How I convert 223 brass to 7.62X25 brass.

[LAGS]

I recently started making up some 7.62x25 cases out of surplus .223 casings.
I cut the .223 casing to 1" long.
Run the casing into my Lee 7.62x 25 sizing die.
Then I use my drill press to drill out the neck using a size "N" drill that is .302 diam.
Then I trim the cases to length.
Then run them thru the neck internal sizing or flaring die.
The only issue I have had so far on only a few cases is.
To drill out the case neck.
I held the casing in a pair of pliers.
If I didn't hold it tight enough.
The case would spin a little and scratch some minor grooves in the case.
Those damaged cases will get thrown out.
But so far.
The cases I have loaded and fired with 100 gr powder coated cast Boolits over 5.0 of Unique.
The ammo fired great , and fire formed the rear section of the case to chamber dimensions.
Not the case head but the case body.
The cases resized really nicely and now fit the chamber a lot better.
Next thing is to work up loads and see if the smaller interior dimension case does not Up the pressure with better loads.

[armoredman]

Nifty!

[frkelly74]

This is very close to what I was doing to create 7.62x25 cases back when nobody was manufacturing them. Just as I was happy with my procedure they started to become available commercially. I was using a tubing cutter to cut the 223/5.56 cases to length and carried that over into my 300 BO making. Fun fun fun, carry on!!

[LAGS]

You are correct that there are several manufactures of the 7.62x25 currently.
But the price is way up there and availability is Low.
Plus the Tokarev ejects them so far , it is hard to find all the cases to reload.
To cut my .223 cases to length.
I made a sleeve tube out of brass tubing that fits over the case.
I mark them at 1" long.
Then I chuck them up in my Poor Man's Lathe held in my vise.
Then with that mark at the end of the drill chuck.
I just spin them and cut the casing with a hack saw while spinning.
I just got done doing a 175 casings and have them all reformed and primed for reloading.
Next project is a net to catch the fired casings when I shoot at the range since my wife can't make it to the range with me all the time.
She is my "Range Chicken"
She is the one that pecks around and picked up my casings.

[pacomdiver]

i have a 3d printed x25 cradle for the mini chop saw that i use for making the B/O cases and i have a trim die that i can trim them after they have been sized in the x25 die

[mf79]

I made a rig to use tubing cutter that can adjust where to cut using drill on hex on opposite side of cutter

[rbuck351]

I used 38spl cases many years ago and made a hundred or so. I made a tool for a lathe to remove the rim and cut an extractor at the same time. Then sized and trimmed. Since then I have acquired several hundred s&b cases. I have a tok and a cz52 and both have tight throats and groove diameters around .314. If I load a 315/315 boolet, I have to turn the necks a bit to get them to chamber. The 38spl cases don't have the thick walls like 223 and are close to the same capacity as the x25 cases.

[LAGS]

Thank you rbuck.
I will have to look into making up some cases out of .38 SPL cases.

[LAGS]

This morning I made a few cases out of .38 SPL cases.
I no longer have a lathe.
But I just used my poor man's lathe that is a drill motor mounted in my vise.
Spinning the case and filing down the case head and cutting in the groove with a hacksaw blade worked really good.
I ran them thru my Lee 7.62x25 case sizing die then trimmed them to length
I will have to do a light load and fire form them a little bit to fill up the chamber.
But Hay.
This looks doable for an average person.
I will try and keep you guys posted on how they turn out after I fire them.

[OS OK]

[LAGS]

I have a bunch of 300 ACC cases that I can use to convert to 7.62x25 casings.
I am sure I can order some new cases off the internet.
But playing with things like these projects provides knowledge to others that either can not find what they need or can afford them for use in a gun that they don't use that much.
I don't have any 9mm Magnum casings.
And I think the .38 Super cases that I have are just a little too short.
But I will check it out when I can find my old casings.

[ddixie884]

You must have the patience of Job and like to work with your hands. I stand in awe......

[LAGS]

I do have patients and have always worked with my hands.
I have also kept shooting thru those Ammunition Shortages were around.

[jdgabbard]

I spent some time this summer making some from .223 brass that had split necks, or other issues that made them unsuitable for reloading.

I trimmed them down to just around 1", then formed in a 7.62x25 sizer. I 3d printed a cradle to hold the rounds in my machinist vise for the drill press, and drilled with an N bit. But what I found is that they seemed to not have enough neck tension to hold the bullets reliably. So I'm thinking a neck expander for a slightly larger caliber die might solve the problem.

I used to make these quite a bit back in the day, but I can't remember what bit I used. I'm going to have to tinker with this some more. I always have plenty of scrap 223.

[LAGS]

To make sure the neck tension is tight enough.
I bought a Lee neck crimping die that crimps the last 1/16" of the neck rather than roll crimping it in the seating die that came with the die set.
So far I have not had any issues with the original seating die rolling the neck of the case where it expands and then won't just drop into the barrel chamber.
Right now I am shooting bullets that I sized to .309.
But because the bore is close to .311
I am going to start sizing the bullets to .310 or .311.
I resize Boolits that are .312 jacketed bullets down to the size I need or want.
The cast bullets I am loading are cast from a .312 Lee 100 gr mold also.
Those I cast out of Linotype and then Powder Coat them.
The late friend who left me the pistol use to get the 100 gr cast and coated Boolits from me.
I just have not refined or worked up the best load that he used.
But I believe the only powder he used was Unique.
So far loads up to 5.5 gr have worked well.

[jdgabbard]

To make sure the neck tension is tight enough.
I bought a Lee neck crimping die that crimps the last 1/16" of the neck rather than roll crimping it in the seating die that came with the die set.
So far I have not had any issues with the original seating die rolling the neck of the case where it expands and then won't just drop into the barrel chamber.
Right now I am shooting bullets that I sized to .309.
But because the bore is close to .311 I am going to start sizing the bullets to .310 or .311.
I resize Boolits that are .312 jacketed bullets down to the size I need or want.
The cast bullets I am loading are cast from a .312 Lee 100 gr mold also.
Those I cast out of Linotype and then Powder Coat them.
The late friend who left me the pistol use to get the 100 gr cast and coated Boolits from me.
I just have not refined or worked up the best load that he used.
But I believe the only powder he used was Unique.
So far loads up to 5.5 gr have worked well.

Thats a good idea on the neck crimping die. Ideally I'd like to get it right so that I don't have to worry about it. But that may be a good workaround.

[LAGS]

I took out a bunch of reloads that I did from the .223 and 30 BLK cases.
They were loaded with 85 gr Hornady and some with the cast 100 gr Boolits that are PC'ed.
All shot pretty good and functioned great.
Now that the cases are fire formed.
I will reload them and focus a little more on the accuracy with different powder loads.
The powder I used was Unique.
I loaded them from 4.5 to 5.5 grains

[Kosh75287]

If any is to be found near you, experimentation with AA#5 might deliver better performance with projectiles weighing 90 gr. or more.

What type/brand of dies are being used to resize the cut .223 cases? Are these regular resizing dies for reloading 7.62x25 rounds, or are they special-application resizing dies?

[LAGS]

I do not have any AA#5
And haven't found any lately.
I do have a pound of AA#2 but don't have any loading info for it with 100 gr boolits

[Kosh75287]

This MIGHT help.
https://makarov.com/tokloaddata.html

I thought that AA#5 would work better, b/c it is more dense, so you won't have to compress the charge (as might be necessary w/Unique). It is also a bit slower-burning, which seems to be the safe way to go when reloading with heavier-than-usual projectiles. AA#2 MIGHT work, but it it much faster-burning than Unique or AA#5, so I'd expect trouble.