22 BR Questions

[afret]

My nephew inherited a Remington 22BR benchrest rifle from his dad so I'm going to have to make some ammo for him. I read the 22BR Cartridge Guide on this website and ordered 22BR dies and 6BR Lapua brass for forming into 22BR.

Do I leave the expander in the 22BR full length die during the forming process?

When is the best time to trim the brass to length and what is a good length?

The diameter of the necks of brass fired from this gun is 0.248 so Lapua brass will have to have the necks turned. I assume I turn the necks down after forming?

Thanks!

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Youre gonna need remington br brass and make sure your dies are for br rem not norma.

 

[afret]

Thanks for the advice. Got a 6BR small base die on order which should hopefully let the Lapua brass fit.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

You may need a ring die from pbike257. If you got just a regular small base body die itll probably bump it too far before it sizes the base

 

[STS]

There's more to it than just a small base die. The original Remington chamber length was 1.520 if I remember correctly. The Norma chamber length is 1.560. Lapua brass is set up to work with the Norma chamber. You will need to trim the brass to fit the 1.520 chamber if that's what your rifle has. Be careful please. It can be a bomb if you don't get it right.

 

[Burnt Powder]

I’ve got 2 22Brs, cut with same reamer, tight necks. Can’t recall this second the size. I form mostly Lapua and Norma brass but have done Remington too. I prefer either Lapua or Norma with no particular preference, can’t really tell the difference. Get the Redding 3 die bushing set. It’s got a body only die that is great for forming the necks down to .224. I’ve got a button that takes the necks down to the correct inside dia. for my Lyman neck turning pilot with the button, then turn and trim. Works for me, the key is the body die that makes necking down a simple process. Next is the interchangeable button full length die. Figure out what buttons you need, I have 3, and you’re good to go.

BP

ps. Use Imperial die sizing wax for the necking down process.

 

[Elwood]

There's more to it than just a small base die. The original Remington chamber length was 1.520 if I remember correctly. The Norma chamber length is 1.560. Lapua brass is set up to work with the Norma chamber. You will need to trim the brass to fit the 1.520 chamber if that's what your rifle has. Be careful please. It can be a bomb if you don't get it right.

I think the Rem chamber is 1.530, I was told to keep all my brass trimmed to 1.530 or less. 1.520 could be the safety barrier.

 

[afret]

Thanks for all the great info. There are some fired brass from this rifle so I will definitely measure the brass to check the length. Is there are minimum length where it's too short?

 

[JSH]

Fired brass “should” be your friend, as long as it was fired in that rifle.

I am no guru, a lot of good advice above, but.

Wildcats are just that. There are a few one off’s. A good friend of mine likes to short chamber some of his. When the throat goes away he recuts to what ever.

My “lucky “ gun shop closed a few years back. A large majority in this area are spooked of rifles the can’t get ammo for at the local box store. I would get a phone call when what the considered weird showed up, literally penny’s on the dollar. I usually flipped them, several I really should have kept.
Like the box of chocolates, ya never know what your going to get.
Cerosafe can be a big help.

I myself just stepped into the 22BR rabbit hole. An early model 22 Cooper with McMillan stock, and..... get ready one of the few Jewel triggers.
I see some complain about them. Once we found the specific instructions rather than guess work, they are outstanding. I would say for some reason better than my others.

Look forward to your findings myself. We all NEED a winter project ;-).
Jeff

 

[afret]

My nephew found an old 22 BR Forster die which my brother used for his 22 BR Remington. Should I use that die on the new 6 BR Lapua brass or use the new small base Redding 6 BR body die to fit the old Remington chamber?

 

[STS]

Frankly, there were so many different reamers used back in the Pre-Norma days that I would chamber cast the barrel. If your rifle is a 40-X I would be pretty confident in saying that the chamber length is 1.520. I have a barrel chambered with a reamer per the original specs and it has a length of 1.520. I use Lapua brass in it but it has to be shortened from 1.550 to 1.515 to work.

 

[afret]

What do you use to get a cast of the chamber?

 

[Gabe22BR]

A price of new brass necked down will tell ya...

 

[bradb]

What do you use to get a cast of the chamber?

cerosafe

 

[Lone Hunter]

What do you use to get a cast of the chamber?

As was mentioned above get Cerrosafe. You can find it from several places.
https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-.../cerrosafe-chamber-casting-alloy-prod384.aspx

 

[AlNyhus]

afret: The 22BR is one of my favorite cartridges. The 'early' versions present a few challenges when using Lapua cases, but nothing to worry about. On the neck length, I'd highly suggest you get a Sinclair Neck Length Checker. For a .248 neck, you'll need to reduce the diameter of the neck part a bit but this is pretty easily done. Make it no less than .246.
https://www.sinclairintl.com/reload...s/sinclair-chamber-length-gage-prod32925.aspx

The Lapua cases are bigger at the back end than the cases that were available in the early days of the BR's. Depending on the chamber, this may or may not be an issue when it comes to extraction. One 22BR of mine has the 'early' 1.520 chamber length and is big enough to use the Lapua cases with no issue. Another has a bit smaller back end chamber dimensions and needs a pass through another die to let it chamber and extract nicely. By the way, a carbide 45ACP sizing die is perfect to give the back ends just a touch of sizing.

Also, I've used the Norma 6BR cases in the 22BR's with success. The back end dimension .200 above the extractor groove is a bit smaller than the Lapua for the tighter back end chambers. The Norma cases have held up well for many, many firings with high pressure loadings in both my 22BR and 6BR stuff.


Hope this helps. -Al

 

[afret]

As was mentioned above get Cerrosafe. You can find it from several places.
https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-.../cerrosafe-chamber-casting-alloy-prod384.aspx

Thanks for the link.

afret: The 22BR is one of my favorite cartridges. The 'early' versions present a few challenges when using Lapua cases, but nothing to worry about. On the neck length, I'd highly suggest you get a Sinclair Neck Length Checker. For a .248 neck, you'll need to reduce the diameter of the neck part a bit but this is pretty easily done. Make it no less than .246.
https://www.sinclairintl.com/reload...s/sinclair-chamber-length-gage-prod32925.aspx

The Lapua cases are bigger at the back end than the cases that were available in the early days of the BR's. Depending on the chamber, this may or may not be an issue when it comes to extraction. One 22BR of mine has the 'early' 1.520 chamber length and is big enough to use the Lapua cases with no issue. Another has a bit smaller back end chamber dimensions and needs a pass through another die to let it chamber and extract nicely. By the way, a carbide 45ACP sizing die is perfect to give the back ends just a touch of sizing.

Also, I've used the Norma 6BR cases in the 22BR's with success. The back end dimension .200 above the extractor groove is a bit smaller than the Lapua for the tighter back end chambers. The Norma cases have held up well for many, many firings with high pressure loadings in both my 22BR and 6BR stuff.


Hope this helps. -Al

It sure does help a lot. Thank you! Got the chamber gauge ordered. After I take my nephew to the range today (he's shooting his AR15), I'm going to pick up his 22BR and start working on this project. I think I'll end up buying a barrel chambered in 22BR if I'm going though this exercise.