The Best Case Trimmers in 2024

Any serious shooter who wants to try their hand at reloading will need a case trimmer. The reason for this is that when you fire a round, the explosion causes the brass case to elongate. You’ll need to cut off the excess brass before you can use the case again.

Best Case Trimmers to Buy Right Now

As you’d imagine, not all case trimmers were created equally. While most case trimmers aren’t that expensive, it’s worth knowing which type you need for your specific reloading needs. Here we compare the 8 best case trimmers on the market right now, so you can make an easier purchasing decision.

What is a case trimmer?

A case trimmer is exactly what it says it is: It’s a machine that trims the brass on your cases. You can pick up spent cases at the range and then take them home to reload them, but they likely will have expanded or elongated when fired. The case trimmer allows you to cut the elongated brass of the cases back down to the right size so that you can reload new rounds out of them.

Why do you need a case trimmer?

Consider how much money you’ve spent on ammunition over your entire shooting career. Consider how much you could have saved if you’d made your own rounds instead, or recycled the ones you shot more often.

For most serious shooters, reloading your own ammo is no foreign concept. If you don’t reload your own ammo, then now’s the time to start – and you’ll need a case trimmer to do it effectively. If you are reloading your own ammo and you’re not trimming your cases, then my man, you’re doing it all wrong. You’re not going to be able to reload properly without a case trimmer.

Types of case trimmers

There are five types of case trimmers. Knowing which one is best for which purpose will help you out a lot when you’re making your purchasing decision. Some are better suited for high-volume reloading, while others will be preferred by low-volume beginners who are looking for a cheap price tag and an easy-to-use mechanism.

Lathe trimmers

Perhaps the simplest of all the types, and the most ideally suited for beginners – the lathe case trimmer features a clamp to hold your case and a cutter to get the work done. You simply clamp your round in place, then extend the cutter on the opposite side to cut the brass. This is a simple mechanism that can be adjusted to make fine-tuned or larger cuts.

You can work very quickly on a lathe trimmer, all though, like all things in life, slow and steady will ultimately produce a superior end result.

Fixed-adjustable trimmers

Next up, we have the fixed-adjustable case trimmer. These are generally the cheapest case trimmers and are ideal if you’re just reloading one caliber. Their major weakness is hinted at in their name: their fixed-adjustment means that you can’t change calibers. If you’re looking to reload more than one caliber, then you’ll need to buy a second case trimmer to do that. This makes the fixed-adjustable case trimmer a poor choice for most shooters.

On-press trimmers

If you’re the kind of shooter who wants to go Rambo in the range, then being able to reload large quantities of rounds in the fastest time possible is essential. For this, we recommend an on-press trimmer. On-press trimmers are much larger and more complex than the aforementioned trimmers, but they come with the advantage of being utter workhorses.

One thing to consider is that you’ll usually need a full-length resizing die to be able to work with an on-press trimmer. For the serious shooter, that shouldn’t be an issue. You can usually deburr your cases with this machine as well.

Low-volume precision trimmers

While the low-volume part might put some people off, you should be aware that this trimmer can still produce a lot of trimmed brass in a relatively short time. The setup is a little more convenient than a lathe trimmer in that it features a useful stand. That being said, the device is more difficult to set up and it’s a bit of a pain when you want to switch calibers. It’s more of a device for someone mechanically minded, or someone with a lot of reloading experience.

Shoulder-indexing trimmers

Last but certainly not least, we have the shoulder-indexing trimmer. These are great for high-volume case trimming while being less complicated than their main competitor for speed: the on-press trimmer. It’s easy to adjust the shoulder-indexing case trimmer, which gives you a lot more flexibility when fine-tuning your brass. That being said, it’s actually quite difficult to change the case length, so that’s one area where variety doesn’t seem to come into play.

Things to consider when buying a case trimmer

You want to make sure that you’re getting the best case trimmer for your money, as well as one that is suited to your specific needs. If you’re a hunter with one rifle who wants to carry 20 rounds in the bush and only spend an hour reloading, then you’ll be looking for something different from the guy who has an AR-15, two handguns, and wants to spend his entire weekend popping off targets down at the range.

There are some advantages to buying more complex (read: expensive) case trimmers over simpler lathe-type trimmers. That being said, you might not need these extra features. Let’s dig a little deeper.

Chamfering and deburring

This is the process of smoothing down the sharp edges and angling them to hug the bullet when it’s fed into the case. It’s an essential process if you want to guarantee accuracy in your completed rounds.

While you can buy these tools separately to your case trimmer, it is certainly worth noting that many of them will come with built-in chamfering and deburring tools. This can save you time in the reloading process, as well as money on having to buy new tools.

Shell holders

If you’re going to be reloading more than one caliber, then it’s essential that you can change or adjust the shell holder in your case trimmer. The shell holder clamps your round in place and stops it from moving around, and while most trimmers allow you to adjust it or install a new one for a different caliber, some (fixed-adjustable trimmers) won’t allow you to do this.

If you’re a serious reloader, then you should ensure that your case trimmer can support different calibers.

Ease of use

You want a case trimmer that’s easy to use otherwise you’re inevitably going to get frustrated when working with it. A case trimmer that’s easy to set up and work with will save you time and stress.

While the initial use of the trimmer might be straightforward, you should consider how quick and easy it’ll be to change or adjust the shell plate. This could turn out to become an irritation if you don’t do your homework.

Tumblers and polishers

While many assume that tumbling and polishing your rounds isn’t a necessary step, you should consider that ensuring there isn’t any debris inside them will give you more accuracy when they’re fired. Also, who doesn’t want their finished rounds to look all shiny?!

Most case trimmers won’t come with this feature as standard, but some do. It’s a great way to add that delicate finishing touch to your rounds and make them look like they’ve just come off the factory line.

Speed

Finally, you want a case trimmer that gets through cases like a cheetah chasing a gazelle. Most people will be reloading a lot of bullets, otherwise, they’d likely just skip the effort and buy their rounds from the store.

You want a case trimmer that can trim down a lot of brass in a short amount of time while also not compromising on the quality of the work in the process. Generally speaking, the cheaper and simpler case trimmers are much slower to use than the more expensive on-press variants.

How does a case trimmer work?

In the simplest possible terms, a case trimmer works by holding your brass case in place and then using a trimmer to cut off any excess length. This returns your case to its original size and allows you to reuse it.

Of course, there is a lot more to it than just this, depending on what type of case trimmer you’re using. While a simple lathe-type case trimmer does pretty much exactly what is mentioned above, a more complex on-press trimmer is doing many more functions at once.

Some case trimmers are on-press, while others are more manual. This will affect how you use it. You can actually replace the handle of a manual case trimmer with a drill and this will automate the process, a wise way to upgrade your case trimmer without spending a dime.

If you’re new to reloading, then you should opt for a simpler case trimmer to get a more thorough understanding of the basic mechanics involved. Then, once you’re more experienced, upgrade to an automatic one if you feel that you need the extra volume.

How to use a case trimmer

To use your case trimmer, you’ll first need to set it up. How to do this varies depending on the type of case trimmer you’re using and the brand that you’re using. We don’t want to cut corners, but given that there are so many varieties out there, we do recommend that you follow the instructions that come with your specific case trimmer. YouTube video tutorials are also a great way to further understand the setting up process.

Once your case trimmer is set up, you’ll need to place the case into the shell holder and then pull the lever to begin the trimming process. You might be surprised by just how quickly a case gets trimmed.

In the event that you’re using an automatic case trimmer, the process is quite similar, just with more speed and efficiency.

Start by trimming one case down to size so that you can use it as a template for the others. Once you get going, you’ll find that the process really is easy as can be.

Conclusion and final verdict

Overall, the Sinclair/L.E. Wilson Ultimate Trimmer & Platform Kit gets my vote as being the best case trimmer to buy today. The sturdy construction and useful platform that this kit offers guarantee a lifetime of convenient use, while the reliable and consistent results produced from it will improve your accuracy when shooting.

Furthermore, the ability to support a wide variety of calibers, including pistol cases, makes this a more desirable trimmer. While it has a heavy price tag, for the serious shooter, this won’t likely come as much of an obstacle.

For the beginner shooter/reloader, I’d sooner recommend that you purchase the Lee Precision Deluxe Quick Trim Casse Trimmer as you’ll likely only be shooting with one caliber and you’ll want something affordable and simple to use. The Lee product ticks those boxes and leverages your single-stage reloading press for more convenience and ease-of-use.