If you’re still hand-cranking to trim cases when reloading, it’s time to upgrade. Join the thousands of seasoned reloaders that have already made the switch to self-powered trimmers, or ones that can hook up to any garden-variety hand drill. Granted, some of the complaints about this newer types of case trimmers are that they don’t give you as much freedom in determining how much you want to trim off of your brass, or that their cut is not as good as some of the older-style case trimmers. However, if you’re worried about losing consistency, don’t be.
Chances are you’ve seen a few case trimmers like the Trim-It, but ACT Tactical has worked hard to separate their product from the pack. The Trim-It gives you speed and ease without sacrificing quality or accuracy. The first thing you’ll notice about this case trimmer is that it’s a high-quality product. It’s made from 6000 series aluminum, and it comes with a high speed still end mill, which does the actual cutting. Because of the built-in micrometer adjuster, it’s quick and easy to set the trimmer up to trim each case to a pre-set length. The micrometer is set so that each notch is marked at .002”, so after you determine how much you want to trim you adjust the micrometer and lock it in place.
Another cool feature about the Trim-It is that it is not case specific. This means, you can use one tool to trim a number of different case types. It comes with two dies (.223 and .308 are their “standard” dies), which are bearings with bushings pressed into them. Because the Trim-It indexes off of the neck and shoulder of your brass, the interchangeable caliber dies are all designed to fit specific cases, however, there are a few cases that will work in certain dies. Using the 308 die, I experimented with trimming other cases that were close in size with varying degrees of success. I found that the 7.62×54 fit perfectly and there were several others that were close enough to deem acceptable.
The Trim-It is easy to set up, all you have to do is decide which caliber you’re going to be trimming and insert that particular die, then connect your tool to a drill press or hand drill (I prefer the drill press because its continuous use), power it up, then insert your sized brass into the opening on the die until it stops cutting. The Trim-It leaves very few burrs on your cases, I didn’t feel the need to chamfer or de-burr, but that’s a personal call. I was able to trim just over 200 cases in half-an-hour all to the same length.
All in all, the Trim-It is a versatile and accurate case trimmer that really cranks out the brass. If you’re in the market for a new case trimmer and have $100 bucks to spare, the Trim-It is a great way to go.
Check out the Trim-It – click here.