anyone have an opinion on the Hornady 3n1 trimmer

[BrassMonkey01]

kind of like the Henderson but a bit cheaper

 

[Rob01]

Buddy of mine has one and loves it. Definitely worth a try if you were in the market.

Oh and prepare for the crying from the Henderson owners lol

 

[lance_trotti]

I have one. Its very nicely made. Its my first electric tri way trimmer so i cant compare it to anything else.

 

[BrassMonkey01]

I have one. Its very nicely made.

so it seems like it will hold up to long term use ,

 

[Court178]

I bought one a few months ago. Have used it for about 150-200 cases. Previously I used the LE Wilson case trimmer but wanted to automate the process a little bit. I can do it easily at the end of a day of shooting in about 10 minutes. The trimmer is very consistent on the cut length. When using it the cutters do seem to chatter or squeal just a little. Other than that the Hornady seems to be quality built and should last a long time.

 

[fisherman987]

I have both and here is what I've observed thus far.

Henderson

1. Very well made, very reliable, and very fast efficient way to trim brass.
2. Makes a beautiful consistent cut on case neck
3. Changing between calibers is a bit of a process unless you buy separate cutters for each caliber that are already setup. This costs more money, but works well and is fairly quick and easy.
4. Adjusting trim length requires using a wrench and an allen wrench which takes a little trial and error, but once it is set, you can remove it and change it for another and the setting will stay in place.
5. Motor is very strong and speed is adjustable.
6. Customer service is fantastic, and the owner is small business entrepreneur who came up with the idea himself and built the company from scratch.

Hornady

1. Also very well made. It appears Hornady took the Henderson and attempted to make a couple of design improvements and sell it cheaper.
2. Also makes a very consistent beautiful cut on case neck.
3. Overall, slightly smaller in size.
4. Motor is smaller and speed is fixed, but seems to work well.
5. Comes with one cutter housing and a set of pilots that are cut in such a way that there is no guess work or adjustment needed when switching calibers.
6. Instead of using Allen screws for adjusting case trim length, Hornady has built a bridge between the guide rods with an adjustment knob which is a little easier, but has to be completely reset every time you switch calibers.
7. Like the Henderson, it uses collets in the handle to grip the bullet base. I've found the Hornady collets don't seem to work as well as the Henderson and are more finicky and can lose their grip and alignment if you're not careful, but it could just take getting use to.
8. Comes already set up with brass shavings catcher, cover, and plastic bin to catch the brass after trimming.

To summarize, I like both of these units probably because the Hornady was obviously a slightly different take on the original Henderson design. If cost is your top priority, then the Hornady would win out. Otherwise, you'll need to decide for yourself which set of features you like overall. I'm still on the fence myself. Both are excellent and a pleasure to use.

 

[BrassMonkey01]

how hard or easy is it to change calibers on the Hornady , are the blades difficult to adjust,

 

[fisherman987]

how hard or easy is it to change calibers on the Hornady , are the blades difficult to adjust,

No it's a piece of cake. The pilots are machined so you seat the blades in the notches and that sets the distance and angle. Every caliber is individually machined to set the blades for that specific caliber. It also seems to work with turned necks or unturned.

 

[BrassMonkey01]

Thanks for all the input on this,