Giraud Trimmer or Dillon?

[Steve]

I've done searches out there and of course each claim they hung the moon, but before I spend 3-400 bucks or more on trimmer,I would like to know what's ya'lls opinion of the Giraud or Dillon.
What's the pros and cons of each?
I have a dillon 650 and like the idea of being able to size brass then trim (station 1 and station 3 respectively) but I don't like still having to chamfer where as the Giraud does the trim and chamfer all in one. This will be several thousand pieces of brass so the least amount of handling the better....and this will not be extreme bench rest quality brass, but still quality brass.
How accurate is each (meaning exact same length brass or is it within a couple thousandths)?
this will be used primarily for 223/5.56 Lake City brass for ar-15,

Now I don't want this to be a bashing dillon vs Giraud or vice versa, I'm looking for those who actually have had experience with these trimmers to give me their opinion.

thanks

 

[Mudcat]

I have a Dillon 650, as well as several 550s, but I own a Giraud trimmer and would have it no other way. If you do a few net searches on this forum and some others, like the Hide, National Match, etc, you will see we have beat this topic like a rented mule. IMHO, the result is always the same, Giraud wins. The Dillon is nice and easy as its press mounted, but the Giraud does a better job as it chamfers inside and out as you go, doesnt make a mess, etc.

John

 

[ParkerS]

The Giraud trimmer is definately the way to go. It makes quick work of trimming brass. After a little practice in the beginning I am able to get very consistent trim lengths. Yes it is on the expensive side for trimmers, but it is worth every dollar. Doug is excellent to do business with also.

 

[kentuckytroutbum]

You might also want to look at the Gracey Match Prep line of trimmers. Very similar to the Giraud in operation. The Gracey will trim, inside neck chamfer, and outside deburr in on operation. Takes about 2-3 seconds per case.

 

[Mudcat]

No offense, but I had a Gracey, the key word being "HAD" and got rid of it once I used the Giraud. They arent in the same league. The Gracey was good in its day, but its outdated now, IHMO. And Doug, his customer service is just like Dillon's, awesome.

John

 

[memilanuk]

The Giraud trims as consistently as you can control the headspace of your F/L sized rounds, i.e. if you have a few thou variation in trimmed case length, its likely because you have a few thou variation in your sized cases headspace dimension. Not the trimmers fault.

As for the Gracey... the Giraud was built to correct / improve upon the Gracey, and if you hold them both in your hands, I think you'd agree they succeeded. I had a Gracey... eventually sold it to a shooter who wanted a second unit so he could have one set up for .223, and one for .308, and thats not exactly uncommon. They are that much of a PITA to setup and change calibers on. On a Giraud you can get a second cutter and a new shell holder for considerably less than what a used Gracey goes for... sort of wipes out the whole 'cheaper' argument IMO.

YMMV,

Monte

 

[juniorARshooter]

Sir
I have a Giraud trimer and it isthe best investment I ever made. ItIS an investment because it gives you time in return for the money spent. trimming, chamfer etc all at one time. Add the ability to quickly change to metplat trimming or other calibers - it is hard to beat. Plus Mr. Giraud is a great guy to deal with!

 

[fatelvis]

Just a tip, I found using Hornady’s “pinch lock” style lock nuts on your Giraud’s trimmer shellholders will make changing calibers out extremely quick and accurate.

 

[powderbrake]

What fatelvis said.
Set up was a pain on the Giraud until I added the pinch lock nuts to set the trim. Now all I do is screw in the cutter head, and the shell head, and start trimming.

 

[aer21]

Since I’m not familiar with it, can one or both of you show pics or video of what you’re talking about?

 

[memilanuk]

 

[memilanuk]

Otherwise known as a 'split bolt' clamp or lock, as opposed to the Redding/RCBS style lock rings that have a set screw impinging directly on the threads (albeit usually with a piece of lead shot in between, to protect the threads from damage).

The older Forster rings used a similar idea, but a) used a wussy Phillips screw head that stripped out if you looked at it sideways and b) didn't have the wrench flats for snugging the die down / breaking it free.

 

[MikeRu]

Highly recommend Giraud. I have multiple different cutters and case holders 6, 6.5, 7 and 30 caI that I trim, no complaints at all. I think you get within +\- 0.001 trim length or so. It’ll chamfer and debur without trimming if you back out a little. The Giraud meplat trimmer is nice for trimming bullets too. Just make sure your shoulder bumps are consistent.

 

[DDRanch]

I use Giraud's trimmer for every thing I process except for anything in bulk: 223, 300 Black Out and 308. Which I run on a Dillon S 1050, with carbide sizer/trim dies and RT 1500 trimmer.

 

[memilanuk]

Something else that works pretty slick for micro-adjusting your Giraud is the Whidden click-adjustable lock ring. The only trick is remembering which screw does what

 

[fatelvis]

Something else that works pretty slick for micro-adjusting your Giraud is the Whidden click-adjustable lock ring. The only trick is remembering which screw does what

Yes, these are expensive, but makes adjustments SO easy. And repeatable.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

There is now a 3 way trimmer for the lyman case trim express. Just got the 22 cal, haven't used it yet. The cutters are like 70 bucks. I load 223 in batches of 250 or 500, so chamfer and deburr really sucks. Be way less than the cost or the other fancy trimmers.

 

[209jones]

3way cutters are worth their weight in gold as far as I'm concerned, have them on a Forster and a 21st Century. If it doesn't have one on it and isn't avail for it, no go.