SteveW Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 After a little bit of advice guys. Recently I'm having trouble sourcing 221 Fireball brass, usually bought it from Tim Hannam. But at present he doesn't have any, and only has 17 fireball brass ordered, I know I could neck it up, but fancied trying something I'd not attempted before. So I thought I would try using the Redding form dies to form 221 Fireball brass from 223 brass, the only case forming I've ever done is changing 6.5/284 to 6/284, hardly taxing. Anyway the dies have been ordered from the very helpful Aftab at Reloading Solutions, my thinking went along the lines of being able to use better quality brass, and being much easier to get hold of. Leading to the part where I would like a bit of advice, firstly has anyone gone down this route before ? Can you lose any cases during the die forming process ? Do they come out perfect 221 brass or do they require a fireforming as an Ackley does ? I've also ordered the trim die but presume this can be done on the Wilson case trimmer ? Am I over complicating this ? Any experience/thoughts appreciated. Cheers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vermincinerator Posted October 28, 2009 Report Share Posted October 28, 2009 Its easier to form from .222 as you have a longer neck and shorter body to start with. Look out for telescoping although this usually happens if you are necking down as well as shortening the body. The formed case will be almost complete but firing will blow it out fully. Ian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveW Posted October 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 Its easier to form from .222 as you have a longer neck and shorter body to start with.Look out for telescoping although this usually happens if you are necking down as well as shortening the body. The formed case will be almost complete but firing will blow it out fully. Ian. Many thanks for the help Ian, Hadn't thought of starting with .222. I'll do a search to see who manufactures decent .222 brass. Would you be so kind to elaborate on "Telescoping" I've never heard of this, I have a fair idea of what I think you mean, but just to be sure. If going the .223 route, for quality brass Reloading Solutions has either Sako or Dakota brass, I've never heard of Dakota, but Aftab tells me it is manufactured by Lapua, does anyone have any experience of Dakota ??? Cheers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
varminter.223 Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 Many thanks for the help Ian, Hadn't thought of starting with .222. I'll do a search to see who manufactures decent .222 brass. Would you be so kind to elaborate on "Telescoping" I've never heard of this, I have a fair idea of what I think you mean, but just to be sure. If going the .223 route, for quality brass Reloading Solutions has either Sako or Dakota brass, I've never heard of Dakota, but Aftab tells me it is manufactured by Lapua, does anyone have any experience of Dakota ??? Cheers Steve Hi Steve, Im doing exactly what your doing but going one step, well its actually two steps further and making 17 Mach IV brass from .223. Its a fairly easy straight forward process. Nothing really complicated about it. I havent used Sako or Dakota but have used Winny, Lake City and Lapua to get to 17M4. The two steps you'll be requiring to get to .221 will be a doddle! Use any case lube sparingly. You may need to spend a little time adjusting the dies so that you get the correct headspace etc. Might be worth measuring case length after you've necked them down to see that they are not over length and also checking neck diameter on a loaded round. Other than that I cant really see any issues. Any probs drop me a line. You will find there is a difference in resistance between manufacturers brass. You should be able to get away with military brass as well but remember its much thicker stuff and you may need to adjust your powder measure accordingly. Have fun, ATB Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vermincinerator Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 Hi Steve, Pete seems to have covered things very well but just for the record telescoping is when the shoulder collapses and the neck is pushed into the case, although this usually only happens when cases have been over-annealed. Lapua make brass in both .222 and .223 the latter in match grade as well. Ian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveW Posted October 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 Thank you both very much for the advice, the 17 Mach IV sounds like a cracking round. Maybe a consideration when I need a re barrel. Hopefully all should go well, but I appreciate the the offer of help Pete. Cheers Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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