Trimming Lots of Straight Walled Cases

M

mososodbob

New member
All,

First, I know that many do not trim handgun brass. I don't do my .45 ACP and have been fine for many, many thousands of very accurate rounds.

Having said that, I now have a large quantity (approx 3k) of once fired .38 SPL cases that I need to trim back 10-20 thou so it will 100% fit/feed in my SW Mod 52. That pistol shoots WC ammo loaded flush to the case mouth. The batch of Winchester brass I have is over max after just once firing. I was experiencing failure to feed when loaded with the near max length rounds. The 52 is a very finicky pistol.

I currently have a Dillon RT1200 that I have used to process similarly large quantity of .223, 308, 30/06 brass. Up until now I had no need to trim pistol calibers...save a few long range .44 mag rounds. I used my Foster tool for that...

Given the large quantity of brass I need to process, I like to use my progressive press and the RT1200 trimmer. I now noticed my gear, like me, has aged. Dillion no longer supports the RT1200 trimmer nor carries pistol caliber trim dies for their RT1500.

Anyone out there know of a trim die in .38 SPL for that trimmer.

I have a power drill adapter for my Foster tool...still think that will be butt ass slow for 3k pieces of brass.
 
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Congratulations on the model 52, an excellent but finicky .38 Special target pistol. That's a lot of trimming to be done; do the cases expand that much when fired just one time in the 52 or are the cases from another gun? Never ran into that problem. Not familiar with the Dillon trimmer you mention so you may be stuck with using your Forster trimmer but will probably need to get a different collet from what you now have to accommodate the .38 Special rim. My only problem with the 52 has been broken ejectors that finally became available after a long dry spell. Have you tried getting other once fired .38 brass? Might be better than the trimming chore.

The collet for the .38 is indicated as a number 3. Pilot size is the number 35 (for .357/.38).

I mostly use Federal cases. Mixed headstamps can currently be obtained from www.oncefiredbrass.com for $15 per 250.
 
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Can't help with a tool suggestion, but...

There's only one way to eat an elephant, that's ne bite at a time. Trim as many at each sitting as you feel comfortable doing. If it's only 50, fine. If it's 200, fine. If you try to do 1,000 at a time you prolly will hate it and never finish the other 2,000...:o
 
update

thanks for those who provided input...some added insight

I did some research and found only one vendor (recommended by Dillon) that makes trim dies for the Dillon RT series trimmer, CH4D. https://www.ch4d.com

Anyone with actual experiences with their trim dies?

How about the Lee Power Trimmer? http://www.titanreloading.com/quick-trim/lee-deluxe-power-quick-trim

Given the cost of the Ch4D dies is about the same as the Lee set-up, I may go with a new set of tools.

This will likely be a one time use tool/set-up. Once trimmed, I don;t think I will need to trim again. 3k of .38 SPL ammo will last me many matches and practice sessions.
 
I bought a ch trim die for 44 mag. Nice die but wouldn't trim the brass, the bit on rt1200 was just small enough not to completely trim all round the case. In order for the trimmer to reach the brass you will NEED to buy a milled tool head. Dillon sells one, I bought mine from whiddon gun works.
 
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