Need help rolling my own 7.62x25

[Kilroy08]

After getting a trim fixture in the mail from Vonzep, I proceeded to make a small batch of 7.62x25 from whatever miscellaneous scrap .223 I had laying around. It was a mix of milsurp that my AK got a little too abusive with. It just loves dinging and denting cases.

I'm using a Lee 3 die set with a factory crimp die to do my loading. I'm using Lee shell holder 4 since that's the right one for .223.

When I run the trimmed case through the sizing die, I'm finding that the shoulder is being formed too far forward. About the thickness of the cartridge rim or so. Is there any way to get the shoulder set back to where it is supposed to be? This head spacing headache is most vexing!

I was contemplating getting another #4 shell holder and facing it back some to get things where they're supposed to be when I form the case.

I'm planning on futzing around and making an annealing set up next time I get down to the southern command bunker. It's very frustrating having all my hobby stuff at my parent's due to not enough space where I'm living at now.

I did a test batch of 8 and ended up having to put them in 1 at a time and having to let the slide slam shut a couple of times to get in to battery. After firing the case looked to be properly fire formed and when re-sized looked just like the PPU factory brass I had on hand.

On the other hand, I'm patiently waiting for Starline to get caught up on their back orders and just order the right brass and be done with it. They also have 9x23mm Super Comp brass in right now. Could that be used for Tokarev brass?

[rintinglen]

Were it I, I'd grind about .04"' off the bottom of the die, polish the resulting edges, and call it good. A lathe would work better, but a careful hand, a vise and a grinder would work as well. You can modify the shell holder, simply using a few sheets of sand paper but to remove the amount of steel you need would amount to some serious work.

[bruce drake]

buy another shell holder and take the .04" off that versus the die. Its cheaper to buy another shell holder if you mess it up than it is to replace a die. and with patience that .04 will come off in an evening of watching a movie with a board and sandpaper mounted to it. Just remember to check every so often before it becomes .05.... ;)

[bob208]

I agree a shellholder is way cheaper then a die. what I did when I made up the same brass for my broomhandle was to ream the neck with a .311 reamer. then resize again. you are pushing a lot of brass down to form the neck .

[Kilroy08]

I've got a .308" reamer for my Forster case trimmer. That resulted in loose necks with hardly any tension and having to crank the FCD down and putting an overly enthusiastic crimp on it. But, stuff would chamber using a Polish forward assist. (slapping the back end of the slide with my palm)

I've been thinking about it all day and I think it's a combo of too much spring back due to the brass not being annealed and the shoulder not being in the right spot. I know the dies aren't out of spec because I reloaded some of the PPU brass from the box of 7.62x25 I bought.
Granted that was with Lee shell holder 19, not 4. Who knows, could be a dud shell holder. I'll try the one I order unmodified and see how it does.

So next step is anneal, form, and trim. See how that goes and maybe neck ream. Shaving a bit off the shell holder is a non issue. I've got access to lathes and it's only a $5.00 part.

[Charley]

Buy some 9mm Mag from Midway, it's in stock, and price isn't bad. Simple matter to shorten it slightly, form, and trim. Lot easier than the .223 route. Besides, .223 bases are too small for the extractor to grip in a couple of my guns, won't function. It is a crapshoot, be sure your gun will extract reformed .223 before you expend a lot of time and effort on converting them.

I've got a CZ-52 (.223 works), a Chinese Tok, (.223 works about 50% of the time), and a 1911 barrel in 7.62x25 where .223 cases won't function at all.
Here's a posting I made on another board a couple weeks back on the subject.http://www.handloadersbench.com/forum31/28842.html

[Kilroy08]

I'll give the 9mm mag brass a shot when the funding is available. That definitely sounds like less work. Thanks for the link, it was some pretty neat reading. I was considering that route as well, just wasn't sure yet.

The .223 brass will be set aside for my Saiga AK and my AR (whenever that gets done)

I figure no sense in going about the most difficult way of making cases.

Heck, I might even use some .30 Mauser brass if it pops up. I'll just use it for plinking loads.

[mac60]

I ran into the same problem. Lee was kind enough to take some off the bottom of the die. If I had it to do over again I'd just take some off the shellholder. Which brass to use wasn't an issue for me. I can pick up .223 brass off the range all day long for free.

[olgandalf]

I'm trying to load 9x18 too. I've ordered some cast from my usual supply only 30 min away so no freight. Personal issues have slowed him down though. So. Has anyone tried loading squib loads with 000 buckshot, the way people load various 32s with 00 buck?

[9.3X62AL]

My original cases in 30 Mauser and 7.62 x 25 were ALL reformed from Winchester 9mm Magnum brass. This dates from 1990 or thereabouts, and I used RCBS dies and shellholder to set the shoulders on all 500 of those cases.......this remains my ONLY use of the RCBS file-trim dies, and they did fine work. The reforming was a one-step process, use of regular case lube did the job perfectly and set the shoulder properly.

It was still labor-intensive as hell, and I now use Starline brass or the Winchester white box ammo as my sourcing for this caliber. Some day soon, Starline will be able to actually service its customer base. I hope so, at least. The delays and excuses are getting really old and decomposed.

9 x 18 was even less work. I just ran fired 9mm cases into the 9mm Makarov expander die, trimmed them to .705" on a Forster trimmer, then gave them a second pass through the expander to set a flare to facilitate seating. At the same time I ordered the custom die set from Huntington's, I also ordered a mold and H&I die of proper diameter (.365"). This was c. early 1992, IIRC. Within a few years, the component makers all had j-word bullets in the pipe for the Makarovs--diameter varied by maker. Speer sticks with .363", Sierra opts for .364", Hornady specs at .365". Slug yer bore and choose yer poison. The 9mm Makarov is the pistol the 380 ACP dreams of being. My example, an East German variant, is a fine piece and before HR 218 came along the Mak often went with me for CCW. It absolutely does not fail.....ever. Carry loads were Wolf 95 grain JHPs, and they had all the bark on them--1075 to 1100 FPS. That sort of ballistics from a pocket blowback lets you know the primers functioned fully. I'm pretty sure the Mak operates at the upper limit of blowback system capability, and its recoil spring's tension is a strong hint to that effect.

[Charley]

Bought maybe 100 9x18 cases, everything else has been reformed 9x19 cases. Except for trimming, my process is the same. I trim with a Lee trimer chucked in a drill press. .30/06 to .35 Whelen or .338/06 is an easier conversion, but this one is almost as easy.

[Stevtrains]

When I made 7.62x25 brass out of scrap 5.56 I cut it back with a tube cutter. Then put it in to spec with a Lee trimmer. It sounds like your trying to resize it then trim it. Try cutting it back first if you are.