223 and 308 brass projects?

[filthygovmploye]

have a wild thought about putting 355 or 357 dia bullet into a 223 or 308 case.

basically, i dont wanna scrap any brass. i have some 308 with necks that have split, and figured there has got to be some sort of wild cat or something that utilizes a cut down 308 case.

so, long rambling story long, what is out there that utilizes a shortend 308 case, and what else other than the whispers, blk etc in 223?

thanks

[Casting Timmy]

Could you make your old 308 into 45acp?

On the 223 I would start by looking in a reloading manual and seeing what else that shell holder fits. Then look at teh cartridges and see make you can make, I really don't know if you can transform the 223.

[220swiftfn]

have a wild thought about putting 355 or 357 dia bullet into a 223 or 308 case.

basically, i dont wanna scrap any brass. i have some 308 with necks that have split, and figured there has got to be some sort of wild cat or something that utilizes a cut down 308 case.

so, long rambling story long, what is out there that utilizes a shortend 308 case, and what else other than the whispers, blk etc in 223?

thanks

.44 Automag (shortened and reamed .308)


Dan

[shotman]

44 would be about only thing wall is too thick for a 45 cal

[338RemUltraMag]

Take your 223 cases and form them into 221 Fireball cases, Split neck fixed and they can sell pretty good on the market, thats about the only thing you can do with 223

[lavenatti]

Isn't the .300 AAC Blackout a cut down .223?

[scrapcan]

308 can be made into 45 acp shotshells using the die set from RCBS and cut down 410 shotgun wads.

The 223 could be used for donor brass do make swaged bullets, see some of the posts in the swaging section on using cartridge brass for bullet jackets.

other uses for 223 brass would be 221 fireball or 300 whisper

Here is a link with images and dimensions
http://www.ar15barrels.com/prod/300-221.shtml

[stubshaft]

Depending on the amount of split on the neck, 223's can also be made into .222's.

[willie_pete]

.223 is good for 7.62x25 TOK

WP

[nanuk]

I have been drawing up a .357 using a 7.62x39 case so all one would have to do is ream out the chamber, the extractor should work fine, it it can slip over the base.

in my Timberwolf, it had a shotgun type "Controlled" feeding but couldn't find anyone to take the barrel off for less than a new gun, so ended up selling it.

I have hankering to buy a lever .357 and doing that in it, if the extractors can work the same way.... I hope so, as it would turn a .357 into a 35/30 or better!

[nanuk]

oh.. and I'm gonna try some .223 cases in my .357 RB to see if the extractor can slip over.

also, I think the .357 H&R Handi's might be able to utilize them

[Bwana]

Just a few thoughts: You can use the 308 cases to make 45APC shotshells. You can trim the 223 brass and use it in a 357Mag (taper crimp). I have done both of these with great success. And then there is the whole "turn them into bullets" thing. Let your imagination and skill level be your guide.

[PrimitiveBeasty]

Yes, the .300 AAC Blackout is a cut down/necked up .223 casing. This fellow posted this video on how to do it, for those who are interested.

I think someone on this forum did the same on a .223 case up to 8mm, and that's about as high as that goes. You could of course do anything smaller than that, and I bet a 17 caliber cartridge based on that shortened .223 case would be a pretty sweet little thing.

On the .308, you could chop it off at the shoulder and still have enough brass left to make a .308x1.5" case.



You asked about .357-ish bullets, so I see no reason you couldn't make a cartridge that's basically a .308x1.5 necked up to .35, or a shortened .358 Winchester, however you want to think of it. I believe the .22 and 6mm BR cartridges by Remington are also based on a shortened .308 case, although they aren't so close to the caliber you asked about.

[longbow]

It all depends on what you want. You have some good suggestions already.

If you want "big bore", you could go for a rimless .357 Max using the .223 brass and rimless .444 using the .308 brass (might be a bit short so maybe more like rimless .445 Supermag).

I have been toying with ideas for both but am financially challenged at present so just dreaming.

The rimless .444 is based on 6mm Rem brass or "full length" on .30-06 brass. The .308 would be short but doable.

Just a couple more thoughts.

Longbow

[drhall762]

There is a 9mm wildcat based on the .223. Can't remember much other than Jeff Cooper actually liked it. 9mm Super maybe?

[filthygovmploye]

6 years later... oh man. great suggestions all around folks... love dreaming... think if we repealed buncha legislation it could be cheaper to get our dreams realized??

357AR is a thing, but i dont wanna neck turn...

[country gent]

I think that was the 9X23 sort of duplicated the heavy loads being used in 38 super by the ISPC shooters.

[BK7saum]

I have read a few threads relating to the 357AR (Max-rimless). I don't remember, though, was neck turning required? I would imagine that you would be getting into a fairly heavy taper, especially with heavy bullets, so yeah, I'd neck turn for consistency anyway.

[salty dog]

If you just HAVE to get rid of 223 brass you could make labor intensive 380 out of it.

[sparky45]

.223 to a 30 Apache