My Method For Making 300/221 Brass
 

Well my suppressor and SBR paperwork is pending so to keep myself busy I am playing around with making some 300/221 brass.

I bought a set of Redding FL, neck, and seater dies.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct...tnumber=244465

http://media.midwayusa.com/ProductIm...ium/244465.jpg

I bought a Bench Top Cut-Off Saw to cut down my 223 brass after running through the neck sizing die without the stem.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42307

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/pho...2399/42307.gif

Then I FL resize with the 308 expander in it.

I then trim with a custom Possum Hollow trimmer I just received.

http://www.possumhollowproducts.com/...-trimmers.html

http://www.possumhollowproducts.com/...se-trimmer.jpg

So far the process isn't too bad but I need to wait until I get a barrel to do large runs.

I am practicing on some old 223 brass that has loose primer pockets.

Any issues you guys can see with my steps?

Thanks

My Method For Making 300/221 Brass
 

I have used the same equipment for a few years now, my trimmer is an old Herters. It is not fast like the power trimmers of today but it works just fine. I take the time to debur the primer hole and sort brass by maker and date if I am going for pure accuracy in my bolt gun. I built a little jig to place the brass in so I don't have to measure each one before cutting it off.
What else is there to do on cold winter nights besides cut brass, cast bullets and cuss the government???

I figured out a cheap jig to use for trimming the brass with the mini cut-off saw tonight.

I put an old shot out 308 case in the jaws and the top of the resized 223 case fits just right in the case mouth to line it up to cut the brass right at the shoulder.

The cut piece just falls out and you grab another piece of brass.

I'll have to take a pic.

I would love to see the pic of this.

Also whom at Possum Hollow did you speak with and how long to have it made? I'm very interested.

Pretty slick; I was wondering what kind of jig to use and thought I might use my Wilson trimmer case holder. I was going to try it tonight to see if it worked.

Wilson sells case holders for both fired and unfired brass so I could size before or after depending on what version I'm using. I think my caseholder is for unfired brass which means I'd have to size my once fired Lack City brass first. Not a problem but I like your method and will give it a try. Ditto on wanting to see a picture when you get one.

Thanks,

Brad

I emailed Eric Sinclair who owns the business.

http://www.possumhollowproducts.com/contact-us.html

I think he made it in a few weeks if I remember correctly.

It's their 223 trimmer with the shoulder indexing hole bored out to the 308 trimmer dimensions.

You don't have a ton of case to hold onto but it works.

I bought one of those rubber pads from KMart that you use to open stuck jar lids and cut it into a small cross so I can grip the case and protect my finger from getting a nice bruise from the case head pressing against it.

http://s.sears.com/is/image/Sears/01...arpen=1&qlt=75

http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_1...keyword=rubber

Thanks I just emailed them. I have been using a band saw to cut my virgin brass, using 204 Ruger Rem brass BPS had on sale, and a wilson/sinclair trimmer to finalize the trim then neck trimming with a K&M w/ a power adapter.It just takes to long to finalize the trim which the P.H. would speed up.

Here are the pics.

http://webpages.charter.net/jscalcione/DSC01330.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/jscalcione/DSC01329.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/jscalcione/DSC01332.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/jscalcione/DSC01333.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/jscalcione/DSC01337.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/jscalcione/DSC01338.jpg

I am going to have to get one of those cut off saws. That is much easier than what I have been doing.

I tried using the Wilson case holders but they wouldn't fit in the jaws of the HF mini cut off saw's vice so I tried your .308 case method. Had to open up a fired case just a touch more to get the resized .223 case neck in but it works pretty slick. Your brass jig is a definite enhancement over anything I was dreaming up. Thank you for sharing the tip!


One thing I've noticed on the HF saw is that it's a bit underpowered and leaves a fairly ragged cut (OK it's cheap). I wonder if I'm just trying to cut too fast and since I don't have it anchored down perhaps I'm inducing more flex than it would otherwise have, so I'll try it again with better anchoring. I do wish the blade was a bit finer toothed, but it's the best tool I have for this purpose and it's a heck of a lot better than the hacksaw or tubing cutter method I tried previously.

I'm doing the final trimming on the Giraud and it's doing its typically great job once I got the blade adjustment set.

Thank you again.