Hey guys and gals!
I'm new to the site and need some help with some questions I have. I've been reloading for over 20 yrs and as all of you know, you do your research before taking on a new project.
17x223! I'm a bolt guy by heart, but have found a new love for gas guns. My question is, what is the process involved in making 223 Rem brass into 17x223?
Back ground on forming brass: 6x45, 300 Blackout.
It's not new to me, however there are very few sites that talk about the 17x223 and even less that talk about forming the brass. Any and all help will be grateful!!!

RobUSMC
EOD

Do you have a standard 223 sizer? If so, pull the guts out and use that as your first step....next step is run that brass in a 17-223 fl die with the decapping stem in it and your done.

I have found it better to anneal brass once it's formed vs before if you choose to anneal. I don't lose as much brass that way.

What are the rifle specs?

Two steps for me.

1. Run brass through a gutted 223 sizer.
2. Run undersized 223 brass through 17-223 sizer die.

Alternatively you could run them through a Redding Type S FL bushing die with a 220 bushing for the first step.

Greg

Rob, I do the same thing as Midwest and GL. I did try using an S bushing die to step the brass down but it was taking about 3 or so steps and did not like the out come. This is so simple even a caveman can do it.

I had terrible luck trying to form it up completely using a bushing die. Thinks just didn't do well with those skinny necks for me.

I've also used a Dillon trim die for initial sizing and actually cut the case back lower than 1.750 to about 1.745 and as the necks grew from sizing it kept me from having to trim on the initial firing.

I shoot 20 Tactical, Practical and the 17-223 so I make up my base brass using the Dillon when I need a pile of it. 500 pieces pieces pre-squeezed in an hour makes for much time saving down the road.

Greg

I decap & size with 223 die first,then use a bullbarry 17-20 double end die ,then a 17/223 for the rest. A little more passes but you only lube the cases once.

Joe

I use the .223 w/o stem and .17-.223 die, but in between, I run it through a .19-.223 without stem, (I bought from James Calhoon), because I am anal.

I use 3 dies, with a progressive it's pretty easy. Gutted 223 die, bushing die with .225 bushing, (what I use for 20 prac), then 17/223 die. One trip around the stations and they are done. Then anneal and I also peel .001 off of the necks as my R-P brass was a little to thick. That's pretty easy also with the RCBS neck turn attachment for the Trim Pro.

BTW it's my favorite caliber now. Shoots like a laser with 20 gr zmax and IMR 8208 at 4100 fps and destroys small varmints like nothing else. It took me 25 years to get on the 17 cal bandwagon but now I'm there for good!

What kind of velocities are you guys getting with the 17-223, specifically with 25 gr. bullets? How do velocities compare to the 17 Remington?

I forget exact avg numbers but I'm closing in on 4050fps from a 22in bhw using benchmark and 25gr Hornady hp. I could probably squeeze a bit more speed from it but it's fast enough for me.

Hey guys, thanks for all the fast feed back. Sorry it took me so long! New to the site and still trying to figure out all the bells and dings.
Ill keep you'll posted on how things go.

Thanks again!
Rob

Have not received the barrel yet, however its coming from black hole weaponry.

RobUSMC

I've only shot one group and didn't crono them, but just estimating based on the charge weight compared to my 20 gr load I'd say 3900 or so. Def could get them faster I'm sure as I do the load work. Although I'd be happy with that I think.

Ok guys, new question. I'm an IMR fan, and would like to not start buying other powder. Plus IMR is easy for me to get. Anyone out there do some testing with IMR on the 17x223? If so, which on and a starting point would be super helpful!

Rob