Chills1994 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I bought a Dillon 1200 trimmer. The Possum Hollow Cutter/Trimmer/Chamfer-er is great for what it is, and its price. It is just hard on my hands and fingers for an extended trimming session. Besides that, it just seems so inefficient to handle each piece of brass by hand multiple times, so that makes having the case feeder equipped 650, AWESOME!!! Yeah, having priced out the bulk imported .223 ammo at the gunshows...about $235 to $250 per thousand, it might not exactly be cheaper to go that route, but it certainly is hassle free and more convenient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiggerJJ Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Been trying to tell yall... I have 2 Dillon 1200 trimmers, one set up in 223 and the other in 308. I can do a FULL 5 gallon bucket in about 3 hours...I just hook up the vacuum, put on my ear muffs with my ipod ear buds underneath, and go to it! almost as fast as you can pull the handle; just do a "1 potato, 2 potato" when the handle is full down to get a complete, consistent trim. thats decap, size, swage, AND trim, all with one pull of the handle. clean the lube off the brass in your tumbler (also deburrs), inspect it if you want, then load it! Don't have to handle the brass at all, just run it thru my 1050. on a 650 you add the step of swaging the primer pocket by hand with mil brass, but still... I tried the "pencil sharpener" trimmers that require you to hold each piece of brass, and besides sever cramping of my fingers, its SLOW! jj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggdawg Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 i agree and am part way there, got my 1200 trimmer now saving up for the 1050 so i can make the swaging faster it takes me a little over an hour to trim and size 1100 cases on my lnl would be nice to have the crimp taken out in the same steps. Been trying to tell yall... I have 2 Dillon 1200 trimmers, one set up in 223 and the other in 308. I can do a FULL 5 gallon bucket in about 3 hours...I just hook up the vacuum, put on my ear muffs with my ipod ear buds underneath, and go to it! almost as fast as you can pull the handle; just do a "1 potato, 2 potato" when the handle is full down to get a complete, consistent trim. thats decap, size, swage, AND trim, all with one pull of the handle. clean the lube off the brass in your tumbler (also deburrs), inspect it if you want, then load it! Don't have to handle the brass at all, just run it thru my 1050. on a 650 you add the step of swaging the primer pocket by hand with mil brass, but still... I tried the "pencil sharpener" trimmers that require you to hold each piece of brass, and besides sever cramping of my fingers, its SLOW! jj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdknotts1 Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 I started shooting .223 last year and got setup with an inexpensive Possum Hollow trimmer and a deburring tool, both of which could be used with a power drill adapter. For small batches, it works pretty well even if it is boring as anything. For swaging, I bought a press mounted device. After about a hundred cases, I said "blow this" and got a Dillon swager - much better. Fast forward two months and I decide to go to a three day tactical rifle course to see just what I can do with this rifle and now I need 1200 rounds of ammo. Well, after about 200 cases, I said "blow this" and got a Dillon trimmer (thanks Brian for helping me get this so quick). After sizing, trimming, and swaging, I tumbled the brass and checked it and there was no need to deburr or champfer. Slow forward to this winter. Shooting is over and it's time to prep brass for the new year. I've got about 1500 ,223 cases on hand so I get started. Man, what a giant PITA it is, which gets me to thinking, for all the cost of used brass, tools, cleaning supplies, electricity, and time, is this really worth all the bother? My conclusion is that it probably isn't, unless you are making small volumes of match ammo with really high tolerances. In that case, a hand trimmer and deburr and champfer is justified (and no offense to Dillon, I would not use a Rapid Trim for that). I'm pretty sure that after this year, I'll likely sell my Dillon trimmer and just buy pre-processed brass. It's just so much easier for not that much more money. Still interested in sellin the Dillon Trimmer??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supreme135 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I trim 10K under which allows me to load 4-5 times. Midway makes a great tool to cut and debur Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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