Doany of you guys have experience forming .221 Fireball from commercial .223 and Mil 5.56mm brass? I would appreciate any advise you have...especially about case reamers.

Got that right...will need a case reamer rather than a neck turner. RCBS use to sell the reaming die seperate from the full set of brass conversion dies (and a good thing too, as the full set of RCBS dies for making .221's from .223's is catalogued at $260.95). I'd ream them, then shoot them (fireform them), and if needed for evenness, neck turn.

Whilke you are at it, order a flie/trim die for the .221. Simple system, made so that when you put a .221 case all the way into the die, can cut/file whatever sticks out the top....it MUCH faster easier than trying to trimm away the amount of neck you're going to create.

Some things you can't help...brass amde from .223's will have a smaller internal volume so published loading data will need to be adjusted downward.

Most full length .221 dies can form cases from .223, but you need some tricks
.
Trick#1: not really a trick...common sense...be sure you strip out the decapping/expander aseembly or you'll trap it in the die and ruin it.

Trick #2:
Work only with the high leverage part of the press stroke. Set the die so that it just barely contacts the .223 case when the press ram is fully up. Back teh .223 case up, turn the die in 1/2 turn, size the case...do that again and again and again until fully sized.

Trick #3: Every so often, while sizing as above, redistribute the lub to avoid lube dents.

Trick #4:
Some dies/presses/cases ahve a bit too much spring in them. May find that your combination will not let the shoulder be pushed back far enough even with the shell holder in full contact with the die's bottom. Drind the shell holder thiner..which will alloy you to push the case in just a tad farther. BE CAREFUL TO NOT CREATE EXCESSIVE HEADSPACE by moving the shoulder too far back!!!

It's a WHOLE BUNCH easier to buy the cases. Current listing for the .221 Rem. brass has it costing about the same as 6mm Rem. or .243's....call it retail of $27 and change per 100.

Natchez Shooters Supply (www.natchezss.com) has the .221 Fireball brass on sale this month for $19.36/100 pk.

Can't get much cheaper than that!

Got that right...will need a case reamer rather than a neck turner. RCBS use to sell the reaming die seperate from the full set of brass conversion dies (and a good thing too, as the full set of RCBS dies for making .221's from .223's is catalogued at $260.95). I'd ream them, then shoot them (fireform them), and if needed for evenness, neck turn.

Whilke you are at it, order a flie/trim die for the .221. Simple system, made so that when you put a .221 case all the way into the die, can cut/file whatever sticks out the top....it MUCH faster easier than trying to trimm away the amount of neck you're going to create.

Some things you can't help...brass amde from .223's will have a smaller internal volume so published loading data will need to be adjusted downward.

Most full length .221 dies can form cases from .223, but you need some tricks
.
Trick#1: not really a trick...common sense...be sure you strip out the decapping/expander aseembly or you'll trap it in the die and ruin it.

Trick #2:
Work only with the high leverage part of the press stroke. Set the die so that it just barely contacts the .223 case when the press ram is fully up. Back teh .223 case up, turn the die in 1/2 turn, size the case...do that again and again and again until fully sized.

Trick #3: Every so often, while sizing as above, redistribute the lub to avoid lube dents.

Trick #4:
Some dies/presses/cases ahve a bit too much spring in them. May find that your combination will not let the shoulder be pushed back far enough even with the shell holder in full contact with the die's bottom. Drind the shell holder thiner..which will alloy you to push the case in just a tad farther. BE CAREFUL TO NOT CREATE EXCESSIVE HEADSPACE by moving the shoulder too far back!!!

It's a WHOLE BUNCH easier to buy the cases. Current listing for the .221 Rem. brass has it costing about the same as 6mm Rem. or .243's....call it retail of $27 and change per 100.


I appreciate the help....I currently have hornet fever....but when I saw that Cz chambers their excellent little rifle in .221...I thought.....that might be more fun......I currently shoot a really tight M77 in .223 as my light gun. It is a tack driver with handloads...well....I just got the little fever....

At about $20 per 100 from Midway (which is a good price) would just buy the cases needed...if you later get the urge to try and convert some .223's, at least you'll have some "real" cases to measure the (1) brass thickness at the neck and (2) the internal volume.

Should make a great little rifle..but I'd buy the cases rather than make them.
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If that sounds odd from a guy that posted the conversion details, it's becasue I had a XP100 and there wasn't a case to be found in the area. Ordered some, but had the urge to test the gun out now...not later.

Once I got the "real" cases, demoted the converted cases to "plinking" duties...tossing either military type 55gr. FMJ's out at .22mag. speeds or cast lead bullets at .22LR speeds.

Found those converted cases (mostly were military 1970's dates) had about 10% less volume than commercial .221 cases...but with the lower pressure "plinking" loads that never got me into trouble.

Why not just order brass from a catalog retailer like Cabela's or Midway!

Cabela's has Fireball brass for $22.99/100!

My opinion, it's cheaper than all the fuss of reaming out 223 cases and forming!

Good luck!

Trick #4:
Some dies/presses/cases ahve a bit too much spring in them. May find that your combination will not let the shoulder be pushed back far enough even with the shell holder in full contact with the die's bottom. Drind the shell holder thiner..which will alloy you to push the case in just a tad farther. BE CAREFUL TO NOT CREATE EXCESSIVE HEADSPACE by moving the shoulder too far back!!!.


I like the idea of grinding the shell holder rather then the die as I have seen mentioned several times in books and other places on the net. It is much cheaper to buy a replacement shellholder if you mess it up then to buy a die.
This is one of those ideas so simple I am going "now why didn't I think of that".

Michael Grace

If you want to do this right then get the following:Redding
221 Remington From 222 or 223 Remington
290101 221 Remington Form #1
283101 221 Remington Form & Trim Die
211510 Extended Shellholder #10E

It is no trouble with this set-up and extremely precise. I do it all the time with 7.62x39mm to 22PPC, 6mmPPC, and 6.5 Grendal.