Shortening .22 LR hulls

[pertnear]

I know some swager's like .22 short hulls for swaging lighter weight bullets. Unfortunately, .22 shorts & .22 long hulls are pretty scarce. Do any bullet jacket makers shorten regular .22 long-rifle hulls & if so, how's the best way to do it?

[farmerjim]

You could probably do it with a jig and a hobby chop saw like the ones used in converting 223 brass to 300 blackout.

[Bills Shed]

Derim the case first then trim to length. Several methods available,me, I use a collet and a end mill in a drill press. Fast and accurate.
There is also pinch trim and a chop saw.

Bill

[MUSTANG]

As stated above - Pinch Trim Die:

303964 303962 303965 303963

[pertnear]

As stated above - Pinch Trim Die:

303964 303962 303965 303963

Derim the case first then trim to length. Several methods available,me, I use a collet and a end mill in a drill press. Fast and accurate.
There is also pinch trim and a chop saw.

Bill

Very clever ideas! I was thinking maybe someone had a collet & pilot to trim with a regular case trimmer. Are "pinch" dies for sale or only custom?

[Ajax111]

I believe those are from Corbin. It's probably on his web site.

[M-Tecs]

I know some swager's like .22 short hulls for swaging lighter weight bullets. Unfortunately, .22 shorts & .22 long hulls are pretty scarce. Do any bullet jacket makers shorten regular .22 long-rifle hulls & if so, how's the best way to do it?

Both the long and long rifle cases are the same length of .613"

https://shootbigbucks.com/whats-the-difference-between-22-short-22-long-22lr-and-22wmr/

[deltaenterprizes]

I made a pilot for a LEE trimmer and a holder to trim my 22Mag brass to make light 6mm bullets for my 6PPC.

[Murphy]

While I have never swaged any jackets, my thoughts when I read this post were what about looking into nail gun blanks? Okay, they come crimped but are shorter than standard .22 LR.

Just my 2¢'s worth, even though I haven't a clue about swaging.


Murphy

[Dusty Bannister]

I am not a swager either, but Murphy has an interesting concept. Derim and you will have a smooth case with the case mouth already creased for forming a fluted nose. That might make an interesting soft point bullet.

[Bills Shed]

In order to derim that case the “ flutes” would all be straightened out and to be honest it would be a pain in the a## to use them. I would cut that section off before I would use them. If you did leave them on, it would also be a weak point, but it does lead itself to experimentation.
If I was to use a nail gun case I would go straight to the 17 WSM, cut the neck off and derim. They are a beautiful case to derim. From there you could draw and trim them by whatever means you desire. I like the D Corbin draw trim dies. Dave will make them with what ever length punches to trim as you decide. It is a very easy way to draw and trim 6mm jackets instead of using 22mag cases which seem to be very brittle these days and often split when they come to me.
I have experimented a bit with the 17 WSM. I have made derim dies, a draw die to make them ready for .257 jackets, drawn them down using Daves 22mag derimming die, drawn again in the 22lr derim die and then to 17 cal. That was just to see if it could be done and really a waste of time as they are far better for the .257 and .243 jackets but the trimming process is necessary for every one of these jackets so what ever you decide to trim with, it needs to be accurate and fast as it is another step that can be tedious if it is not efficient.
That is why I built the drill press setup with a nice sharp end mill and collet. Forster collets are easy to get in every major calibre, and you only need to purchase the collet holder once. You are never going to wear out the collet and if you can blunt a end mill trimming brass cases you are doing something wrong.
The build was a process of just trying to make it easier and faster and defiantly an evolution of improvements over time. I could not imagine trimming 1000 jackets on a case trimmer. I did try, very painful.

Billsshed

[Sasquatch-1]

I don't know if this will work with .22's but when I shorten .40 S&W for .44's I use a Lee universal 3 jaw chuck and a tubing cutter. A little time consuming but gives a nice even cut. If using this method, cut before annealing.