22 Hornet to 17 Hornet

[Tilleyman]

These were cases that I had already annealed as I was going to use them in my Hornet... thought I'd try a little experiment while forming 100 PRIVI cases.

And yes, what you see is after they had been necked to .20 cal in a Bullberry double-ended forming die... then put through the 17HH die

[vonrang]

Originally Posted by Tilleyman

These were cases that I had already annealed as I was going to use them in my Hornet... thought I'd try a little experiment while forming 100 PRIVI cases.

And yes, what you see is after they had been necked to .20 cal in a Bullberry double-ended forming die... then put through the 17HH die

The double ended forming dies sound very interesting.

[Tilleyman]

Best $40 I ever spent

http://www.bullberry.com/reloading_supplies.html

20 cal one end and 17 cal the other...

[Daryl]

For many of us, using the seater die gives the .20 cal. step before the .17 FL sizer is used. This has worked for many hundreds of cases, for me - and others.

[vonrang]

Originally Posted by Daryl

For many of us, using the seater die gives the .20 cal. step before the .17 FL sizer is used. This has worked for many hundreds of cases, for me - and others.

I have been reloading for 30 years (wow, maybe I should take a break or something) and I learn something new all of the time, but this is the first time I have ever heard of doing this!

I wonder how much money, I could have saved doing this?

[Tilleyman]

Originally Posted by Daryl

For many of us, using the seater die gives the .20 cal. step before the .17 FL sizer is used. This has worked for many hundreds of cases, for me - and others.

That's a great tip... but it doesn't work with Hornady's 'telescoping' 17 HH seater die. Crushed the cases every time...

[moorepower]

So after all of this, what are folks trimming the WW brass to?

[hemiallen]

I haven't shot my 17HH CZ yet using factory ammo, but have determined using 22 Hornet brass yields an undersized base diameter substantial enough for me to not want to reform 22 hornet brass to 17HH.


Are you-all running low enough pressures to not bulge the 22 brass when you form it, and subsequent firings? If so, I suspect you aren't getting all you can out of the 17HH.


Allen

[Tilleyman]

Allen

While I agree some Hornet case base diameters are below that specified for the 17 Hornet, PRIVI cases match or even slightly exceed that of Hornady factory brass.

This is one reason why I chose PRIVI cases to make my 17 HH cases... the other reason is they have a neck wall thickness on average .001" thicker than Winchester or Remington.

I can see no external dimensional reason why reformed PRIVI cases should not be loaded to 17 HH pressures, and not leave the cases looking 'pot-bellied'. Internal web dimensions and case volume may be a different matter...

I've finally got around to measuring internal case volume of Hornady factory cases vs reformed PRIVI cases vs other makes

Total case water capacity in grains (all fireformed, then FLS and decapped, flash holes plugged, water with Simple Green as wetting agent)

Hornady 13.40gr
RWS 13.47gr
S&B 13.55gr
PRVI 13.85gr
Winchester 14.15gr
ICI 14.48gr
Remington 14.73gr



Rim thickness:

[hemiallen]

Very interesting.

My ww brass, which is the only 22 hornet brass I have ever held and measured, is the same diameter as your chart. I didn't realize the Hornady and Privi brass was larger than ww brass.


It makes sense to me now, that using the Privi and Hornady looks to be safe to use to make the 17HH ammunition out of. My 17 Ackley hornet wouldn't allow me to use the Privi or Hornady brass, as it needs the base diameter to be 0.2930" or less to fit in the chamber, and the reason I have a better feeling / caution for the 17HH issue being larger than the WW brass I have in hand.

Thank you very much for the chart

Allen