Case Trimmers, Accuracy, and the WFT

[6ShotsOr5?]

I’m interested in learning about the impact of rifle case trimming on accuracy. Recently I’ve been using the pretentiously named World’s Finest Trimmer from Little Crow Gunworks. Fast and easy, but I’m curious if many competitive BR shooters are using these, and why, or why not. I’m trying to up my short game with a 30 BR build. Before I buy any more trimming tools, I want to learn if there is something that is not precise enough about a WFT so that it could adversely impact accuracy. I have a Sinclair Wilson trimmer too which is slower, but I’m more interested in which is better, if it even matters. So my question is, when it comes to competitive shooting, is the World’s Finest Trimmer fine enough, or should I fin’ something else?

 

[jackson1]

No experience the WFT trimmer. Have and use my Wilson trimmer. Can easily hold +/-0.001".

 

[338 dude]

I’m interested in learning about the impact of rifle case trimming on accuracy. Recently I’ve been using the pretentiously named World’s Finest Trimmer from Little Crow Gunworks. Fast and easy, but I’m curious if many competitive BR shooters are using these, and why, or why not. I’m trying to up my short game with a 30 BR build. Before I buy any more trimming tools, I want to learn if there is something that is not precise enough about a WFT so that it could adversely impact accuracy. I have a Sinclair Wilson trimmer too which is slower, but I’m more interested in which is better, if it even matters. So my question is, when it comes to competitive shooting, is the World’s Finest Trimmer fine enough, or should I fin’ something else?

I use a Wilson trimmer it is accurate and repeatable I have no experience with the worlds finest trimmer but I do not crank out hundreds of rounds either so I am fine with what I have

 

[6ShotsOr5?]

I think I didn’t explain my question very well. When I spoke about accuracy, I’m talking about shot precision, not how accurately are you trimming the cases. Have you observed the quality of the trim job to have a noticeable impact on shot precision, and if so, which trimmers to use and which ones to avoid?

 

[TheOtherZilla]

I use my WFT for two calibers that I load a lot of ammo for. 223 rem and 204. Everything else is done on my bench trimmer. I do not shoot comp so it's good enough for the gurls I run with.

 

[powderbrake]

In my opinion, case trim length is low on the list of things that affect accuracy. Powder charge, bullet, seat depth, primer, neck tension all have a much larger affect.
I do not trim every time I load.
Your Wilson trimmer produces very repeatable case lengths.

 

[K22]

Agree with "powderbrake'.

In my experience, trimming has more to do with safety than accuracy. You need to avoid the case jamming into the chamber which can produce an over high pressure condition.

You can reduce trimming frequency significantly by measuring the actual chamber length of your rifle. Sinclair make an expensive chamber length gauge to measure the actual length of the chamber. In most of my rifles the max SAMMI spec is well below the actual max chamber length even with the safety margin applied as recommended in the instructions from Sinclair.

 

[Rset]

My experience with the WFT has lengths within .003. I don't have any data on what a tighter tolerance might yield in performance, but I can tell you that +/-.0015 bearing surface difference isn't going to show on my personal target. Since I also, generally seat my bullet well into the neck, the case volume isn't going to matter either. Too many other variables that I consider more important. Keep in mind I am shooting a Dasher in F-Class. YMMV.

 

[LVLAaron]

WFT is great if you always apply consistent pressure and keep the shoulder area clean. If you get a shaving stuck in there you'll obviously have a longer cut

 

[MikeMcCasland]

So far as I can tell, case length (so long as it's short enough to not cause you pressure issues) basically doesn't show on target.

 

[INTJ]

My Henderson Precision trimmer, which uses the Forster 3 way cutter, is very fast and keeps them within .001" or better. I don't think trimming makes much of a difference for accuracy. My understanding is that the case necks expands off the bullet vs the bullet being pushed out under neck tension. I am not 100% sure on that, but it seems to account for what makes things accurate and what doesn't.

 

[PDS]

Now that we're on the subject of case trimming. What's more important?
Overall case length or length of the neck.

 

[Straightshooter1]

Now that we're on the subject of case trimming. What's more important?
Overall case length or length of the neck.

When dealing with bottle neck cases, one can have uniform case length and yet have significant differences in the position of the shoulder and the length of the neck. Soooo . . . in just looking at these two choices, I go with "length of the neck".

Precision reloading and shooting, especially for extreme distances, is all about consistency and uniformity, and for me, every aspect of the case has to be as consistent uniform as possible from the measurement from the base to the shoulder datum to the length of the neck and together adds up the the overall case length.

 

[Sniper338]

When I first started reloading I found my the cheapo rcbs trimmer I had was cutting my case mouths crooked. If you inspected the neck one side of the neck would be longer than the other, it was bad... that 22-250 still hammered with the inconsistent cut in the neck. So it showed me it doesnt matter much on target within 300 yards at least... but me being me and my maticulous obsession of consistency and perfection I abandoned it and changed to the wilson. Ran that for years until I found design flaws with the wilson I dont like. (Overthinking it alot, lots of time on it, lots of cases). I'm on the Giraud trimmer wagon now. But don't have enough experience to say anything about it yet, still got parts to buy, haven't set it up to really even use yet. But I like the way it works. Only thing I dont like is how hard it is to set up the trimmer blade part for each caliber. Its trial and error u til its just right... so gotta buy one and label it for each cartridge you trim..

 

[D-4297]

I use a RCBS Trim-Pro ll with the 3-way cutter head , and find it to be extremely accurate , and consistent . I do run my necks to the "long" side , for a .308 , but have the length in the chamber neck to accommodate the extra .005 . I run the neck longer because it allows me to seat my preferred bullet .015 off the throat , and still have enough bullet seated into the case . I don't trim after each firing as it isn't necessary . I only "Bump" .001 when re-sizing , and cases don't grow any excessive OAL . I guess the trick is to get them consistent in length to start with , and have them "fit" your chamber , without having to excessively work the brass during the reloading process . My rifle is a "No-Turn" neck , so they may play into the process also whereas a "Turned" neck may respond differently .

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Get a giraud if you want to get serious. But for accuracy a file will do the same job. Just doesnt matter unless it gets too long

 

[RegionRat]

I don’t personally worry too much about trim lengths since almost everything I would use from the Forster, WFT, Giraud, Wilson, FA, etc., all do more or less the same.

What has made a difference for me, is if I screw up the ID chamfer.

 

[Oso]

The WFT is great trimmer and big improvement over RCBS. I have used the WFT for bulk .223 and forming 300BO. It works best if you can chuck it up in a drill press or lathe. It indexes off the case shoulder. You will get fairly uniform and square trim lengths so long as you cases that you are trimming have been resized and cleaned (this seems obvious, but just in case a newbie reads this). If your cases are clean then only need to periodically run a Q-tip to clean and remove any brass cuttings or grime out of WFT. The cutter is a replaceable end-mill bit so it only cuts the face of the case, and does not do any chamfer. You will know when the cutter starts getting dull because it will raise a bur on the outside and/or inside of case's neck. This burr is easy to nock down by running the trimmed cases back through steel pin tumbler for a quick wash.

If you aren't looking to do bulk, but rather small batches for precision shooting then the Giraud Trimmer is the answer, and it provides a uniform chamfer.

 

[cheng1962]

When I first started reloading I found my the cheapo rcbs trimmer I had was cutting my case mouths crooked. If you inspected the neck one side of the neck would be longer than the other, it was bad... that 22-250 still hammered with the inconsistent cut in the neck. So it showed me it doesnt matter much on target within 300 yards at least... but me being me and my maticulous obsession of consistency and perfection I abandoned it and changed to the wilson. Ran that for years until I found design flaws with the wilson I dont like. (Overthinking it alot, lots of time on it, lots of cases). I'm on the Giraud trimmer wagon now. But don't have enough experience to say anything about it yet, still got parts to buy, haven't set it up to really even use yet. But I like the way it works. Only thing I dont like is how hard it is to set up the trimmer blade part for each caliber. Its trial and error u til its just right... so gotta buy one and label it for each cartridge you trim..

I had a Wilson trimmer, too slow for me. I sold it and bought a Giraud. I am happy with it. I bought a blade and case holder for each caliber, set it up to trim length, then use a Forster locking nut on the case holder. Now I just change out the blade, screw the case holder in, and trim. I used empty Sierra bullet green plastic containers to hold each blade and case holder sorted by the caliber.

 

[Sniper338]

I had a Wilson trimmer, too slow for me. I sold it and bought a Giraud. I am happy with it. I bought a blade and case holder for each caliber, set it up to trim length, then use a Forster locking nut on the case holder. Now I just change out the blade, screw the case holder in, and trim. I used empty Sierra bullet green plastic containers to hold each blade and case holder sorted by the caliber.

Thats my plan when I get a bench/benches...