.222 Rem from .223 bumped down cases

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bl4ckd0g

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I am trying to develop new handloads for a new .222 Remington rifle, and I don't have much access to new, better-quality .222 brass. I do however own about 150 lbs in once fired .223 brass such as WCC, LC, S&B, and assorted other makes. I did an initial trial run where S&B and WCC seemed to produce the best results out of all the makes.

I'd like to know if I can bump down a .223 shoulder and trim back to make reasonably accurate varmint ammo? Have any of you done this and achieved a consistent level of accuracy?

Also, are there any other considerations for using 5.56 NATO brass, aside from downloading due to the thicker webbing?
 
I have a friend that uses only reformed .223 brass for his .222. And he shoots and wins factory matches. I don't do it because I have both a .222 and a .223. For reasons I won't go into, a 222 case will chamber and fire in a .223 rifle. It will also blow the primer. :(
 
You should verify the throat dia of the chamber by using something like a small hole gauge or a chamber cast. Then when you neck down the 223 brass you will know whether you need to turn the necks or not. You will also know exactly what the neck clearance is which is handy info.
 
I'm awaiting a chamber cast from the 'smith when he gets some time free. Need to know the dimensions of the throat and lands.

I keep an organized stash of brass, so mixing brass types is a non-issue for me. I used to make .270 Win out of found .30-06, and never had a problem. I also own a .223, a Molot Vepr semi-auto. I think the .222 is a good recycling project for cases that were bounced hard off of the stamped port buffer. I can trim off the damaged part of the case mouth.

I'd ideally like to get a combination tool that will allow me to:
1. Turn necks
2. centered primer pocket reaming (especially for crimped and S&B brass)
3. centered mouth chamfering- may not be an issue since I've ordered a Giraud trimmer.

Since there's a smaller combustion space in the cartridge, would the pressure build higher if I use the same charge in a 5.56 NATO casing vs. a .223 Rem?
 
maybe not the best idea

I think you'll do a lot of work and not have anything better than Remington or Winchester .222 brass that you can buy pretty cheaply. I'd buy 500 and sort out the best 100 for shooting paper and then use the others to blast critters.

I'm pretty sure the necks will be too thick and you'll have to ream or turn. Then you'll have even more work into just OK brass.
 
I have measured a bunch of loaded 223 necks and most measure .248" or less. I THINK the saami spec is a .255 neck dia for the 223, I assume it would be the same for the 222. You will probably end up with a wide range of neck diameters [ before turning ] based on the brand.

I would segregate the cases by weight and maker.
 
Well...

Your .222 neck is down in the .223 shoulder area.
Think about it.
 
Then I'll consider it practice so I don't butcher a dozen or so Norma cases at $0.90 per pop.

I have only been back shooting for a year and I have only started target shooting, so there are skills that are more important for me to work on both sitting and prone.

Also purchased 200 Winchester .222 casings yesterday, but I felt the need to tinker with something.
 
Those .223 cases that have a ding in the neck from bouncing off the side of your rifle are very reusable. Just take a small phillips head screw driver or a metal dowel and round the mouth out enough to fit into your die. Run them thru your die and presto, ready to go.
If you have a store bought .222 piece of ammo, just fire a round and measure the fired neck. Then make you up a dummy .222 round using a resized and shortened .223 case. Seat a bullet in it and measure acrost the neck. If it is smaller than the measurement on the fired store bought .222 round or if it will readidly chamber, you're good to go.
If you haven't any .222 ammo, you can still make up a dummy round from a .223 case and see if it will chamber readidly. The proof of the pie, after all, is in the eating. :D
 
I tried making 222 from 223. Everything looked great untill loading the bullets. Then I found that there is a donut mid-neck from the old neck to shoulder junction.

To remove you need an inside reamer, and at that point I did not think it worth the time nor money.

Jim
 
Hmmmm, if you used a F/L die and ran the resizing ball all the way into the case and back out, how could you get a doughnut? I thought you got doughnuts from using a neck sizing die.
 
222 brass

I tried it ,it will work but to me its not worth it Midwaycomes right to your door & 100 cases aint that much. Especially if you shoot both (IDO )calibers , itd be REAL EASY to mess up.
 
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