Forming 17 Remington brass from 223

[prosper]

I just recieved a nice 700 BDL in 17 rem that I purchased before the holidays. (woohoo!) I've had a hard time finding 17 rem brass in stock anywhere, but I DO have a *ton* of 223 brass kicking around.

I have a 222 trim/form die that I think I can use as a partial first step form die if I back it off the shell holder a twist or so, and I know RCBS makes a 17 rem trim die. Would this be a viable method of producing 17 brass from 223? Size down to 222 (but not trim), then size and trim in a .17 rem trim die, then finally FL size in a standard 17 rem fl sizer? Could I go straight from the 222 die to the FL sizer?

Anyone here ever done this before

 

[762nato]

Andrew @ Higginson has this brass in stock.
quote from Handloader manual of Cartridge conversion" Run the .223 case into the 17 rem die with the expander removed. You may have trouble with the neck so, experiment with annealing. Purchase form die set if possible- the job is much easier"

Andy

 

[444shooter]

This might work. Found the following
http://www.redding-reloading.com/pages/caseformdies.html
The .223 is a bit short, but should be ok is run through sizer.

 

[senior]

Just run the 223s thru the 17r die, only problem is you will have to turn the neck as it get to thick.
It's much easier to just buy 17r brass, it's not that hard to find!

 

[prosper]

Well, it's always preferable to have properly headstamped brass, so if Higginsons has some I'll get some there

 

[GGUTHRIE]

if you need 17 remington brass i can get as much as you need, cheers glenn

 

[Rotaxpower]

Your going to like that rifle! My 17 Remington likes 25grn Hornady hollow points with 16.1grns of IMR 4227. Nice 1/2 groups

 

[prosper]

I grabbed a few boxes of the 20gr VMAX bullets, and moly'd them all up real nice. Also got quite a few of the 25 HP's. I'm thinking Varget for about 4400 fps (isn't 4227 kinda fast for this cartridge?). We'll see how it shoots at the next reasonably warm day I can find to get to the range.

 

[prosper]

Well, if anyone is interested, I did discover how to form 17 Rem brass, though it's far more work than it's worth.

Simply running 223 brass into a 17 die doesn't work, the brass gets slightly crushed, and ends up way too short. What I do is run 223 brass into a 222 form/trim die that's been adjusted to form the 222 shoulder at the exact same place as the 17 (i.e. back the die out a bit). Then run the brass into a 17 rem form/trim die. Then, lastly, run it into a 17 Rem FL die. use LOTS of lube at each stage, and expect about a 10% cull rate. Necks do not require turning.