Using range pick up 223 brass for 17 or 20 cal (or 338?) conversion

[captain awesome]

(perhaps this belongs in the reloading forum? Mods feel free to move it as you see fit)

So I have a lot of range pick up 223 brass I would like to make use of, and don't own a 223, nor do I have any desire for one. I already have a 222 Remington barrel for my TC Encore, so I don't see the point in adding a 223 also aside from using up brass. I have a penchant for or fascination if you will with less common cartridges, and I was trying to think of something else to do with the brass, and I was considering a few options for an uncommon, fun reloading/ shooting project;

17-222 Remington;
does anyone know if it is possible to make 17-222 Remington out of 223 brass? I was looking at 17-223 but the place I would like to order a barrel for my encore from doesn't make barrels chambered for that round, but they do chamber them for 17-222. I have a Dillon RT1500 trimmer so cutting brass down is a breeze if necessary, if neck turning is required I probably wouldn't be as interested in it.

20 tactical;
that same barrel maker makes barrels for this round, but in all honestly I would rather a 17 cal. Not that I think I would be unhappy with this round, both this one and the 17-222 sound like loads of good times.

222 Remington;
I suppose I could turn it into 222 rem. brass, but that just doesn't sound like as much fun as making something new like a little 17 or 20 cal rocket.

338 Thumper or 338 Whisper or 338-223 Straight;
I do have A Ruger SR556 chambered in 6.8 SPC, so I could use the lower from that for something like this. I also bought 10 normal AR mags just for grins once upon a time so that's not a problem(I assume they would feed in a normal AR15 223 mag just fine, correct me if I am wrong.) I found the 300 blackout intriguing for a while but decided if I did something like that, a 338 cal bullet would be easier to keep subsonic than a 308 cal, they are heavier for more penetration, and wider for a better wound channel if I ever happen to go coyote hunting or hog/javalina hunting with it. I never really have understood the huge following that the 300 blackout round seems to have acquired, I wasn't all that impressed with the round. I really don't want to start a discussion on the qualities of the 300 blackout, or piss off anyone who likes it, just suffice it to say I would be a lot more interested in the 338, especially since I can cast 338 boolits.

the trouble is the only place I know of supposedly selling uppers or barrels in the Thumper is BWE, and from what I found on another forum they wanted $1500 for an upper in 2012, which is a lot more than I am willing to sink into this project/Idea. so if you have any ideas for or happen to know a source for AR15 barrels for this round besides BWE please let me know.

Edit; found out that SSK industries has chambered barrels the 338 whisper based on the 223 cartridge, I contacted them to find out about the possibility of an AR15 upper or barrel chambered in this round or the 20 TAC for the Encore

so, those are my ideas, what would you do?

 

[Swampman]

Personally, I'd trade the .223 brass for something I actually use.

 

[captain awesome]

thanks Swampman, trouble is I haven't been able to trade it for the things I use because most of the things I use are relatively uncommon compared to 223, and I already have way more than enough of the more common things I use, and 223 brass is everywhere and cheap to buy (which is the corner stone of this project, even if I run out of 223 brass, I can easily and cheaply replace it). So.....I really wouldn't get nearly as much of something else that I would want for the amount of 223 brass I currently have.

 

[Swampman]

Try starting a WTT thread in the THR Trading Post.
Just because it's easy for you to pick up .223 brass doesn't mean everybody else has a surplus.

I assume you're thinking about the .338 Whisper II, based on the .221 Fireball case?
The original .338 Whisper used the 7mm BR case and could be loaded to give decent supersonic performance. The Whisper II doesn't have enough case capacity to do much other than subsonic velocities.

I'm fairly ignorant about the Whisper cartridges in general, but before you decide to chamber a weapon in .338 Whisper II, you should check whether it requires case neck turning or reaming to reform from .223. Unlike the .300 Blackout, .300 Whisper cases formed from .223 need that treatment.

You might also look at clambering dimensions for the .338 Murmur, .338 Phantom and .338 Benchrest, all of which are VERY similar to the Whisper II.

SSK products are first class, but you're going to pay a premium for them.

Honestly though, unless you plan on acquiring a suppressor, I don't think the .338 Whisper II class rounds have very much to offer.

 

[Livnoutdoorsxd9]

Take a look at the 277 Wolverine. Its a very capable round with the flexibility to shoot lighter bullets for varmints and heavier for deer. Brass conversion is an easy process

 

[captain awesome]

I like the idea of the 277 wolverine, but in all honesty I love my 6.8spc, and the 277 wolverine is nearly identical, if not just a little under the 6.8s potential due to case capacity. if I didn't already plunge into the world of the 6.8 spc, then I would probably do that.

 

[Livnoutdoorsxd9]

I like the idea of the 277 wolverine, but in all honesty I love my 6.8spc, and the 277 wolverine is nearly identical, if not just a little under the 6.8s potential due to case capacity. if I didn't already plunge into the world of the 6.8 spc, then I would probably do that.

You're right, It is very close to 6.8 ballistics. I was a 6.8 guy for a lot of years. I say 'was' because a couple of months ago I made the decision to sell off all of my 6.8 stuff. My reasoning was this: The slight edge that the 6.8 has ballistically over the WLV is so narrow that it would take a very specific circumstance to need the 6.8 over the WLV. For all intents and purposes, they serve the same role (Hunting out to ~300y) Anything beyond that warrants a different rifle.

I'll tell ya, I made a pretty penny selling my 6.8 brass, bolts, and barrels. There's also something kind of comforting about being able to use milspec BCGs, Pmags, and plentiful (and usually free 5.56 brass)!

 

[Swampman]

.300 Blackout?

It's not a 300 yard deer round by any means, but personally, if I'm hunting medium sized animals at that range, I'm probably not carrying anything that'll feed through an AR-15.

The Blackout is an easy conversion, uses standard mags/bolts and performs well with cast bullets for lots of cheap shooting, plus there's plenty of good, pressure tested load data available.

It also works great if you ever decide to get a can.

If you ever get tired of it and decide to sell, my guess is that you'll get a faster sale and better return than you would with a .277 Wolverine.

 

[Livnoutdoorsxd9]

.300 Blackout?
The Blackout is an easy conversion, uses standard mags/bolts and performs well with cast bullets for lots of cheap shooting, plus there's plenty of good, pressure tested load data available.

It also works great if you ever decide to get a can.

If you ever get tired of it and decide to sell, my guess is that you'll get a faster sale and better return than you would with a .277 Wolverine.

With regard to conversion, the BLK and WLV are identical; swap a barrel/muzzle device and you're g2g.

Standard WLV barrels are 1:11 (like the 6.8) for supersonic loads, however, recently 1:7" barrels have started to be sold with the intention of running 150g-200g bullets at subsonic speeds for suppressed applications. Of course with the smaller bore, it will not perform quite as well as the BLK, but it does beat it by about 100fps, with a much better ballistic coefficient. Seeing as there are many more hunters out there than contract killers, I would venture to guess that the average consumer would pick the round that performs better supersonic and nearly as good subsonic.

I think you would get a faster re-sale with the 300blk...for now.

 

[Swampman]

Originally posted by: Livnoutdoorsxd9
"Seeing as there are many more hunters out there than contract killers..."

No offense meant, but are you honestly so ignorant about suppressors that you think hit men are their main users?

 

[Livnoutdoorsxd9]

No I am not, I was making a joke to emphasize the thought that better supersonic performance would be more important than superior subsonic performance.

I own one suppressor currently and have a second one pending, as well as a SBR.

 

[fireman 9731]

Check out the .19 Badger or .19 Calhoon.

 

[Swampman]

@ Livnoutdoorsxd9

No I am not, I was making a joke to emphasize the thought that better supersonic performance would be more important than superior subsonic performance.

I own one suppressor currently and have a second one pending, as well as a SBR.

Then you have my apologies and I sincerely hope that no offense was taken.

I would recommend that in the future you consider using the "smileys" to help folks understand what you're trying to say.

There's no inflection, expression or body language in the typewritten word, so it can be hard to differentiate attempts at humor from simple ignorance or even bone headed stupidity at times.