making 222 brass

Kevin Stenberg

Kevin Stenberg

Well-Known Member
I watched a video of Ammosmith's concerning how to make 222 brass from 223. One point he glossed over was if it was needed to out side ream the necks of the new cases.
There is an upcoming auction and they have a Savage 340 in 222 on the list of weapons.
 
Michael

Michael

Active Member. Uh/What
That is how did it when I use to form 221 from 223. Ran into a form/trim die, cut off the excess, clean up the case mouths, into a FL sizer to set shoulder position, followed by final trim and outside neck turn, somewhere early in there I did an anneal. With the 222 no reason you can't just use a regular FL sizer to push the shoulder back to where you want it, case length only differs by 0.060". After trimming you will need to turn the lower part of the neck which will come from the shoulder of the parent 223 case, I use a Forester trimmer set up for outside neck turning. 222 to 223, easy schmeasy. Have fun.
 
Matt

Matt

Active Member
I’ve done it too and generally with most .223/5.56 cases you can get away without reaming ( inside or outside). I use my reformed .222 cases in a very early 722 Remington and a BSA. If you want to have some thickness to outside neck turn it works pretty well but no great improvement in accuracy if any for me. If it’s a neck clearance issue I prefer to inside ream; it’s quicker.

As far as being worth it I’d say it is. I have a lot of once fired 5.56 and reforming 100 cases and loading them is a pleasant morning in the shop.
Those 100 cases will last a long time.

I convert a lot of 5.56 to .300 Blackout for the same reason; because I’ve got a lot of 5.56. It’s a lot more work than making .222 cases but “worth it” to me.
 
R

richhodg66

Well-Known Member
It was real tedious to me to get a case formed without all kinds of lube dents on the shoulder. I have enough .222 brass to last a long time at the rate I shoot it.
 
R

richhodg66

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I got that, and still got a lot of lube dents. Again, more trouble than it was worth, wasn't hard at all to find plenty of people selling .222 brass.
 
J

Jeff H

NW Ohio
@Kevin Stenberg , if there's a 222 up for sale and you like the rifle - jump on it. You probably already know what a joy they are to shoot, and sort of a "natural" with cast to boot. If you bought that 340 in 222, I could stop kicking myself for passing one up a couple (three?) years ago for $250, and it looked well-cared for.

Lube dents be damned!

That's just me though, spiting the socio-economic/political situation which presumes to dictate to me that I can't shoot. But then, I'd wear a skirt and lipstick to work if the "wrong" person tried to dictate to me that I CAN'T. If you think about it, cast-bullet shooters are all kind of like that anyway, or we'd all just shoot jacketed bullets.

At least the 222 is one you CAN make brass for from one of the few cartridges dominating production resources right now. If I had to live with lube dents to shoot my 222, I would, just to spite the "situation." I don't know that ANY brass is "easy" to find right now. When you DO find brass, it's selling for more than what loaded cartridges did not that long before this last drought.

ONE of the MANY endearing traits of the 222 is that brass is much more an INVESTMENT than and EXPENSE for and expendable item.

I also THINK, but haven't tried yet, that new or maybe once-fired 223 brass might form OK. Ken Waters seemed to think "one pas through a 222 die" is all it takes. Just read that last night. I tried a few cases on tired, old LC cases and I got some dents in spite of being careful to keep the lube off the shoulder,..... but wait, the "SHOULDER" of the newly formed 222 case is in a different spot than the SHOULDER of the original 223 case! WHERE you DON'T put the lube is NOT on the SHOULDER of the 223 case. (?) There's an epiphany for ya! I just thought of that. Maybe lube dents are NOT mandatory.

Lube dents have always been a mark of shame to me, but my pride went out the window as primers went above $30/C and a lot of brass I like went to the back burner for production. I think we could figure it out, but I wouldn't let it stop me form having a 222 if I couldn't conclusively prove it before-hand.
 
R

richhodg66

Well-Known Member
Current situation notwithstanding, when I got a .222 and started asking in WTB of forums, I came up with a lot of brass cheap. I'll save the .223 brass to shoot in the .223s and shoot .222 brass in the .222. I suppose it's good to know that I can do it if I have to, but it'll be a long time before I go to that much hassle when it isn't that hard to get proper brass.
 
RBHarter

RBHarter

West Central AR
I was so bad off finding 222 that I had to find a way to not get dents . I bought a 256 win die set . Bumped the shoulder , FL 222 , trim ......... Ran 20 , went to town bought 100 new 222 Win bulk brass ...... Now I search for a 25 cal barrel blank or a take off with a long enough shank to screw to a Savage for a rimless 256 Win .......
 
Michael

Michael

Active Member. Uh/What
rimless 256 Win .

Is that what one would call a... twenty fiver ball....?

Quick and easy solution for a 256 Win TC barrel. Just slip in a rimless extractor, push the shoulder back with a form trim die, cut off the excess, set shoulder position with a FL sizer, trim, and neck as need be. Don't have the hassle of necking 357 to 257, plus a 60K psi case vs 35K psi.
 
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RBHarter

RBHarter

West Central AR
I'm sure it's been done . I have an Axis to do something with , it needs some attention to get it back together .
 
Spindrift

Spindrift

Well-Known Member
I got my first .222 rem a little over a year ago, a CZ527. I just love this little cartridge! It is so..... balanced, and well proportioned. I’ve shot this rifle a bit the last year (1000 shots), while the .223 has stayed in the safe. A few days ago, I reloaded some .223 rem for the first time in a while.

I caught myself staring at the .223 brass in disbelief. What happened to this poor, disfigured cartridge? It looks wrong, somehow... Maybe it didn’t get enough vitamins while growing up? The .222 rem just looks so much prettier!

When the .222 rem was new, I did some feeble attempts at reforming .223 pick-ups. I got dents and wrinkles at the new shoulder. I concluded- it can be done, obviously; but it requires some deliberate steps, it seems.

I’m still on my first 50 starline .222 cases. I anneal every 5 reloadings, use Lee collet die and expand the neck with the RCBS expander. Haven’t lost a case yet. I’m on the 22nd reloading cycle now, the brass is still good. It has kind of reduced my motivation for labour- intensive case forming.
 
M

Mowgli Terry

Active Member
Case Forming: Beware of'" the only thing you have to do....." I still have my old Remington 700 VS and brass from then the rifle was new. I go along with spending the energy finding a source for already made brass. From my experience 222 brass is long lived with excellent performance from a wide variety of loads. I think the round has been rediscovered recently.

I was speculating on how hard it was to make 300 H&H brass from .375 H&H. I got that" ....the only thing have to do.." dance. from a reloading Guru elsewhere.
 
J

Jeff H

NW Ohio
For me, being able to HAVE some brass - having a workable solution for when/if I didn't have 222 brass is a "security" thing. Just the knowledge makes me feel good.

The doctors want to ask about "food security," but I think more in terms of "component security" and "firewood security."

I got my 527 in 222 something like six years ago, I think, and I ordered 200 Remington cases after I placed the order for the rifle. Given the soft-spoke nature of the 222, those cases will likely last me until I am dead - even if I live a long time. Still I want to try some Starline brass in it, and I like knowing that I COULD make 222 from 223 if I have to.

According to @Spindrift :
"I caught myself staring at the .223 brass in disbelief. What happened to this poor, disfigured cartridge? It looks wrong, somehow... Maybe it didn’t get enough vitamins while growing up? The .222 rem just looks so much prettier!"

You're not the only one! The 222 just IS one of the prettiest cases ever! I don't hate the 223, but to be objective about it, in comparison, the 223 is like the 222s "ugly sister."

@Michael , that "rimless 256" is a dangerous idea. I like 25 caliber stuff and I like small cases. I like CZ 527s and have a "spare." Dangit....;)
 
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