Problem forming brass

[stimpylu32]

Been working on a new project and am having fits getting the brass to form . I am useing a .222 remington sizing die to try to neck down .357 Max brass .

I only have 1 fired brass to use at this point , and am wondering if it is to hard and brittle for forming , what is happining is the brass is splitting as it starts to neck down and is wrapping over it self  . any ideas ? please 

[Graybeard]

You're trying to go too far in one step. You'll need at least two and maybe three steps to get from .357" down to .223" without a lot of lost cases. If you have any of the TCUs they might help but even then I'm not sure. Forming dies are normally used going that far.

First step needs to be at least .308" minimum I'd think. From there you can easily enough go down to 7MM, then maybe to .257" and then on down to .223". I'd think you might want to anneal at least once and more likely twice during this process.

[roper]

Pretty hard to neck down as far as you want without doing it in steps.  You could try and get a 7tcu body die then a 6tcu form die then use a 222 body die.  Those three Redding  dies would run alittle over $100 from Sinclair then you can get a Redding type S FL or neck die 222 if that is what your case looks like.  Since the 357Max is rimmed you might want to check with Huntington see what the 222Rim or other rimmed cases dia that might match the 357Max may save some forming.  Well good luck.

[iiranger]

The RCBS custom shop is called "huntingtons" and has a web site "huntingtons.com" (after Fred H, founder)... I think they have some directions posted with the form dies on the site.  ch4d.com has much cheaper prices as a rule. As said, you are trying to go way to far in one pass. I would throw in a .33 or .32. You want the finest of sizing lubes. Imperial is never beat, although Lee white stuff is about as good IMHO. And you can anneal quick and easy for this sort of thing by dipping the mouth of case in molten PURE lead. (alloys are not as hot. melt muzzle loader balls is you have too.) At least one anneal and maybe 3. But just shove the case in a die... Yes, 1 case in ?? is about right... LUCK.

[stimpylu32]

Ok , what i was thinking was a small rimmed 22 CF called the 224 C&R Max . It is said to be formed with the 222 remington dies and have a MV equal to the 222 but it does not give a lot more details .

Maybe i would be furture ahead to just go with the 218 Bee , I'll be re-chambering it in a H&R single shot .

[Nobade]

Might try a .22 Jet improved. Just fire Jet ammo in it and you've got the imp cases. You can buy 222 rimmed cases from Bertram, but they're not too common. To make them from max brass you will need a set of form dies. If you've got the reamer you can make a set pretty easily, or buy them from CH4D or maybe Hornady.

[HL]

I think GB is correct here. It will take at least three steps to get from 357 to 22 cal. or you will crease the necks as you state.

FWIW, the 218 Bee is a great little cartridge and you don't have to work for the brass.

I have several wildcats, but I don't have any that require more than one die to get to where I need to go. Three steps to form brass would tend to make me rethink what I really want or need.

Good luck with your choice,

HL

[tcshooter52]

You might want to think about annealing the cases before you start. .357 mag brass is brittle and going down is tough. If I were going to do this I would anneal first, once annealed you should't have any problems.

John

[dondford]

I form my 20 Raven (Rimmed and blown 20VT) from 360DW (357 between the 357 Mag and 357 Max) with no problem.  I:

Anneal then
256 Win. to 1st stage neck and bring shoulder down
221 FB FL
20 Raven FL

You should be able to anneal - 256 Win - then 222 FL

Good luck