Anyone got a few Lapua or Lake city .223 AI cases that they would let me borrow?

[BOVindy]

Howdy Y'all. I know I'm kinda on the line of the classifieds here, but I figured people might be more receptive in the reloading subforum. I'm going to get a few .223 AI barrels made for my rifles, bit I ran into a problem. If I want to have a barrel sized to a dummy round I need to have a round to load first, and I don't have any .223 catridges blown out to .223 AI. I have all of the reloading gear for .223 AI. I just need a few cases to get me started. I plan on sending them in to get the barrels chambered precisely, so I'm not expecting to receive them back anytime soon. I can return them after I'm done with them, I could thrown in some cash, or I could simply trade a few pieces of .223 Lake City brass.
-Thank you for your time. Ben

 

[bstewrat3]

I don't see the benefit of having barrels chambered based off of another persons casing. The reamers and headspace gauges are stocked items at a lot of online retailers. If you are having several barrels built the cost of buying your own reamer and gauges would be worth it. I did the same thing for 220 Swift AI40.

 

[BOVindy]

My apologies for not being more specific. I currently own .223 Ackley Improved dies and materials. If I load up a primerless and gunpowderless case using MY dies and bullets then they will be sized to my equipment. I currently have plenty of .223 brass, but putting that into .223 AI dies wouldn't shape them properly as none of them have the shoulders blown forward far enough to resize with a 40 degree shoulder. I don't currently own a .223 AI barreled rifle, hence my question on whether someone would be willing to lend a me a few .223 AI cases. I suppose that I could buy reamers and headspace gauges, but loading a few empty rounds to send in as sizers when I order my barrels sounds cheaper and easier. Thank you for your time. -Ben

 

[bstewrat3]

If you can't find a 223 AI case look for a 222 Remington Magnum or a 204 Ruger case. Sizing these in your AI dies will give you the case you desire. You will have to trim to length.

 

[Broom_jm]

Are you sending brass into a particular gunsmith who asks for fired, unsized cases with which to set the headspacing? If so, just be aware that you'll be sizing your chamber to whichever brass you obtain, while your reloading dies may be slightly different. This is not a concern, if all three are from identical drawings...it's a chicken-egg thing, is all.

 

[BOVindy]

Currently I was looking to get a .223 AI barrel for my TC encore, and possibly one for my Savage model 12. Match Grade Machine allows you to send in a dummy round to have the chamber cut (reamed?) to its precise dimensions, so I figured that I might as well try to reload a few dummy rounds in my own equipment, that way the chamber would already match my die dimensions and there would be little to no fuss. Thank's for the advice guys! As far as using .222 rem-mag or a .204 Ruger, would the brass from those crtridges end up with the same outer measurements after being cut to length and sized? Internal volume isn't an issue as I would be sending it empty of course, so as long as it's the correct outer size I wouldn't have an issue. Thank you for your time. -Ben

 

[bstewrat3]

The longer cases will form fine into 223AI. Just use a good quality lube like Imperial case sizing wax.


With MGM they are probably not going to fit the barrel specifically to your case because they use a standard reamer for all chambers and can only change the depth of the chamber/headspace. I would let them cut it to the accepted standard. The one variable they can change is the throating to match the bullet you choose, which you should consider carefully how you proceed, because if you choose a light bullet you could handicap yourself if you decide to go heavier in the future or vice versa.

I have dealt with MGM on a few of my own barrels to get something very specific. I have a barrel chambered for 35 Remington, but it has a cut made for the rim of a 30-40 Krag case which a have reformed in a 35 Remington die and shortened. I also have a 300 Blackout barrel that I had them cut for a 360 Dan Wesson rim.