.300 Blackout

[kilibreaux]

How many out there are making up their own cases for the .300 AAC from once-fired .223 brass?

Quite a few steps are involved in transforming a .223/5.56mm case into a .300AAC and I've found myself questioning more than once whether it's WORTH paying $25/100 for .300 brass someone else put the work into!

 

[cfullgraf]

I form my own 300 BLk from 223 Remington cases and i have bought 300 BLK head stamp cases.

Forming is not difficult. I formed about 1500 cases a couple summers ago over the period of a week working a hour here and a couple hours there.

I've never bought formed cases so I do not what the quality looks like. Lots of folks do buy the formed cases through.

 

[Walkalong]

I first bought 500 formed cases, then made my own, then bought some new. they all work just fine. If you make your own, you may or may not have to ream necks, and if you buy formed cases, check to see if they are. I guess some guns have tight chambers. I did a chamber cast on mine and it is plenty big.

 

[luzyfuerza]

I made a bunch of 300 AAC brass last week from a batch of mixed .223 brass. The range of neck thicknesses in this batch of brass was extensive. The lake city brass averaged 11 mils, the various commercial headstamps averaged about 12 mils, and ICC and assorted other headstamps averaged 14 mils. One lonely S&B case had a neck wall thickness of 15 mils!

I have not done a chamber cast yet on my upper, but I do know that the S&B case stuck hard when I tried to chamber a dummy round, and that several dummy rounds made of lake city brass chambered just fine.

There are too many of the thick-necked cases to junk, so I'll probably buy and use a neck reamer on all cases I convert from .223.

Adding one more step to the case prep process is not really something I relish, but in this case, I'm convinced that its necessary.

 

[silverexpress]

$25 for 100 new brass is too much? lol I guess you don't shoot new quality brass. Not being a jerk but I pay premium for Lapua 223 and I'm sure not going to turn it into .300. Buy the new .300, I pay 25 for 50 sometimes. Good quality 300 will last a dozen reloads in some cases and there just isn't enough 300 out there to find good deals on once fired. And being 300 bullets, I'm talking match grade best of the best, can be had for $125-150 for 500 frees up some cash to put more money into new brass. Grab a Lee pacesetter die set and get to work.

 

[HisStigness]

I made 223 into 300blk in exactly 3 steps. Cut, size, trim. I used a lathe to cut to length, a lee pacesetter sizing/decapping die to form the cases to 300blk specs, and a cheap lee case trimmer to get the right length. I had no problems with the process, it wasn't overly time consuming, and my own formed cases all worked and are all I have shot in my AR.

 

[kilibreaux]

Silverexpress: I agree with you in a way...pay the vig for dedicated .300 brass and enjoy, but then I see the price for basic .223 brass...and I figure I can spend the hours it take to transform it into Blackout!
My question isn't about the difficulty...it's "easy" to go through the steps, but it takes TIME...the question is, is it worth paying a 3x premium for .300 brass someone else spent the time creating versus the process of cutting cases, forming, trimming, reaming primer pockets, cleaning, and THEN loading, versus opening a box or bag and LOADING.

I certainly DO know the cost of factory new brass...which is why I and many others (I am sure) originally chose to make our own.

 

[cfullgraf]

...it's "easy" to go through the steps, but it takes TIME...

Ah, the constant debate around the cost of reloading, the value of one's time.

Some folks will not sneeze without a cost center to charge the time to.

Only you can determine what your time is worth.

Reloading in general and forming 300 BLK cases in particular is a recreation activity for me and therefore time is not a consideration.

A number of years ago I stopped casting my own bullets but I still shoot cast bullets. Casting was no longer an enjoyable activity for me and I am more than willing to pay for someone to cast the bullets for me.