.17 Remington in .223 bushing die?

[Dogleg]

Is there any particular reason why I can't use my .223 Redding S series bushing dies for .17 Remington by just changing the decapping rod, button and bushing? Has anyone here ever done it?

 

[NormB]

Is there any particular reason why I can't use my .223 Redding S series bushing dies for .17 Remington by just changing the decapping rod, button and bushing? Has anyone here ever done it?

Yes you can do it.

You won't be able to push the shoulder near the neck with the .223 die as the through hole will be bigger than a .17. This may, or may not be a problem..likely not.

I wouldn't use the sizing button after running the brass through the proper sized neck bushing. Hold the decapping pin with a knurled nut that is smaller than .17" so that sizing is only done by the bushing. Bushing should be .002" smaller than the neck diameter of a loaded round.

NormB

 

[Dogleg]

Thanks, I'll order up the parts, plus the non expanding sleeve and .17 cal seating stem.It seems like a cheap way to get extra use out of my .223 die set.

 

[GRiNGo]

You may have to buy a 17rem resizing die later as most times you will find that after 5 or so resizes that you will need to bump the shoulder back because the shells may get tough to chamber. I have been told this over and over but don't have any personal experience.

Good luck.

 

[Dogleg]

You may have to buy a 17rem resizing die later as most times you will find that after 5 or so resizes that you will need to bump the shoulder back because the shells may get tough to chamber. I have been told this over and over but don't have any personal experience.

Good luck.

I've got a .17 Rem FL die already, what I was thinking is that for just the price of a bushing I can find out how the rifle responds to neck sized cases. If it's encouraging, I'll get yet another bushing die set, and I'll already have the correct bushing.