Giraud Power Trimmer vs Henderson Precision

[longgunJR]

Looks like the Giraud unit is the go to one for most of the members here. A case trimmer is the last thing I need to complete my reloading set up and was wondering if anyone here has tried any of the Henderson Precision trimmers.
I know the powered HP trimmer is $740, compared to Girauds $525 that's no brainer but my plan was to get the $400 set up and adapt my own power drive, simply because I can and it would be fun.
Looking for any reasons to ditch that idea and just get the Giraud.

Thank you all

 

[Milo 2.5]

I wanted the Henderson over the Giruad for yrs. I was not about to supply my own power source, and what did it take for HP to motorize theirs, 6 yrs?
Actually a friend bought the Giraud for me for doing a lot of load development for him. I had a Giraud annealer for yrs, and knew just what support and customer service came with his products, and it is top shelf.
I'm not here to sway you one way or the other, but to me, a company like Giraud who has never advertised a single product that I have ever seen, just sits back and produces top quality products with no complaints from customers, gets my vote every time. And doing that without ever making a single claim that his products are the best, as we see all the time in the industry. My kind of supplier.

 

[Rob01]

Get the Giraud. There is a reason it's the go to. Thank us later.

 

[GIXXER2000]

I use the Giraud on all most all cases for .556 to 375CT. If you use locking die rings it never changes once you set the depth.

 

[RegionRat]

Giraud also started making a small unpowered version similar to the WFT tools.

It uses the shoulder to index the case, and then you use your own power tool or dedicate an electric motor of your own to the task.

Giraud Tri-Way

 

[longgunJR]

So this showed up today!
Thank you all for the help.

 

[AJG4]

So as a follow up how do you like it?

I'm in the same boat right now trying to decide.

 

[Dthomas3523]

I own both. I prefer the Henderson. User experience is better than Giraud for me. Both seem to be equal to consistency.

If you only do one or two different chamberings, Giraud is cheaper. If you do a lot and buy separate cutter heads for Giraud, then the price evens out a bit.

Cant go wrong with either. But for me, henderson is more comfortable and I’m a high volume brass processor. Few hundred rounds a week.

 

[AJG4]

Excellent, thank you!

I watch Panhandle Precision on YouTube quite a bit and he kind of sold me on the Henderson as well. They are temporarily out of the powered unit. But I wait for it.

 

[longgunJR]

So as a follow up how do you like it?

I'm in the same boat right now trying to decide.

It works exactly as advertised, its reliable and well built I'm happy with it and will be keeping it.

I do think however the Henderson is a better trimmer with the only down side being its more expensive.

Here's a couple of pet peeves I have with the Giraud that make me wish I would've gotten the Henderson.

1.0 Power; It's got enough to get the job done but if you have trim 0.005 or more from your brass you gotta gradually apply pressure as you trim, otherwise you can feel it bogging down I believe the Henderson has double the power.

2.0 Case holder play; The spring loaded case holders have just enough play to where you gotta develop a technique to trim otherwise you get uneven chamfers and it takes a while to get the hang of it. I've been told this goes away with a solid case holder but I haven't tried.

3.0 Multiple case holders; You gotta buy a case holder for every shoulder angle you trim, even if they're the same caliber and as you start to trim more calibers your initial savings of going with the Giraud go out the window.

Those are the main observations and it doesn't mean the Giraud is a bad trimmer, it works great and it's popular for good reason however I do think the Henderson is better no questions, maybe not by much but better.

 

[AJG4]

It works exactly as advertised, its reliable and well built I'm happy with it and will be keeping it.

I do think however the Henderson is a better trimmer with the only down side being its more expensive.

Here's a couple of pet peeves I have with the Giraud that make me wish I would've gotten the Henderson.

1.0 Power; It's got enough to get the job done but if you have trim 0.005 or more from your brass you gotta gradually apply pressure as you trim, otherwise you can feel it bogging down I believe the Henderson has double the power.

2.0 Case holder play; The spring loaded case holders have just enough play to where you gotta develop a technique to trim otherwise you get uneven chamfers and it takes a while to get the hang of it. I've been told this goes away with a solid case holder but I haven't tried.

3.0 Multiple case holders; You gotta buy a case holder for every shoulder angle you trim, even if they're the same caliber and as you start to trim more calibers your initial savings of going with the Giraud go out the window.

Those are the main observations and it doesn't mean the Giraud is a bad trimmer, it works great and it's popular for good reason however I do think the Henderson is better no questions, maybe not by much but better.

Got mine in, and love it. Makes life Much easier.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Kpchurch]

I am so ready for the powered Gen 3 to get back in stock. Hoping that I can land one prior to Christmas

Is the HP worth the wait?

 

[AJG4]

I think so. Much faster than the Frankford arsenal case prep center that I was using.

 

[Gtummy]

I don't know about the operation of either trimmer. But i received a call from Todd @ Henderson today because he was shipping out my trimmer but wanted to make sure I really wanted the extra $16.00 collet I had on my order. (I was hurrying to complete the order before they ran out). He is being pestered daily by customers but took the time to save me $16. In my way of thinking all things being equal that might be the way to go.

 

[needham]

I have a Giruad tri-trimmer attached to a $50 harbor freight bench grinder.

its hard for me to imagine a better(faster), cheaper way to trim.

 

[kthomas]

I have a Giraud, and I love it. The Henderson looks nice, but I have no experience with it, and my experience with Giraud does not leave me longing for a different trimmer.

Getting locking rings to swap out case holders for the Giraud is a necessary upgrade, if you find yourself using the Giraud for more then one cartridge. Same with buying dedicated cutter heads, but as Dthomas points out, that starts to add up if you reload for a plethora of cartridges. I myself only want to dedicate the time to only a couple of different fit for purpose cartridges, so that's not a deal breaker to me.

My one gripe with the Giraud, which may be an issue more with my technique then it is the product, is larger cases such as .300NM etc don't have a spring loaded case holder due to size constraints. I haven't used the trimmer much for my .300NM, but the one time I did try trimming my .300NM cases, I found myself wrecking the necks. The spring loaded feature on the smaller cartridges helps to transition the neck into the trimmer, but without it, I found that the trimmer would chew my necks up. I need to try it again, I haven't been shooting .300NM much lately, and perhaps work on my technique with it.

Overall, the Giraud is a solid product, and I'm happy it's in my reloading room.

 

[Dthomas3523]

I have a Giraud, and I love it. The Henderson looks nice, but I have no experience with it, and my experience with Giraud does not leave me longing for a different trimmer.

Getting locking rings to swap out case holders for the Giraud is a necessary upgrade, if you find yourself using the Giraud for more then one cartridge. Same with buying dedicated cutter heads, but as Dthomas points out, that starts to add up if you reload for a plethora of cartridges. I myself only want to dedicate the time to only a couple of different fit for purpose cartridges, so that's not a deal breaker to me.

My one gripe with the Giraud, which may be an issue more with my technique then it is the product, is larger cases such as .300NM etc don't have a spring loaded case holder due to size constraints. I haven't used the trimmer much for my .300NM, but the one time I did try trimming my .300NM cases, I found myself wrecking the necks. The spring loaded feature on the smaller cartridges helps to transition the neck into the trimmer, but without it, I found that the trimmer would chew my necks up. I need to try it again, I haven't been shooting .300NM much lately, and perhaps work on my technique with it.

Overall, the Giraud is a solid product, and I'm happy it's in my reloading room.

If Giraud had a holder system like the Henderson, I’d still have it. In my experience the giraud is better for setting up the exact cut angles you want. And I feel like it was more consistent (mind you, the Henderson is always within .002, so we are talking minor consistency difference).

But I prep a ton of brass every year. The Giraud gets tiring on the hands. At least for me. So, giving up a little customization for the more hand fatigue friendly Henderson was well worth it for me.

Kinda like choosing between the top optics. Hard to make a bad choice.

 

[ExT]

Got mine in, and love it. Makes life Much easier.

Thanks for the help!

Did the brass bin and the shaving containment come with gen 3 or you had to order them separately?

 

[Elnicko]

The Henderson looks pretty slick but no .17 or .20 cal is a deal breaker for me.

 

[Gtummy]

Did the brass bin and the shaving containment come with gen 3 or you had to order them separately?

You buy those separate.

 

[WizManBooks]

I went with the Lyman Express Trimmer and it does a great job. Great for my "old" hands.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

I never used to trim, I simply scrapped my brass when it either got long or got loose pockets, usually the latter was first.

But I finally dove in and got the Little Crow Gunworks "World's Greatest Trimmer - 2"

I like it. Fast, simple, uses my battery drill, and does what I need it to do. I'm guessing there are differences from the two above, but to me, it's not a big issue.

Greg

 

[RS14]

Well I ordered a Giraud Power Trimmer today. So looking forward to the upgrade over what i have been using However they said to not expect it till around January. So anyone in the market and want one soon. Go ahead and call and get on the list. Or start searching the PX

 

[lightman]

The Henderson looks like a quality machine but I can't comment on it because I've never used or seen one. But I do have the Giraud. I probably bought in 2010 or sometime around there.

If I'm trying I can trim 15 to 16 cases per minute at a sustained rate and maintain .001 tolerance. Oh sure, you fumble a case occasionally or encounter a longer case that breaks your rhythm but 15 per minute is doable. 10 or 12 cases per minute is more comfortable. I pretty much reserve mine for the cartridges that I do in volume which for me is 223 and 308. As others have said, the cost of case holders and cutters add up.

After 10's of thousands of cases I just recently had a bearing go out in mine. An Email to Giraud was answered very quickly and I mailed the part back to them. They repaired it at no cost and the total time it was gone was about 12 days including the time in the mail both ways. Every time I have talked with them they have been very polite and helpful.

 

[AJG4]

Glad to know they stand behind their product. Wish more companies would.