.17 fire ball case from .223

[luke wady]

hi
iam going to make my owen case's
how meny forming die do i need to make ,

i was thinkin ill need to go to 7mm then 6.5 them 6 mm the a .221 fire ball die
the neck to .20 cal then full lenght size
dose thise seem right with every one ?

thanks luke

[rickiesrevenge]

Redding makes a die to go from 223 to 221 fireball. They also make a die to go from 221 to 17 fireball.

[luke wady]

iam going to make my owen as i run my owen machine shop. how meny steps do they use?

thanks

[ab_bentley]

http://www.saubier.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9938

Adam

[terrier man]

LUKE-are you taking advantage of the better brass or just seeing what can be done,i form mine from221 brass with redding form dies the brass isnt the best but acceptable.i will follow your efforts closeley maybe i will switch to 223 brass down the line.

[Chuck Miller]

I have 2 sets of form dies, 223 to 221FB and 221FB to 17mk4. These allow me to take factory 223 brass and work it down to 17FB or 17MK4. It's a lot of steps, requires annealing,neck turning, fireforming and after doing 400pcs is something I won't do again. Unless we run out of 221FB brass....again. Only reason I did it was because I have too many rifles that use cases based off the 221FB and with those dies I can make anything I need. Frankly I would rather be poked in the eye than go through the hassle.

[luke wady]

so it lool like less sizeing than i was thinking.

i think i only need one intermedate from 223 to .221
then
one between 221 and .17, ill keep you al posted

thanks luke

[Jollygiant01]

I use a 256 magnum die before the 221 die. I bought it for next to nothing used and it works perfect. I just screw it down on a fireball case in the press to set the sholder length.

[Iowa Fox]

Originally Posted by Chuck Miller

I have 2 sets of form dies, 223 to 221FB and 221FB to 17mk4. These allow me to take factory 223 brass and work it down to 17FB or 17MK4. It's a lot of steps, requires annealing,neck turning, fireforming and after doing 400pcs is something I won't do again. Unless we run out of 221FB brass....again. Only reason I did it was because I have too many rifles that use cases based off the 221FB and with those dies I can make anything I need. Frankly I would rather be poked in the eye than go through the hassle.

I have the dies and have done it. Chuck is right its just too darn much work. I'm glad I have the dies because 223 brass is plentiful and I have 17MK4, 221and 222 to feed. I'm not going to get caught short on brass.

[varminter]

Luke,

I make all my 17M4 brass from .223. Some guys use military brass but I've found it too thick and hard to form and use either Winchester or Lapua.

I use 4 dies to get from 223 to 17 M4 and a little Imperial sizing wax. I then trim the cases to length, chamfer the inside and use a neck expander before turning the necks to the required thickness. Chamfer the outside and load up and go play. Its a little more detailed than that but you get quality brass that fits YOUR CHAMBER exactly!

Go to Varmit Al's site there a more detailed description there on how to form brass. Its similar to the method I use.

ATB

Pete