going from 5.56 to 300-221

[RWBlue]

How do I go from 5.56 brass to 300-221 brass? I would think someone has written this up, but maybe not.

I am not a wildcater, but I am experianced in reloading.

[DonT]

Using .223 brass (I like Winchester)
Deprime (I prefer to deprime all brass using a universal depriming tool)
Resize
Trim to length
Prime
Load
Repeat:smile:

http://www.quarterbore.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=315&stc=1&d=1176518698

DonT

[RWBlue]

Using .223 brass (I like Winchester)
1. Deprime (I prefer to deprime all brass using a universal depriming tool)
2. Resize
3. Trim to length
4. Prime
5. Load
6. Shoot
7. Repeat:smile:

http://www.quarterbore.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=315&stc=1&d=1176518698

DonT

The link doesn't work.

I assume #3 is resize from 223 to 300-221.
If this is true, how do I trim?
I have a Wilson case trimmer setup for 308. I don't see a Wilson cartridge holder for 300-221.

[DonT]

Not sure how the wilson works, myself I use a 9" south bend lathe with a collet setup and stop. Makes pretty quick work of of trimming. I use a cutoff blade to get it close then switch to the lee trimmer. I used the 7.62X39 cutter and spud and ground the pin that goes thru the firing pin hole till I got the length I needed. I also had to turn the outside of the spud a bit as it was pretty tight in the case mouth since 7.62X39 is .311 dia. I think.

DonT:smile:

[RWBlue]

Are you telling me I need to get a

RCBS Trim Pro Power Case Trimmer Kit 110 Volt ?

Or is there a better option?

[jarhead1086]

I am planning on going this route myself after having gone from .221 and necking up. Don's idea of using a lathe is what I plan on using too and I am looking to make a shell holder that can stuff the lathe trimmed case into my Dillon RT1200 .308 case trimmer for the final trim. I will set-up on my .50 press to make sure I have clearance. Anybody try something like this yet? Maybe a shouldered collet in the lathe would allow you to skip the final trim and hold tolerance? I ordered some from Mr. Davis to get me going, but I need a bunch being a machinegunner. I plan on this being my subgun round.

[JF]

Here's how I do it. I believe that this is a pretty simple process if you already reload and know how to trim cases to length.

1) I lock a new piece of Win 223 brass in my Hornady case trimmer. I use a hacksaw and cut the 223 case right behind the shoulder. I have a cut piece of metal tube that I slip over the case while it is held in the case trimmer so it is easy to cut in the same spot each time. Without this, some cases were having to be trimmed too much or if they were accidently cut short, I had to toss them.

2) I lightly go over the case mouth with a deburring tool to take some of the hacksaw damage away. It looks like a straight wall case at this point.

3) I lube the case and full length size it in my 300W die.

4) I take the sized case and put it in my case trimmer and trim it back to the proper length and debur the mouth.

The case is now ready to prime and load and fire. I have done hundreds and hundreds of 300W cases this way and have never had a problem. Using brand new cases makes the reforming process easier that fired brass.

[lovdasnow]

or you could just buy a bunch from ebay, they are cheap.

[DonT]

Jarhead1086.

Actually I have a collet holder for my lathe with a stop that I use for the initial trim. To get consistency I prefer to use the 7.62x39 lee case trimmer trimming down the pin and the outside dia for the .300. Then I use the lee shell holder used with their trimmer to hold the shell. I chuck the cutter in the lathe and the brass in the holder and its off to the races.

DonT

[pug]

I have been using a spare small mill to trim mine. It has a small vice mounted with a center notch in the jaws so I took a Lee .223 Rem lock stud and drill a small hole in the side of it and installed a small handle. Mounted it in the vice and you just insert the case into the lock stud (case holder) and rotate handle about a half turn and it locks the case in. Drop a 1/2" mill end cutter down on it to preset height and case is done. You actually do have to hold tension on the lock stud handle while cutting to keep the vibration from unlocking the case.

[RWBlue]

By posting on a couple other boards I think I figure out a way to make this work without adding too much to my kit.

Starting off from once fired 5.56.
1.Run brass through Redding FL sizer (no neck expander), on Rockchucker press with Lee brass holder
2.Use Redding trim die, and dremmel to cut the majority of the excess brass off.
3.Use Wilson trimmer with 221 Fireball case holder to trim to perfect length.

At that point I can proceed to load like I would a non-wildcat cartridge.

Right?

[pug]

There might be some slight variation in case length between sized without expander and with so you may want to not final trim to exact length until you have run the brass through the FL die with expander. This may have been what you meant.

[RWBlue]

Ah, ha, so this would be better

Starting off from once fired 5.56.
1.Run brass through Redding FL sizer (no neck expander), on Rockchucker press with Lee brass holder
2.Use Redding trim die, and dremmel to cut the majority of the excess brass off.
3.Run brass through Redding FL sizer (with neck expander), on Rockchucker press with Lee brass holder
4.Use Wilson trimmer with 221 Fireball case holder to trim to perfect length

[pug]

I hate absolutes but that looks good. After steps 1 and 2 you are going to still have a primed case with a neck size of .304". The Redding die uses the expander to support the decapping pin so it will need to be installed to deprime the case and also to expand the case neck out to .306". Make sure you run the stem and expander down so it clears the neck sizing part of the die. I actually had a little problem on that last step with my first Redding 300/221 FL die that caused me some trouble but after a replacement stem from Redding all was fine. The sizing with expander should be as smooth as without. If any bind don't force it and readjust. All this is assuming you have a 300 Fireball chamber that lets you shoot 223 brass without turning the necks down (.338 chamber neck). If you have a 300/221, 300 Whisper or 30-221 your neck diameter (possible .335" chamber neck) with bullet seated may be a press fit in the chamber which is very bad for high pressure. You could of course could do a chamber cast and measure the actual chamber neck dimension or you can coat the cartridge neck with a marker or layout fluid and insert it in the chamber and see how much gets scraped off (if any). Then of course there is the age old "stick it in and see how tight it is" method but because of minimum spec cut chambers that is not a good telltale. Keep your brass length to the short spec unless you actually measure the max case overall length with a gauge.

[RWBlue]

My barrel is a noveskerifleworks barrel, so we will see if the chamber is big enough.
I have some reedsammo subsonic and some corbon supersonic ammo on the way.
Additionally I will make a dummy round and test it out.

[jarhead1086]

Thanks guys, I see a couple things that I would've figured out the hard way. My last question is what case lube do you use to neck down. I like the Hornady One-Shot for ease, but sometimes I end up using the old fashioned gel during heavier sizing like when using small base dies on military brass. Cleaning the gel off in the tumbler ruins the media in a hurry.

PS- RWBlue- Is your Noveske a 1:6.5 twister?

[RWBlue]

RWBlue- Is your Noveske a 1:6.5 twister?

Accordning to John it is a 1 in 7.5". I have a feeling that my barrel is a "project barrel" I didn't want it with a pinned gas block.

[RWBlue]

Ah, ha, so this would be better

Starting off from once fired 5.56.
1.Run brass through Redding FL sizer (no neck expander), on Rockchucker press with Lee brass holder
2.Use Redding trim die, and dremmel to cut the majority of the excess brass off.
3.Run brass through Redding FL sizer (with neck expander), on Rockchucker press with Lee brass holder
4.Use Wilson trimmer with 221 Fireball case holder to trim to perfect length


It works. I have a 300 Fireball dummy case at this point. I trimmed it a little short (1.515). It took me a long time. But I now know I can do it. :nanabang:


jarhead1086, Imperial sizing wax

[jjmcrowell]

Thanks guys, I see a couple things that I would've figured out the hard way. My last question is what case lube do you use to neck down. I like the Hornady One-Shot for ease, but sometimes I end up using the old fashioned gel during heavier sizing like when using small base dies on military brass. Cleaning the gel off in the tumbler ruins the media in a hurry.




I use the one-shot lub also, seems to work fine.

I now just take my brass and use dish soap and hot water to clean off the lube, then I throw them in a pan and bake them at 200 degrees for awhile to evaporate the water. Sounds strange but works for me.

[jarhead1086]

Thanks all for your replies. I have an idea to modify a Possum Hollow case trimmer for .300. They datum off the case shoulder so you just stab the case in with your fingers until it quicks cutting and you have your length. What would be real nice is to part off on the lathe holding with the bottoming collet and while its still spinning in the chuck to stab the trimmer over the case neck for the final precise cut. This was my plan from the beginning but others mentioned that a full length resize after the rough trim was necessary to fully square things up. I have used a .223 Possum Hollow trimmer before I got my Dillon trimmer (which won't work w/o a lot of mods) and it worked fast and accurate. Maybe Possum Hollow would make a batch for us to save that effort too?