Fire forming to 223 AI

[Huckleberry75]

I FF my 223ai with 25.5-26.0gns of varget and a 69 SmK. Very accurate and out pops nicely formed brass.

 

[fredo]

FF'ed some virgin Win. brass for a new .223AI, over the weekend. Did zero load workup, just figured a safe start via Quickload & went with it.
25gr TAC with a 75Amax. 20mph crosswind, 1" sticky @ 100yds. Blew the shoulder out nice & I'll take this kinda performance from a FF load, any day:

 

[Longtrain]

I used the COW method for my 223AI. I have FF'ed Dashers using the false shoulder method and it worked fine. So, I decided to try COW for the 223 AI. Any small rifle primer, small amount of Bullseye, a over powder piece of TP, some corn meal (out of COW), an over corn meal piece of a patch. That's it, fired a bunch then ran a patch down the barrel, repeated until done. Much faster then shooting ball, didn't have to aim, just safely down range. Corn meal and patches littered the ground. BTW, the rounds were as loud as a 38 target load, so doing them in your basement is questionable to me. Cases were probably 90% formed, full loads crisped the shoulders nicely.

 

[jepp2]

25gr TAC with a 75Amax. 20mph crosswind, 1" sticky @ 100yds.

You read the wind much better than I can. How much "Kentucky windage" were you using?

 

[fredo]

None, holding dead center. The wind kinda 'fishtails' down thru that range inside of 100yds, so I ignore it. You can see the embankment, to the left side, the wind blows across, then kinda funnels downrange:

Shot the same load FF load again, this weekend.
5 & 10 shots @ 200yds, not much wind to speak of:

As you can see, not a benchrest shooter, just goofin' around off the bipod at the local range to get some trigger time...

 

[Deleted old_dood]

None, holding dead center. The wind kinda 'fishtails' down thru that range inside of 100yds, so I ignore it. You can see the embankment, to the left side, the wind blows across, then kinda funnels downrange:

Shot the same load FF load again, this weekend.
5 & 10 shots @ 200yds, not much wind to speak of:

As you can see, not a benchrest shooter, just goofin' around off the bipod at the local range to get some trigger time...

Is that the Brookhaven, Long Island range?

 

[fredo]

It is

 

[Deleted old_dood]

It is

I thought I was the only one shooting a 223AI there. I'll watch for that rifle and we can exchange some pointers. BTW, very nice shooting.

 

[fredo]

Thank you, Sir!
Whenever the weather sucks for a trip at the farm, that range makes for a decent place to spend a couple hours. By all means, keep an eye out. It'd be my pleasure to BS with a fellow AS member...

 

[Coolhand]

Tried the filler and tpaper method works fine but then on one of those rare occasions I had an epiphany , you know those bags of filters guys use to roll their own smokes with, well down here they come in three different diameters , the middle sized ones fit a .22 cal neck real nice , and if you cut them in half with a razor blade then the bag goes twice as far.
Now having said all of that , I don't do that anymore for my .220 Swift AI's , because they both shoot like a dream fireforming new Norma cases and hunting at the same time.

regards
Mike.

 

[Shaggy357]

Lots of guys fireform 30 BR brass with a fast burning powder (I use Bullseye just because I have a bunch). Fill the case to the neck/shoulder junction with powder, pack a quarter of a sheet of Cottenelle in the mouth and fire.

The barrel gets hot pretty quick so I do about ten and let it cool. Most folks use an old barrel for this purpose.

Am I reading this correct? I may have missed it first time thru...."Fill the case to the neck/shoulder junction with Bullseye and pack a quarter sheet of cottenelle in the mouth and fire"....? BR brass isn't very big, but that is a LOT of Bullseye. My BR loads have 29.0-30.0 grains of my favorite powders and they are not nearly as dense as Bullseye. I think we need a correction before someone tries this recipe for disaster.

 

[bobcat93]

I realize you are seeking an answer to your question and not judgments..
I have an 223 improved 40° shoulder. And I tried the COW. method, but in all actuality it is kind of pointless. As fireform loads are very accurate, and from my understanding Everytime you pull that trigger you create barrel ware..So why not enjoy shooting your new caliber..Skip the fireform step and just go shoot..
I found that if I took a patch with some kroil on it and wiped the case, then fired it popped out perfectly fireform, and it reduces the stress on the brass, I still annealed afterwards but my chamber was set a little long so the barrel can be set back when I burn out the throat..
If you have never used the COW method I would suggest doing it in a closed garage and not your basement..It still kind of makes a mess..
Good luck with what ever method you choose,

 

[TAJ45]

[QUOTE="bobcat
I found that if I took a patch with some kroil on it and wiped the case, then fired it popped out perfectly fireform, and it reduces the stress on the brass, I still annealed afterwards ........[/QUOTE]

From what I've read, lubing the brass prior to forming allows more stress, bolt thrust. Is the chamber a tad rough?

 

[Dave Berg]

Am I reading this correct? I may have missed it first time thru...."Fill the case to the neck/shoulder junction with Bullseye and pack a quarter sheet of cottenelle in the mouth and fire"....? BR brass isn't very big, but that is a LOT of Bullseye. My BR loads have 29.0-30.0 grains of my favorite powders and they are not nearly as dense as Bullseye. I think we need a correction before someone tries this recipe for disaster.

You're reading it correctly and it's a fairly common practice. Your "favorite powder" is probably pushing a 115-118 grain bullet. My Bullseye is pushin' nothing but air. If you doubt me send a PM to Smokin' Joe. Joe presses a plastic ball in to hold the powder. I use TP cause I'm cheap and so is Cottonelle.

The advantage of fire forming 30 BR brass is the case doesn't shrink like it does using an expander. Start with a 1.555" case and it's 1.555" after forming. I trim to 1.550" and my reamer is 1.560" case length. Brass from Ron Hoehn runs 1.52X" or so and I used to trim to 1.500". That's an extra 50 thou to stuff your "favorite Powder" into.

As I said I don't use a match barrel for this. I had my 'smith run the reamer into a shot out 243 Savage barrel. It gets hot in a hurry.