How I make whisper brass ...

[WhisperFan]

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk219/WhisperFan/Firearms/Whisper-brass.jpg

This is how I form Whisper brass. It is pretty easy, and I have never split a neck. The reason is I am not trying to expand a .22 caliber neck to 30 caliber .... rather I am down-sizing the former case wall of the .223.

A - a .223 case

B - I cut off the .223 case at the neck. I have used a Dremel tool held in the hand. I have also used a cut-off tool mounted in a drill pess with the table set to the correct height. Then just hold the base of the case on the table push it into the cut-off wheel and rotate. That method is really fast.

C - A photo of the .223 after the old neck has been removed.

D - I then trim to 1.350" I have seen a wide variety of OAL case measurements. I have seen 1.350" all the way up to 1.400" .... I have found 1.350" works well for me (your mileage my vary)

E - Then I press it into the sizing die, creating the new neck and shoulder. I use Redding dies, I do not use the smaller (7mm) expander ball, as there is no need to since I am sizing 'down' and not sizing 'up'.
I find that this operation lengtens the case a little - so I trim again.

Then I chamfer the inner and outer edges, clean the primer pocket (ream the primer pocket if I am using mil-spec brass). If you have a tight chamber, you might want to neck turn to the proper brass thickness, but I don't need to for my rifles. Lastly, I toss the brass into the tumbler to remove any resizing residue.

Sounds like a lot of work, but the Whisper is still considered a wild-cat and wild-catting a cartridge takes time and effort. But it only needs to done once (per cartridge).

After that, I neck-size only for bolt actions, and full-length size for semi's

[Scalce]

So for step E, are you using the tapered 308 expander or just downsizing the neck and leaving it as is?

Also, have you thought about adjusting your method so you do not have repeat steps multiple times like trimming?

[oregonshooter]

I was bummed out today that I would have to use Redding's 2 step sizer die instead of SSK's Hornady die (they won't sell it to me) but this makes a lot of sense if it works well.

What is your outter thickness running?

At 1.350" before sizing, do you get any growth after sizing?

[WhisperFan]

So for step E, are you using the tapered 308 expander or just downsizing the neck and leaving it as is?

Also, have you thought about adjusting your method so you do not have repeat steps multiple times like trimming?


When I form brass for the first time, I use the Redding Full-length resizer with the .30 caliber resizing ball.

The only step I do twice is trim. Since I really hack off the old neck, and you see what it looks like after, in step C ... I don't want to send it up the sizing die like that. I guess I could trim to a length that would account for resizing, but I don't mind trimming twice.

[WhisperFan]

What is your outter thickness running?

At 1.350" before sizing, do you get any growth after sizing?

.0138" with a piece of commercial brass I checked.

I get a little growth ... maybe 5 to 7 thou .... I suppose I could live with it and take care of it after fire-forming ... but I like to make it uniform.

[oregonshooter]

.0138" with a piece of commercial brass I checked.

I get a little growth ... maybe 5 to 7 thou .... I suppose I could live with it and take care of it after fire-forming ... but I like to make it uniform.


Ok that's what I figured the 1.350 over 1.355 was about. I will be doin the same, thanks for posting this! Seems obvious but I didn't uink of it. :)

[Scalce]

I was bummed out today that I would have to use Redding's 2 step sizer die instead of SSK's Hornady die (they won't sell it to me) but this makes a lot of sense if it works well.


What is the Redding 2 step sizer die in reference to compared to the SSK Hornady die?

Are you saying that you would only have one step with the SSK die or you would just prefer it over the Redding?

[oregonshooter]

That's my understanding (one step) from reading this thread... http://www.quarterbore.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3543

[Scalce]

The two steps for expanding, which is what I think you are referring to, are for bringing 221 Firebrall brass up to a 30 cal neck without splitting or crushing it.

You don't have that issue when using 223 brass as you are necking down from the 223 case body.

Both dies have the same amount of steps when forming from 223 brass.

[oregonshooter]

Oh, my mistake. I thought the first was to bring it half way on a .223 also. Newb here! :welcome::rolleyes:

[Scalce]

Oh, my mistake. I thought the first was to bring it half way on a .223 also. Newb here! :welcome::rolleyes:

No worries

I am a newbie when it comes to this caliber as well.

I just didn't want you stressing for nothing as the Redding dies work well.

If you want to crimp your rounds with the Redding seater die, you will have to shave down a shellholder which really isn't a big deal.

Personally I do not think I will ever crimp my rounds for this caliber.

[snipecatcher]

To the OP: something else you might try is running the case (step A) into the sizing die before you cut it, so you have 2 shoulders. THEN cut off at the right place, that way you only have to trim once.
-Dan

[WhisperFan]

To the OP: something else you might try is running the case (step A) into the sizing die before you cut it, so you have 2 shoulders. THEN cut off at the right place, that way you only have to trim once.
-Dan

You mean run it into the sizing die without the expander ball installed?

If you have the expander ball installed, you won't have two shoulders, but just the one for the Whisper, with a really long neck.

My problem with sizing before trimming is this ....

If I take a .223 case and size it to 300 Whisper, I have a Whisper case with a really long neck. I no longer have any point of reference were to cut to. So I have to use m manual trimmer to take off a lot of brass ..... a lot of brass ... with a Lyman trimmer. I don't want to buy a power trimmer, as I don't have a need to do a lot of brass.
If I whack off the brass at the old ..223 shoulder, it takes a second to accomplish, and it takes off a lot of the brass that I would have to trim with the trimmer. Since the edge is so rough, I have to go really slowly, so the cutter doesn't dig in, but I spin it pretty fast and feed pretty slow (to start)

So - in essence, the shoulder of the .223 gives me a point of reference to whack off the brass to.

I suppose, if I were to remove the expander ball, it would create two shoulders and I would still have a place to whack the brass to, but then the brass would have to go back into the die, with the expander in place after cutting and trimming, and still might grow, to need a second trim.

I'm open to suggestions - but bear in mind that I am a cheap bastard, and I am going to keep my manual timmer, and not invest in any new equipment.

[snipecatcher]

Yeah I usually remove the expander ball, and use the original .223 shoulder as a reference point to cut the brass (I cut just below the shoulder, and don't have to trim much.) I then cut, trim, and for the final step I just run the brass through the neck sizer die. This reduces any case stretching I may have. I guess it doesn't really cut down on the work, I just really don't like trimming brass, and prefer to run it through the die a second time instead of trimming it a second time.

[Scalce]

Yeah I usually remove the expander ball, and use the original .223 shoulder as a reference point to cut the brass (I cut just below the shoulder, and don't have to trim much.) I then cut, trim, and for the final step I just run the brass through the neck sizer die. This reduces any case stretching I may have. I guess it doesn't really cut down on the work, I just really don't like trimming brass, and prefer to run it through the die a second time instead of trimming it a second time.

I just started using this method as well but I neck size before I trim.

My chop saw makes a pretty clean cut and I can always use a chamfer/deburr tool if I think the cuts are too ugly but so far I haven't had issues with the neck die or expander.