Yet another how to make 7.62 x 25 Tokarev brass.

A couple of years ago I did a how-to for making 7.62 x 25 Tokarev brass from .223 Remington brass.

That thread can be seen here: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=609366

This time I'll make some Tokarev brass from 38 Special brass. According to Donnelly's "Handloaders Manual Of Cartridge Conversion" other than .223 REM brass you can use the .38 Special case as a parent.

This requires a bit more machinery than most reloaders have but those of us with small lathes can do this quickly and easily.

Take .38 Special brass. I used a twice fired Starline case. Cut to .990" long. Put in lathe and trim the rim diameter to .390" wide.



Next, lube the case and place it in your 7.62 x 25 sizing die and resize the case. Final trim to .988" long. Deburr etc like you would trimming any case.



Now you can load it just like any other brass in this caliber.





I had one issue. My RCBS handheld 'Universal' primer tool would not hold the case for priming. I had to prime on my press.

I loaded with 5.5 Gr of Red Dot and a Hornady 90 Grain .309" XTP.

The round dropped right into the barrel from a CZ52.



For me compared to using .223 REM brass this was far easier and faster to make into Tokarev brass. Trimming is easy, there is no inside neck reaming and the brass is easier to form in the sizing die. With the collet chuck on my lathe trimming the rim is simplicity.

Further the 38 brass fits better and does not swell like 223 does when fired as it's a better fit than the smaller diameter rifle brass.

Hope this was useful.

Lj1941 said:

Why not just get new Starline brass and not worry about a lathe?

Click to expand...

Do ya ever just do something for the fun of it? Do you ever just do something to learn new things?

Anybody can just go buy things.

@Chris in VA: There is a rebate at the junction of the case and rim. It's clearly visible in the photos.

@Lj: I have used this load previously with this cartridge. I have not fired these loads yet. I'm hoping to on my next range trip. Thanks for the tip on that charge with Power Pistol. I also like that powder and use it frequently.

@Duckdog: Yep, that sounds like a nice easy way to make Tokarev brass out of 223. I don't have either a Zip trimmer or the Forster trimmer. More than one way to skin a cat yes?

@Carl: The rim and rebate appear to be more than enough for fully cycling. I've loaded and extracted the round a dozen times in my Yugo M57. Feed is smooth with no bullet setback and extraction is crisp with the round flying fairly far from the gun when racking the slide by hand.

I hope to have a range report by the middle of next week.