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Posted: 4/17/2012 1:53:16 PM EDT
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After having a not so fun experience with my Possum Hollow with a bunch of .223 brass last weekend I have been seriously looking at the Dillion Rapid Trim. From what I'm seeing you can only buy it from Dillon, and with the sizing die it would be around $280. I will have to save my pennies, but it would make reloading a nicer experience.
From what I understand the sizing die undersizesd the mouth of the casing, so I would need a die that expands the mouth. So this is my plan. Since I have a single stage press I would be doing large batches since i dont want to have to setup the trimmer often. I would size/trim at the same time using the RT 1200, then run the brass through a my neck sizing die. I would rather have a neck sizing die that also expands the mouth as the casings exits, but as a last resort I would get a third die to expand the mouth. Here are my questions: ––Does the RT 1200 rely on the necks being sized? ––Is it possible to get a rod that will allow my Lee neck sizing die to expand the case mouth too? Currently it only has a decapping pin. |
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Quoted: ..... Here are my questions: ––Does the RT 1200 rely on the necks being sized? ––Is it possible to get a rod that will allow my Lee neck sizing die to expand the case mouth to? Currently it only has a decapping pin. The Dillon trimmer must be used with the appropriate Dillon size/trim die. It sizes and trims at the same time. There is not a lot of extra die there for adjustment, so I set up mine to FL size and trim. Some guys size with another size die and just trim with the size/trim die. I run it on a LNLAP as follows: Station 1: Universal decapper. Station 3: Dillon sizer/trimmer. Station 5: Redding size die. The Redding size die is backed out so that it does not contact the shoulder or size the body; it's only there to use the expander on the case neck. The decapping pin is removed. You should be able to do something similar on your single stage press. I love the Dillon trimmer. It makes .223 case prep delightfully easy, but it is noisy. With the shopvac on, and the Dillon trimmer running, I wear ear muffs. |
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Quoted:
Try loading without expanding the neck first. I doubt you will see a difference in accuracy... especially with bulk projectiles. I still get 1 moa (Barnes TSX loading) without messing with the neck after the trim/size step. I will definetly try it out. Its not a deal breaker. It just means I wont have to run all the brass through my single stage press an extra time. |
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So you can set the Dillon sizer die to not size but only trim?? That gives me some possibilities that I had not considered before. I would rather size with a Forster FL sizer die, followed by the trimmer, and finish it out with the expanding madrel I just got from 21st Century Shooting. Quoted: Quoted: ..... Here are my questions: ––Does the RT 1200 rely on the necks being sized? ––Is it possible to get a rod that will allow my Lee neck sizing die to expand the case mouth to? Currently it only has a decapping pin. The Dillon trimmer must be used with the appropriate Dillon size/trim die. It sizes and trims at the same time. There is not a lot of extra die there for adjustment, so I set up mine to FL size and trim. Some guys size with another size die and just trim with the size/trim die. I run it on a LNLAP as follows: Station 1: Universal decapper. Station 3: Dillon sizer/trimmer. Station 5: Redding size die. The Redding size die is backed out so that it does not contact the shoulder or size the body; it's only there to use the expander on the case neck. The decapping pin is removed. You should be able to do something similar on your single stage press. I love the Dillon trimmer. It makes .223 case prep delightfully easy, but it is noisy. With the shopvac on, and the Dillon trimmer running, I wear ear muffs. |
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Quoted: As you back out the Dillon trim die, it will stop pushing back the shoulder, sizing only the neck. So you can set the Dillon sizer die to not size but only trim?? That gives me some possibilities that I had not considered before. I would rather size with a Forster FL sizer die, followed by the trimmer, and finish it out with the expanding madrel I just got from 21st Century Shooting. Quoted: Quoted: ..... Here are my questions: ––Does the RT 1200 rely on the necks being sized? ––Is it possible to get a rod that will allow my Lee neck sizing die to expand the case mouth to? Currently it only has a decapping pin. The Dillon trimmer must be used with the appropriate Dillon size/trim die. It sizes and trims at the same time. There is not a lot of extra die there for adjustment, so I set up mine to FL size and trim. Some guys size with another size die and just trim with the size/trim die. I run it on a LNLAP as follows: Station 1: Universal decapper. Station 3: Dillon sizer/trimmer. Station 5: Redding size die. The Redding size die is backed out so that it does not contact the shoulder or size the body; it's only there to use the expander on the case neck. The decapping pin is removed. You should be able to do something similar on your single stage press. I love the Dillon trimmer. It makes .223 case prep delightfully easy, but it is noisy. With the shopvac on, and the Dillon trimmer running, I wear ear muffs. Shoulder and body stay as-is. As I said above, when you adjust the carbide blade down, it gets pretty close to the trim die. Too close for my comfort, which is why I let the trim die size. It gives a little more brass above the die.
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Quoted:
Seems like a huge waste of cash for a one trick pony if you are running it on a single stage. Is a 650 in your future? If not, I would get a Sinclair/Wilson manual trimmer with drill adapter. I just looked at that and thats why I'm looking at the RT2000. That sinclair trimmer requires a whole process just to change each piece of brass. I can put a ton of brass through my single stage press in a short amount of time, which is why the RT2000 is very tempting. I plan to eventually get a nice progressive setup though. |
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I just resized and trimmed 3000 .223 cases last night on my XL650 and the Dillon RT1200. I can't imagine doing it any other way. After they are sized and trimed I toss them in the tumbler for 30 minutes or so and then load them up, I don't bother expanding the necks.
Made these this morning. 
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Sir, as a former Dillon RT1200 user I'll provide a few comments for your consideration. FWIW, I have two single stage presses in addition to my Dillon RL550B, and XL650. My choice when I had the Dillon trimmer was to mount it on one of the single stage presses.
In my experience the Dillon trim die reduced the case neck outside diameter excessively producing an inside case neck diameter that was much smaller than needed for adequate neck tension. The solution to the problem that I chose was to hone the interior neck portion of the die such that it did not alter the diameter of the case neck that had already been resized and decapped with my Forester NM resizing die (.308 Win.) mounted in another single stage press. The Dillon trim die, as are most makers resizing dies, are made from some fairly tough steel and honing is about the only way the interior die dimensions can be altered with any degree of precision. When I set up the trimmer I always adjusted the trim die only enough to allow the case neck to protrude sufficiently to trim only a minimum amount. For example the book max case length of the .308 Win. case is 2.015" and I would adjust the die sufficiently to have a trimmed case length of 2.010". And yes I trim all cases to the same dimension each time I reload them. I also anneal them. Frankly, for the amount you are considering spending I would take a closer look at the Giraud trimmer. Unless you plan to eventually upgrade your equipment to the XL650 I really do believe the Giraud trimmer to be the better product for the purpose. Even with a Dillon XL650 with case feeder I still chose to buy the Giraud trimmer and sell my Dillon RT1200. YMMV, 7zero1. |
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While I respect 7zero1's knowledge and opinions, I have and use an RT1200 on 30 Carbine (yes, you have to trim 30 Carbine), .223, .308, and 30-06 and while it does reduce the neck size, I find the increased neck tension a good thing. I also have a FCD die that I use to just kiss the edge of the case mouth after setting the bullet; not crimp it, just kiss the edge. I've never had a bullet push back and as shown with H110 powder in 357mag and 44 mag, a solidly anchored bullet helps generate more complete powder ignition and that leads to lower SDs. As to the RT1200 not chamfering the inside of the case mouth, I load Hornady flat based 150grn SP in 30-06 for my son's Winchester model 70 regularly and have never had any issue with the bullet having trouble seating, even though the neck is sized down with the trim die and it's not inside chamfered. I've pulled random bullets to inspect them for any scratches or marring caused by no inside chamfer and have yet to see any marks at all. Further, as an example, while I'm not a bullseye shooter, my 68grn Hornady .223 ammo produces sub MOA groups in my RRA A4 and my son can shoot 5/8" groups with it in my his Savage bolt gun. |
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