Saubier.com  



Go Back   Saubier.com > Saubier.com Forums > Small Caliber Discussion Board

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 01-21-2021, 06:58 PM
pertnear pertnear is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 225
Default Forming .222 Rem cases from .223 cases

ISO info on what dies are needed & where to get them if this is possible. Any help, info or ideas would be most appreciated.

TIA,

Dave
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 01-21-2021, 07:40 PM
Johnly Johnly is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Eugene, OR
Posts: 953
Default

I use a RCBS Rockchucker press, but any medium to heavy duty press will work. lube the cases with lanolin or Imperial Sizing wax and run 223 cases into your 222 FL sizer, anneal neck area(optional), then trim to length.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 01-21-2021, 07:45 PM
pertnear pertnear is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 225
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnly View Post
I use a RCBS Rockchucker press, but any medium to heavy duty press will work. lube the cases with lanolin or Imperial Sizing wax and run 223 cases into your 222 FL sizer, anneal neck area(optional), then trim to length.
Won't the formed cases need to be inside neck reamed?
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 01-21-2021, 10:06 PM
JSH JSH is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Kansas US of A
Posts: 634
Default

I made 50 from RP brass, none to be found at the time. I just did a FL 223 die, expander removed. Then the same for 222 die.
Unless in a real bind, not worth my time to do it. I bought Star Line and didn’t look back.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 01-21-2021, 10:09 PM
Daryl Daryl is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Prince George, B.C. Canada
Posts: 4,273
Default

I was thinking of doing the same, .223's to .222's, but thought neck reaming might be necessary due to the do-nut at the base of the .223 neck, which ends up in the neck of the .222?
Does this not happen at all or is the normal .222's chamber neck large enough to negate the need for turning or reaming?
2 questions asked.
__________________
Daryl
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 01-21-2021, 10:17 PM
Johnly Johnly is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Eugene, OR
Posts: 953
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by pertnear View Post
Won't the formed cases need to be inside neck reamed?
That would depend on the chamber dimensions and possibly the length of the bullet used.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 01-22-2021, 12:38 AM
moorepower moorepower is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,549
Default

As long as the .222 neck is, I doubt the bullet will be close to the ring.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 01-22-2021, 01:59 AM
Wiserfool Wiserfool is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: Alberta, Canada
Posts: 96
Default

Two winters ago, I formed 1000 223 1xfired to 222. If you take the time to prepare everything well, the hassle factor goes way down, while the success rate goes way up. Here are a few tips based on what I learned along the way:

-Get the brass nice and clean first; SS wet tumbling is best. Anything but nice shiny brass causes the failure rate to increase drastically.
-Polish your 222 FL die internally. Don't worry, you won't take enough metal off to cause any problem with the resizing function of the die. Polish it WELL, not just a little bit. It removes any internal roughness, which can cause problems when forming. A smooth die makes a BIG difference to the success rate.
-Use Imperial Sizing Wax. Clearly the best lube for reforming. If you are getting any wrinkling, use less lube, not more. I've tried the others, Imperial is in a class of its own for forming brass.
-Remove the decapping rod from the die, form the brass in one stroke, but use a slow, steady stroke of the handle.
-Trimming is the most time consuming part of the entire process. A power trimmer helps a lot here.
-Anneal the brass once the forming and trimming is complete, prior to the first loading. If you don't anneal at all, you will get split necks because the brass got worked so much.
-Finish off with a full length resize, with the decapping rod installed this time.

I enjoyed the process of doing a batch of 223 to 222 forming. I used only an RCBS 222 FL die with bulk Federal brass and inside neck turning was not necessary in a factory Remington chamber (Model 660). I got great reloads out of this and the gopher population around here took a big hit as a result. At $80 per thousand for 1xfired 223, vs around $450 a thousand for new 222 brass (IF you can find any), I picked up a Giraud Tri trimmer + the bulk brass for way less than the cost of 1000 new 222 brass.

Last edited by Wiserfool; 01-22-2021 at 03:15 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 01-23-2021, 12:28 AM
Jim D Jim D is offline
Supporting Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Iowa
Posts: 550
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnly View Post
I use a RCBS Rockchucker press, but any medium to heavy duty press will work. lube the cases with lanolin or Imperial Sizing wax and run 223 cases into your 222 FL sizer, anneal neck area(optional), then trim to length.
Back in the early 80s, we did this, It worked great ! I think I still have a few rounds left.
A Buddy got some LC brass, and we loaded a bunch in his basement.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 11:27 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.