Forming military 5.56 brass to .222

M

MtnTeddyBear

New member
I'm trying to get back into reloading after 30 years, yea I'm an old fart. I have a Rem 600 in .222 that has probably never had more that 50 rounds through it and I want to load and stockpile a 1000 rds for it as inexpensively as possible. I've read references on here that you can run military 5.56 brass into a .222 die and then you just have to trim it to OAL of the .222. Is this really all there is to it? I know that the crimp will have to be removed in the primer pocket. So here are my questions:
1. Will the military 5.56 really reform to .222 case dimensions without crushing or denting?
2. Will the standard decapping pin in the .222 die be strong enough to decap the military brass or do I need a special decapping die?
3. I don't currently have a case trimmer, what would be the best one to get knowing that I plan on trimming 1000 military cases from .223 OAL to .222 OAL?
4. What is the best way to remove the crimps from the primer pockets?

Thanks in advance,
Freddie
 
Buy LC brass from Midway, no crimps on any of the LC brass I have...buy a Lee 222 Rem case trimmer and a bullet spinner...size the brass - USE Imperial wax and a 222 Rem FL sizer die, chuck the case spinner into a 1/4-3/8" drill, put in a case, stick the Lee trimmer into the case and pull the trigger...deburr the case mouth, use a blue shop towel to spin/clean off the wax. Takes longer to type this out than to do a case...BUT

I guarantee it is MUCH easier to just buy 222 Rem cases. The Lee trimmer and spinner works with those just as well.

You're talking about 0.060" of brass removal...not a whole lot considering.

I've been using Lee case trimmers for any case they are available for, for as long as I can remember...way back in the stone age...I got a long white beard also. I also have Wilson, Lyman, RCBS and a few other brands I use now and then, but the Lee and a drill work the fastest and is the most uniform.

Midway has all the stuff you need, but check around online, there are several places that sell LC 223 brass and you might get a better deal through them.

Luck
 
Originally Posted By: NFG

I guarantee it is MUCH easier to just buy 222 Rem cases. The Lee trimmer and spinner works with those just as well.


I've been using Lee case trimmers for any case they are available for, for as long as I can remember...

Midway has all the stuff you need

Luck

+1
 
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I have done that a few times and reached the conclusion that it isn't worth the trouble unless you have gotten a large number of cases free. That's right, free.

When you start really worrying about the cost to do something in reloading you need to consider what your time is worth as well. Since it sounds like you are going to have to buy the cases either way why not just buy 222 to begin with and save the trouble?
 
When I was 25 years younger and didn't have a lot of $ I tried doing it. What I found was: 1. I had a lot of neck splits the first firing, removing the crimps from the primer pockets was a major tedious job, case capacity was reduced due to the thickness of military brass. After all of this even with my high school income I came up with the cash to buy factory triple duece brass. (And I was even given an RCBS .222 conversion trim die that allows you to file off the extra length of brass - I haven't touched it since). Best of Luck
 
I went through this awhile back and it is time consuming. I have a powered rcbs trimmer and it took about 1 1/2 hours to do 200 cases. You will also need to fireform them. I would'nt do it again,I would just buy 222 brass new or used.
 
Just to get you started you could buy a thousand rds of LC brass from Brassmanbrass.com for $145 shipped. This is new brass, no crimped in primers. That way you'll start out with a softer neck and shoulder for forming down having never been fired and you don't have to fool around with the crimp.

You can buy a Redding Form & Trim Die for around $27 to size down the LC brass to .222 and then just hacksaw off the excess brass the sticks out of the form die and then file off what's left over. Then just chamfer the inside & outside of the case mouth and F/L size them.

It's time consuming, but cheap.

Ole

And military brass is no heavier than civilian brass.
 
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Yeah...Forgot to add...all what was said AND gather up 20 223 or so and try out the procedure BEFORE buying a large amount of brass...it should convince you of something one way or the other.

Ole said it...new brass is much easier to form than fired and the form trim die is the way to go...I didn't know they were so cheap now...form dies and sets used to be a bit pricey. I buy/use Lee dies whenever I need an intermediate sizing die and I have a bunch of Lee seaters in the junk drawer I use for various purposes...at least the soft ones I can machine or ream.

It IS time consuming, but you have to do all the same steps when doing your brass...EXCEPT the large amount of trimming and maybe the extra forming step...try forming fireball brass from 223 brass and have to neck turn a bunch also...just to get started while weighting for the FB brass to arrive.

There are many ways to get where you want to go including thinking about a rechamber to 223 which would solve a WHOLE lot of problems from the gitgo. Unless your shooter is a collectors item and could be sold/traded for more than the price of a new rifle.

Just something else to think aboutl

As far as brass weight is concerned for 223, it is brand specific and doesn't seem to have any relationship to whether it is military or civilian...do an online search, there has been many weight comparisons across the board with 223 brass. Case volumes run from about 28 gr h2o to about 32 gr h2o...I've seen that amount in ONE 20 rnd box of IMI 55gr FMJ's... I guarantee that amount of difference will play hobb with your groups...but it works for shooting...people.

I just got a box of Lapua 223 to form 20 Practical...while the case necks were very uniform, ~
 
Few years ago when I had a .17 Mach IV, .221 Fireball brass was hard to get. So,I used .223 brass, first forming thru Reddings .221 Fireball forming die set, then thru the .17 Mach IV forming die set. Lots of trimming and neck turning, friend of mine still has a bunch of that brass.

That's what you do in the winter time up here in WI.

Ole
 
Thanks guys. Money is tight as I'm back in college for the 2nd time at 54. I've got 3000 CCI-BR4 primers on hand but no cases. New .222 cases are $30/100 which means $300 just for cases to make up 1000 loaded rds. I was planning on using 50gr SP Varmit Nightmare bullets and working up a load using H-335. I probably just need to scale back and buy and load 200 cases at a time until I get to that magic 1000 rd stockpile I have in my head. I have to buy a case trimmer anyway and a set of .222 dies. The idea of getting a few .223 cases and trying to trim them sounds like a great idea. I don't want to mess with the Model 600 in .222 by running a reamer into it, it has some sentimental value just like it is. I do plan on getting a Mini-14 in .223 and having it accurized by Accuracy Systems some time in the distant future. I have tried to get over my hatred of AR-15's but it just ain't working, no matter how good they shoot now. Thanks again for all of the ideas and help.
 
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Never done it to make .222 brass but I've done a bunch to make .221 brass. If you are planning on making 1000 pcs. I'd suggest getting a "mini chop saw" from Harbor Freight and making a little jig to cut them off. Saves huge amounts of time. It will still be a tedious task at best and you may end up having to turn necks depending on your chamber and the brass.
 
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