221 to 300 Blackout

[roysha]

No doubt this has been addressed elsewhere. Searched but didn't find anything pertaining to my question, so.... I have a goodly quantity of new 221 brass, some of which is going to become 30 caliber. The vast majority of my wildcatting has been going the other way, large neck to smaller. Since this is a bit of a drastic increase in diameter, do I need, or would it be advisable, to anneal the necks? If so, before or after forming?

[joesig]

No annealing but I would suggest to neck up in steps. Even with what I thought was a gentle taper, I collapsed the first and only case I tried. (It was more of a test. I didn't want to ruin 221 brass when I can make 300 Whisper from 223.)

I am sure there are others drooling for that 221 brass. Is it Remington or one of the fancier manufacturers?

[dragon813gt]

Sell the 221 brass and buy a larger quantity of 223 brass to make 300 BLK from. I know people like to use what they have on hand.

[EDG]

That .221 brass is much more valuable than 5.56 brass. Sell it.
It is probably old and will crack unless you anneal it.

[roysha]

Well since I have 2 XP 100s, a CZ 527 in 221, a 17 Mach IV and a 270-221 also in an XP, the amount of 221 brass I would be willing to sell would not begin to cover the cost of 223 brass and all the other stuff necessary to convert 223 to 300 BO. This whole excursion into the 300 BO concept will run it's course and the rifle will become a safe queen as so many of my projects tend to end up. I doubt I'll put more then 400-500 rounds through it, so 100 or so case will, more than likely, be all I need.

[wlc]

Not trying to tell you what to do with your own brass, but... Since you have that many rifles chambered in 221 why not get in contact with Grumpa on this forum and just buy yourself a quantity of 300blk brass that is suitable for your use? Save that 221 brass for the 221's. If you do decide to neck it up you will definitely need to do it in small steps to avoid cracking the necks.

[scb]

It has been my experience that if one anneals first the cases tend to collapse in on themselves. My 300 Whisper sizing die is suppose to be able to expand the neck in one pass. I used new brass. un-annealed they cracked. Annealed they folded up like an accordion. Then I went from 22 - 25 - 30 with very little brass loss. Good luck.

[Got-R-Did]

+1 for Grumpa!!! Save your .221s for your existing stable. The brass from Grumpa is as good as it gets.
Got-R-Did.

[shooter93]

I had a set of Hornady new dimension dies for the 300 whisper and I sized 400 221 brass to 300 in one pass each and no loss at all. I used Imperial sizing wax.

[willk]

Actually, I believe it takes less equipment to form Whisper or Blackout brass from .223. Made lots of Whisper cases from .223 and all it really takes is a form die, trim off the excess and debur. Fireball brass is just too expensive and Blackout brass can be made from range pickup or case neck split .223 brass.

[Preacher Jim]

Your 223 made brass will last longer and save you money. I have slowed down so I bought formed brass 700 for the cost of 100 fireballs.

Beside the fact that my 221 CZ is fun, my contender in 221 is great for P. D's

[jmorris]

The .221 fireball was the first parent case of the concept.

The .30-221 came before the 300 fireball around '92 JD Jones renamed it the 300 whisper and in '09 AAC "developed" the same thing again.

Send me a PM and I'll swap you 1:1 for ready to load 300 blk brass for your .221 brass.