill.

I just have one cutter and change the length gauges in it. Also use the holder for the drill and while in the drill, Inside and outside champfer, then use a small piece of scotchbrite pad that puts a dull but clean finish on the brass. Quick and easy. miles

I do the chamfer also, but I usually run the cases through a tumbler before sizing for cleaning instead of using the Scotchbrite. I also use the universal shell holder. It is faster than the individual shell holders.

This is exactly as I do it, and have been for years. Works great.....I finally bought a new cutter last, the one mounted on the wood ball, as it's easier to hang onto. My old cutter is fine, but my fingers appreciate the new one.

All I use..

Never heard of one before. I will look into it. miles

Lee Zip Shell holder

It also requires an adapter for a drill. It was designed for their Zip Trim.

Lee will make them for pretty much any caliber from there custom shop, its still cheap and takes a couple of weeks.

They will, but won't make anything under .22 caliber. I intend to have one made for my .30 Herrett. I keep a Lyman trimmer for the oddball stuff that I don't have a pilot for.

This is what I do too. Quick, easy and very consistent lengths. My other conventional trimmers gather dust.

Thanks, just ordered one. Both pieces. miles

Lee and a cordless drill has made the trimming process less mundane.

It would take me a while to locate my Lyman Universal trimmer. It is in a box somewhere in a cabinet. Wish it was bigger so I could use it as a boat anchor.

thanks all, just bought 223, 257 and 308 length gauge and cutters plus the lock thingy to put in the drill from Lee!

One case length gauge can work for several in a family of rounds, allowing you to avoid the wait for a custom one for some of the oddballs.

Example: .257 Roberts, 6.5x57, 7x57, 8x57, 9x57, 9.3x57, and .375 2 1/4

I have never had to trim my .264 but I plan to use a 25-06 gauge. miles

It's all I use.

I have to agree with most everything said. If you want to trim shorter than Lee set it up for, you can polish a little off of the gauge. I also modified a 35 Remington to trim 357 Herrett cases. It seems like the cutter gets dull quicker than you would expect, but I feel that way with most case trimmers.I wish someone made a carbide cutter for the Lee.

The Lee trim system works pretty well, and is remarkably flexible.

The original case holder system wore blisters on my thumb and fingers quickly. I substituted the case holder made by K&M and it works pretty well.
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The handle shown in the image can be replaced with a powered screw driver or a drill. The K&M tool uses Lee priming tool case holders. Perhaps the Lee Universal 3-jaw chuck case holder with the Lee case spinner spindle would be a good substitute for the K&M setup, but it was introduced years after I had the K&M.

The Lee length gauge generally sets the case length at the maximum. As noted above, taking a tiny bit of length off the tip of the Lee gauge pin allows a shorter trim length, which reloading manuals often specify.

An example of Lee flexibility: I needed to trim some 450 Bushmaster cases. There is no Lee length gauge listed for that case, altho Lee will make most any gauge if you've got the cash. The Lee gauge for the 222 Rem is the correct length. I made a washer to fit on the 222 gauge, with the outside diameter filed to fit inside the 450 case mouth. The washer keeps the case mouth centered on the cutter blades during the trim process.

Lee's system is so good that Lyman recently has begun marketing a clone: [color:#0000FF]E-ZEE TRIM Hand Case Trimmer[/color]

--Bob

K&M user here too.

It uses Lee shell holders. It's always nice when the manufacturer of a piece of equipment designs it so that it can use common readily available parts or accessories, instead of making you pay a premium for their proprietary version.

Paul