Trimming Pistol Brass - Again

Probably more or less pointless for most of us, but ...

I've got a bunch of old 38 Special brass that varies between 1.132 and 1.158 in length. For reference, some new Starline I have is 1.145.

Sorting this brass into batches with a .010 spread, still gives me varying crimps, and 3 batches to keep separate.

The Wilson trimmer setup has been mentioned before (by me), but the need for an arbor press to push the cases in and out of a holder is an extra expense and time sink.

I stumbled across the Lee Quick Trim a couple months ago, and finally got to try it out. It took almost that long to get after UPS sent the package back to Graf's because we got locked down out here and the shipping address was a 'non essential business'.

It's not 'fast', especially because I'm trimming a fair amount off some of them, but it's got to be better in that regard than the Wilson setup. And the price is fairly reasonable for the hand crank version I got. I don't plan on trimming these ever again, so both were favorable to me.

It only requires a standard press. And it holds plus or minus a thou if you keep the chips off the shell holder. I've already done several hundred, and my back isn't killing me even though the press is mounted on a bench that's way too low. It's all I have here now so I don't have much choice.

At it's shortest, it cuts to 1.135. That got me thru about half my brass. I'm going to shorten the collet insert .010 for the rest. So 2 batches of cases to deal with, until I get fed up with that and trim them all to 1.125, or trash them.

With the Starline at 1.145, my 3 die spacers at .010 increments work out nicely.

Dont forget, chamfer and deburring after trimming.

I don't trim pistol brass, but when I do trim rifle brass, I use the lee pilot.   The shell holder chucks in a (small battery) drill, the  the cutter and pilot are hand held.  Inside and outside chamfer is easy while its still in the drill.

I welded a bolt across the top of the cutter to make it a T so its easier to hang on to. 

http://reloadboss.com/how-to-use-lee-case-trimmer/

David

SAMMI spec. 1.155 (-.020)  for revolver?  Semi-auto headspaces on the case mouth so would that large a variation cause issues?

.38Spl. headspaces on the rim I believe.

Thanks for the correction....I forgot .38 Sp. is rimmed.

WesG is concerned with a consistent crimp.

David

.38spl is a trickier animal that .45acp.

I wont criticize the practice of keeping the brass the same length in .38spl

WesG is a rifle shooter and a little off in the head

At least he wasn't talking about re-cutting the primer pockets or reaming the flash holes....oh crud that's what I do for my 52!!  

'A little' ?

John is being a bit more conservative than usual.

I kinda figure, since the general consensus is 38's shoot just as well in a 357 chamber as 357 brass, 20 or 30 trimmed off these isn't gonna hurt anything. And there ain't much else to do out here in the woods right now.

Call ch tool and die. They make a Dillon type power trimmer die for 38 spl. Requires an extended shell holder. Power Trim with either Dillon power trimmer or Honey Badger power case trimmer which uses Bosch Router as power source. I mount this all in a RCBS RC due to the need to use an extended shell holder.- if it didn’t I would put the power trimmer (have both) in a CP2000. Excavate chips with a Dillon trimmer manifold via shop vac.

why do you need a arbor press?
I trim 38 cases for my 52 with a Wllson and never needed one.

I use a rcbs rock chucker, it’s single stage press, not an arbor press. Even when I shoot benchrest with a rifle, I use either the Bonanza B2, RCBS or a Redding T7. I find for me, the arbor press is a waste of time, especially if I am shooting mid or long range.

Was asking why you need a arbor press to trim brass with a Wilson.
You dont need a press either.

That's what Wilson shows for straight pistol cases. Seems to me they used to have a setup for short cases that used a wedge driven thru the holder to hold the case in. Maybe they dropped that and went with the press in/out of a tight die.

The wedge is all i've ever used and had it over 15 years.
Its all they currently show When I looked for another caliber.
That's why I was asking.

https://lewilson.com/pistol-holders

That's what I found when I looked. Didnt scroll down far enough I guess. A bit cheaper if you've already got an arbor press.

Nice that they still have the wedge type. Not that it would have helped me, as my trimmer is a bit out of reach right now.