22 Jet...how hard to form cases?

[Joe Foraday]

In real life, I mean. How easy or hard is it to neck .357 Mag cases down to .22 to make .22 Jet cases? I assume you have to ream the neck to get the brass down to normal thickness after forming? I've read about doing this but never done it myself and I'm guessing there's things you only learn by doing? Many thanks for any coaching.

 

[Dave R]

Looks like nobody here has tried this. You will likely get a good response at the Accurate Reloading forums. Lots of users of less-popular calibers hang out there.

http://www.accuratereloading.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?Cat=

 

[BluesBear]

I have never done it myself. Back when I was still loading .22 Jet I used Remington factory brass.

There was a guy back in Indiana that would form it out of your .357 brass cases, no nickle, for 1¢ each, so I guess it can't be too hard.

 

[redneck2]

Just picked up

a copy of The Handloader's Manual of Cartridge Conversions. Covers the stuff you're talking about. Handloader magazine had an extensive article sometime back by Ross Seyfried that covered case forming in detail. I suspect you'll have to neck ream or the case necks will be too thick

Also, he strongly recommended Rooster case forming lube. Other lubes let the cases stick in the dies. If you reload for various calibers, he recommends using the bullet seating dies for intermediate steps (if you don't have factory .22 Jet forming dies).

Example...start with .357. Use a .30-06 seating die to get down to .30 cal, then a .25-06 to get 25, then .22. You'll also have to anneal the necks or the brass will get too hard. Varmint Al's website goes into annealing in detail, as does Handloader.

I just got a .357 Herrett and 350 .30-30 brass so I'm on a learning trip myself

If you Google, you could probably find some brass if that's easier. I found a ton of Herrett stuff, but I got the 350 new empties for $12. Besides, I want to try it myself.

If you want a copy of the article, pm me and I'll forward it.