Looking for easy cheap way to trim shotshell hulls

[Seldom Seen #16162]

I am wanting to start reloading black powder shotgun shells.. I have a large amount of once fired plastic hulls. Since I don't have a shotshell reloader such as MEC to crimp the hulls I plan on cutting them down and gluing a card wad on top.

 

Is there a easy way to consistently trim hulls to length? Maybe something along the lines of inserting a piece of dowel rod inside the hull and trimming the excess with a razor knife?

[Branchwater Jack SASS #88854]

You cando it that way.

 

You can also find tools out there that pretty much does that.

 

I have also made a jig set them on a table saw with a fine tooth blade before. The jig has a bunch oh holes in it. You drop the shells in, set it against the fence, and cut away.

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

Check out Bottom Dealin Mike's Youtube Channel (Duelist 1954's channel). He has some detailed instructions how to load without a press using a roll crimper.

[Seldom Seen #16162]

No jigsaw or suitable power tool.

[evil dogooder]

Same concept and a coping saw or hack saw should work

[Seldom Seen #16162]

I have a set of old B.P. reloading tools, deprimer, scoop, roll crimper. I thought the roll crimper was for paper hulls. Being a cheapskate, er frugal, I am looking to avoid buying a jig or speciality tool.

[Branchwater Jack SASS #88854]

You can roll crimp plastic, too.

[Seldom Seen #16162]

Hmmm I'll check out his video.

[Tom Bullweed]

I load shorter shells for a Remington Model 1878 Whitmore Lifter SxS with 2-9/16" chambers. I set aside Remington green hulls (STS or gun club) that I load on a Lee Loader then trim.

* Size and de-prime

* prime with Winchester 209

* Charge with FFg measuring with a Lee dipper

* Use the Lee Loader to seat a 1/8" over-powder wad, a 1/2" filler wad, 1 ounce of shot and another 1/8" wad

* trim the hull 1/16" over the crimp ring with a sharp knife

* start the crimp on the Lee Loader station

* roll on a 19-th century crimp roller if necessary

I load about 30 shells per hour.

[Wagon Box Willy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bAQHmW7sRa4

[Yul Lose]

I made a jig for my bandsaw that trims them very neatly and uniformly.

[Cusz M. Dutch SASS Life 55326]

I used to use a jig and a fence on my band saw. Makes them nice and even. Once I could not find it and just cut at the fold line. Another time I just took plain old plastic shells and rolled crimped them on the old drill press. All seemed to give the same results.

With the drill press you can apply enough pressure to melt them on down. Even the cheaper plastic shells seem to work that nobody wants to reload. The extra plastic firms them up nicely.

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/Trim-Doctor-Shotshell-Case-Tool/productinfo/TRIM/

[Brasspounder]

I can tell you how I do it...

 

I made a simple shotshell case trimmer out of a couple pieces of hockey stick

(we get all the busted ones we want around here for nuthin).

 

The two pieces (about 8 inches long each)are put together with a pivot like scissors or shears, and one "leg" has a dowel put through it crosswise that fits down into the shell to be cut to bottom on the base wad. This ensures that the inside volume of any shell that is trimmed is the same as all the others, no matter what brand you pick up at the range..

 

The other "leg" has a piece of hacksaw blade set in it that has been sharpened to a knfe edge,

and is positioned so as to cut the crimp folds off and no more, about 3/16ths of an inch.

 

To use, you put the fired shell on the dowel until it bottoms on the basewad, then press down

and twist the shell by hand to cut the folds off with the cutter. The dowel is sized to fit the inside

of the shell being cut closely so you get a nice even square cut.

 

Then I just charge the reprimed trimmed shells with a 2 dram BP charge, put in a nitro

card, then a plastic shot sleeve (a plastic wad with the base cushions cut off) load the shot

with a dipper, put in a thin card top, and roll the things closed with an old time crank

shell closer I got off e-bay.

 

Works like a champ, and the roll crimped shells look neat and shoot just fine.

 

Using the plastic shot cups makes 'em work well in the modern guns with the long three inch

chambers and the shallow forcing cones. I had trouble with the old time card wad columns

letting the powder gasses past them in that long freebore with the shortened shells.

It was melting the shot and leading the hell outa the barrels about six inches ahead of the chambers. Using the plastic shot cups and the nitro cards on top of the powder charges keeps this from happening and there is no melted shot or melted plastic in the barrels of my gun after shooting all day.

[Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428]

I found that I can easily cut 10GA shells to length for my '87 using a guillotine style cigar cutter. I have a block of wood cut to the right length, I use that and a magic marker to mark the length on the shell and then trim it with the cigar cutter. Cheap, easy, and more than adequate for roll crimped black powder loads!

[Seldom Seen #16162]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Since I don't have the power tools that are suggested the Trim Doctor looks what I have in mind.

[Lucky R. K.]

Here is a link to a setup I made to trim plastic hulls. It is a Dremel tool mounted on a small jewelers lathe. I like to roll crimp my black powder rounds and this really does the trick.

 

Lucky

 

 

http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l361/decapper/PICT0336.jpg

[Hangry Bob]

Take an empty hull to the local welding shop (or if you or a friend have something laying around) and find a piece of pipe that it fits nicely inside. Cut it to the length you need and use a file to clean up the burs. Simply insert your hull and trim, I used to do this for an 1899 era 1897.

[richie reno]

I think mid-way has a little tool with a razor blade to do this

[Major Regret, SASS #57800]

Piece of dowel with an exacto blade in it. Take a look at this video. It is for reloading 2-7/8" made from 3-1/2" 10 gauge shells but the principle of the shell trimmer works for whatever shell/length you want to make.

 

[Ramblin Ron, SASS #79381]

There is a cheap tool to trim shotshells that can be found on YouTube by searching "shortcut shotshell cutter" that should fit your needs.

[the Black Spot]

I once used a paper cutter, the one with the long arm they use in schools and offices. It does ok.

[Hollifer A. Dollar]

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/Trim-Doctor-Shotshell-Case-Tool/productinfo/TRIM/

 

I made a cutter similar to this from scrap & use a BIG box cutter. I can send pictures if needed.

 

Holler

[Hellgate #3302 L]

I lay the hull on its side and using a regular box cutter I merely pierce into the wall of the hull right at the crimp line (about 1/2" from the mouth) while I rotate the hull and cut downward onto a piece of wooden plank/cutting board). It takes about 3 or 4 cuts downward to "circumcise" the hull.

[Bama Belle, #6673]

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/Trim-Doctor-Shotshell-Case-Tool/productinfo/TRIM/

 

 

+1 on this - and get the steel roll crimper. After loading & inserting the overshot card, I chuck the crimper tool in a drill press and a few seconds later have a finished shell.