Yet another way to make 300-221 fireball brass
 

In an earlier post someone came up with a way to make 300-221 fireball brass using a small tube cutter to cut 223 brass near the shoulder. The next step involved running the brass into the sizing die and then trim to length.

Well I tried this method and it was way too slow. But it led to another method to form brass that is pretty quick.

First, with the .223 collet installed, trim .223 brass past the shoulder to a length of 1.365". I use a Foster trimmer with an attachment for a drill.

http://www.quarterbore.net/forums/ph...35/223trim.jpg

The brass at this point will look like a long version of a rimless 357 mag.

http://www.quarterbore.net/forums/ph.../300trimed.jpg

Run this brass into the sizer-deprimer die and you have a 300-221 fireball case.

http://www.quarterbore.net/forums/ph...5/300brass.JPG

I can make about 100 cases in little over an hour.


320pf

That is pretty darned slick! Thanks for sharing!

I changed your links to show the images as your images were not too large...

Also, I bet you end up with lots of brass chips when you are done!

Quarterbore,

Thanks for ugrading the links. Yes I do get a lot of brass chips. Since I do not have the Foster trimmer mounted on the bench.... I hold it in one hand and the drill in the other, I trim/cut the brass over a 5 gal. plastic bucket. There are about 2 in. of cuttings in the bucket now.:grin: (I have made about 2000 cases and this method seems to be the fastest)

I should elaborate a bit on technique. When you are initially cutting the case, you can cut pretty quickly. Once you get to the shoulder and the colet is no longer supporting the case, you need to back off and slow down or else you will mangle the end of the formed case. I found that setting the drill to High speed cuts the best.

320pf

After you trim your brass to 1.365 then form them, how long do they come out? I cut my initial batches long and didn't measure before and after so I don't know how long it turns out but I plan on cutting down a bunch more and I want to cut them so that I have to do minimal trimming afterwards.

Thanks,
Jon

thats how I was doing it before I started using the tubing cutter. I stopped using that method because I figured it was more wear and tear on the cutter head than nessisary. To each his own I guess.:uzi2:

Jon,

If you look at the accompanying photos you will see that the trimmed .223 case that looks like a rimless 357 is Oh so slightly shorter than the final form case. When you form the shoulder the case grows about 0.010. So here are the dimensions that I use.

I trim the cases to 1.357 ±0.002. I then sizes them and form the shoulder. The cases increase in length to 1.366 ±0.001. They do not require any re-trimming.

320pf

Rednecdan,

You are right. I am sure that I am putting more wear and tear on my trimmer. But it is a lot faster.

I shoot about 200 round a month in matches and I only recover about 60-70% of the brass. So I am always making brass. And fast is good:grin:

320pf

I did the same initially but was also concerened about the added wear and tear on the trimmer.

I now do, essentiually, the same thing except with a drill press. I purchased a cheap drill press vice and closed it snug, I then drilled a hole, slightly smaller than the base of the .223 brass, centered between the two jaws, and only about 1/2 way into the jaws. I then purchased a cheap 1/2" end mill (which is desigend very similar to the cutter on the trimmer) for about $10 and set the stop on the drill press so that my .223 brass is trimmed slighty longer or at the length that I want my finsihed 300 Whisper brass (it will lengthen slightly when formed). I centered the hole in the drill press vice under the mill and I then trim as many as I need using the vice as a quick clamp. I can do several hundred in an hour. I then form and size in the conventional manner and do a final quick trim with the case trimmer just to square everything up.

300 Whisper from 223...
 

Living near a large military base, I can go to the traing areas. Generally can find unfired 223 blanks.
I take an unfired blank, run it into a Forester trim die. Cut off the exposed part about 1/8 hign. Remove, dump blank powder (wife puts it in her garden...phosperous and nitrogen. Use a modified Lee case trimer to trim length. Run into the de-prime die. Presto, a primed 300 Whisper case.
I know, some one will say the cases are defective (it's got a canleture...so does m118LR!), or too thick. Have a neck trimmer, but haven't had to use it yet.

Has worked well, no splits, no signs of pressure. Use 14 grains of H110 and 147 grain FMJ military bullets.

I've used a Wilson case trimmer collet/sleeve.

Put a dab of Dykem on the case, scratch the Dykem with your caliber at the length you want to trim it.

Chuck up the Wilson trimmer collet/sleeve in 3-jaw chuck, put an end mill in your tailstock - advance the tailstock, it'll trim one in about 5 seconds.

Finish the trim in your case trimmer of choice after full length sizing/forming.

Saves some wear and tear, and sure seems much quicker to me.