Giraud Tri-Way trimmer

[JBowen]

Has anyone use one of these Trimmers? Supposed to trim, and inside & outside chamfer in one function. I currently use the Lee
Trim system and it sure does get old when you set down to prep a bunch of .223 brass. Any feedback would be appreciated.
https://giraudtool.com/giraud-tri-way-trimmer.html

Thanks,
JBowen

[GunnyMack]

I have one of the Old Crow( I think...) for 308. After I bought 4000 7.62 peices of brass and found that military 7.62s are REALLY HARD on brass, some were .035" or more long and there was no way in hades I was trimming all that with my case trimmer!
Anyhow, the trimmer I have is put in a drill press and you just stick the case in and it trims to the datum of the shoulder and it's exactly the same every time!
I think I've got close to 3000 loaded for a rainy day.

[JBowen]

Gunny, I was looking at the Little Crow trimmer, but it says you still have to inside chamfer. Have you found that to be the case?

JBowen

[GunnyMack]

Yes, still have to chamfer. BUT the fact that the trimming is a real breeze I can deal with the chamfering.

It wasn't long after I bought the Hornady case prep center, it will trim( s-l-o-w-l-y), inside/outside, clean de-crimp primer pockets so the chamfer is a bit easier.

Last time I used the case prep center I flipped the switch and heard a clunk and nothing was turning. I took the cover plate off and found that a plastic gear broke. I contacted Hornady and they sent me a complete set of gears... I gotta put that back together one of these days!

[Griff]

I have two manual RCBS trimmers, which if I have over dozen or so cases to trim, I chuck up my hand held drill and go to town. I also have an electric RCBS Case Prep station, which can trim, but, without any method of repeatability, I only use it to chamfer case mouths and brush out primer pockets, if needed.

[Bronco]

I have a RCBS trimmer and bought the RCBS 3 way cutter. Adjust ,if changed to different cartridge, put the hand drill on and go to town. Cuts length, inside and out .

[GunnyMack]

Just looked at the RCBS site, talk about lacking information about the 3 way! Would be nice to read more than just a basic explanation for how it works. ( I understand how it works just fine) someone new to reloading might not get it.
Be nice to know what the thread pitch is and if it would work on my Hornady case prep - I'm sure it won't but give some info!?

[JBowen]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I will see if I can research the RCBS 3 way cutter as well.

JBowen

[ywaltzucanrknrl]

I have a Giraud and also a Gracey. The Gracey is set up only to do 223. They are both similar, but the Giraud is more flexible and easy to set up for different cartridges. The Gracey is hard to set up, so I leave it for only one cartridge.

Depending on what you want to trim, the Giraud is a very good trimmer. I'll come home on my lunch hour and trim 300+ cases in less than an hour. They are trimmed to length, inside and outside chamfered in one step and it's quick and the result is good.

The folks that make them are very good with orders and help, they will even make suggestions that will save you money on the bushings if you load different cartridges of the same family-----308 family, 30-06 family.....

If you trim a lot and only do one cartridge, the Gracey is a less expensive way to go and still very fast. If you want to trim multiple cartridges, the Giraud is better.

I've never trimmed a straight walled case with either of them, but 30-30 and 30-40 I do frequently and it's works great for them.

[JBowen]

I have a Giraud and also a Gracey. The Gracey is set up only to do 223. They are both similar, but the Giraud is more flexible and easy to set up for different cartridges. The Gracey is hard to set up, so I leave it for only one cartridge.

Depending on what you want to trim, the Giraud is a very good trimmer. I'll come home on my lunch hour and trim 300+ cases in less than an hour. They are trimmed to length, inside and outside chamfered in one step and it's quick and the result is good.

The folks that make them are very good with orders and help, they will even make suggestions that will save you money on the bushings if you load different cartridges of the same family-----308 family, 30-06 family.....

If you trim a lot and only do one cartridge, the Gracey is a less expensive way to go and still very fast. If you want to trim multiple cartridges, the Giraud is better.

I've never trimmed a straight walled case with either of them, but 30-30 and 30-40 I do frequently and it's works great for them.

Thank you for replying. Sounds like you are happy with your Giraud and it does what it is supposed to do. I will do some research on the Gracey as it may be all I need since the only thing I plan to do in larger volumes is 223.

Thanks,
JBowen

[Gunstore Commando]

The online manual says:

The preferred method of trimming using this tool is to orient the tool such that the case is pressed in to the tool using a straight downward or angled downward motion.

I'm having trouble understanding how to do that with a cordless drill as a power source. Can someone please clue me in?

[wolfdog]

I just sold a Giraud power timer with set up for .223, 300 BO, 6.5 Creedmoor, and 308. Seemed to work well but I do not shoot enough anymore to justify it.

[COSteve]

1st Question. How many high end precision commercial ammo makers use inside chamfered brass in their process? Answer. NONE. I called all of them to ask and have inspected their fired brass at our range which shows no signs of inside chamfering, none.

2nd Question. Can you produce precision shooting ammo without inside chamfered brass on a Dillon progressive press? Answer. Absolutely! My 68grn HPBT ammo I make produces 5/8", 5 shot groups at 100 yds with my son shooting his Savage GXP3 and Monarch 4-16x scope. (He's got much better eyes than I do.)

3rd Question. What is the easiest way to process your brass on a progressive press. Answer. Use a Dillon trimmer as part of the case prep cycle.

The Dillon trimmer, when used in conjunction with a progressive press and casefeeder means that you can simply lube your brass, then dump it in the casefeeder and crank the handle. What you end up with is a fully processed piece of brass read to tumble and reload; decapped, resized, and trimmed to length (only if it needs it) without you ever having to touch a single piece of brass.

The Dillon trimmer slightly chamfers the outside of the case at about 4°and the carbide cutter trims the case with a very clean edge. Sometimes you'll see a slight bit of brass 'fuzz' which is removed during the case lube removal tumble but that is not a fault of the trimmer but rather the fault of the operator as one need to pause a second with the trimmer down to let the any cutter do it's job.

I've used my Dillon trimmer on my 550, 650 and now 750 since 2006 when I started trimming rifle brass in bulk and I can honestly say that it's easy with a casefeeder on a progressive to fully process 1,000 pieces of brass in under 1 hour. I've processed 10s of thousands of pieces of .223/5.56, 30-30, .308 and 30-06 brass and the results with my Dillon trimmer are great.

If you also have a media separator if you dry tumble, you can further clean the lube off and dump the brass into your storage receptacle for future reloading or dump it back in the casefeeder for immediate reloading, again, without ever having to touch a single piece of brass.

Something to consider . . .

[JBowen]

COSteve, those Dillions sound like top notch equipment. If I was starting over and knew what I know now I probably invest in a
Dillion 750 or something. Thanks for the insight on it.

ywaltz.. I Googled those Gracey trimmers and it seems they have upgrded them to include drive motors and the prices started at
$399.

Thanks everyone for their input on trimmers. After surfing the net and YouTube, I found another option that is pretty fast and that is
the Lee Fast Trimmer with the adapter to use a drill or a battery powered screwdriver. So far I am torn between the Lee and the
Giraud, though I am still looking at all the options and I know you will get what you pay for.

JBowen