Trim .223 down to .380

[AgentAdam]

The .380auto and .223rem cases look identical. Could you trim the .223 down to use as thicker, longer life .380 cases?

 

[GRIZ22]

You would probably have to ream out the case walls after you cut the brass down. You'd still wind up with a reduced capacity case which negates using published loading data.

Not worth the effort in my book.

 

[rcmodel]

No. Not without neck reaming.
WAY more trouble then it is worth!

The side walls of the .223 get so thick back where the .380 case would be that seating a bullet would be impossible without bulging the case. Not to mention the very reduced powder capacity due to the much thicker case web.

.223, 9mm , & .380 cases:


.380 case:


I have turned down .223 cases to make .380 shot-shells, but putting a bullet in one wouldn't work so hot.


BTW: The same applies to making .45 ACP brass out of 30-06/.308 cases.

rcmodel

 

[Izaak Walton]

Pretty cool info.
I think rc should have a tv show.

 

[ants]

After I learned that 9x23 was originally made from cut-down 223 cases, I once cut a 223 down to 9mm size, reamed the mouth slightly, loaded it, and fired it successfully. I measured the volume with a graduated burette and adjusted bullet seating depth to make up for case volume. It sized easily but took extra effort to bell the case mouth. It actually worked better the second time, after it was fire formed to the chamber. Extractor required tweaking since the 223 and 9mm rim are slightly different (223 is a bit smaller).

It was fun to do once, but the total time to do 100 would be ridiculous. If you're doing it so your 380 cases will last longer (yes, I'm sure they will last longer) it probably isn't worth the time unless you've got nothing else better to do. You know what your time is worth.

 

[jpwilly]

RC, that's freaking cool...didn't know you could do that!

 

[rondog]

Man, if you're wanting .380 brass, get ahold of "frank_1947", he'll hook ya up.