Just a little update just got back from the ladies house to retrieve my packages and got the upper done. All parts are either NBS or where won sale/ Amazon chicom magic lol. They don't have the handguard I would have preferred so had to go with this 17" one, which looks a little goofy on a 18" SPR barrel but hy I own a hack saw and spray paint lol. Who ting went together super easy ,like 15-20min tops and most of that was just me trying to find my Allen keys since their never where I leave them . But yeah just waiting on the dies which I , for some reason bought a few days after the barrels and the bullets from powder valley. Still got 1200 or so pieces of same year lack city brass to use in forming so happy happy happy

I think you will enjoy the 17. They can do way more than they get credit for.

O yeah I think it's going to be pretty fun

Quote :Just a little update just got back from the ladies house to retrieve my packages


That part had me scratching my head there for a second . Just because you are not married yet

Lol she gets mail 3x quicker then me so I just send all my packages to her place while I'm gone

Thanks for clearing that up

You are right though it looks a bit goofy with that long hand guard and the saw and paint may be a good way to go .......... unless ...... you put a can on it

Donivan where did the barrel com from

Hay Mr cletis how you been well ! I bought min directly from KAK's website
https://kakindustry.com/17-556-cal-custom-18-inch-barrel/

And dies are in !...... wearing though you don't get a shell holder , that being said I don't think you usually do with Redding dies.... Regardless I have like four .223/5.56 shell holders so no big deal. So time to get to the house and see just how hard it is to re size some brass
Must say thought these are some BEAUTIFUL dies ! Still crazy tk me that these are still counted as "cheapy" or budget dies to a lot of guys I've ha e the joy of talking with

dont neck them down in one push. do a little back off and repeat.

So sized some cases and well, pretty straight forward honestly. Just really need to lube them up and not go too fast. Weird thing is you'll get 10 or so going great then 3-5 mess up then 10 more, tired alot of stuff but just kinda a pattern it seems lol. Was told a 20 practical die would be a good addition but eh , many the whole deal is to make this brass with once fired whatever, so really it's not that bad. Can still cut the crushed ones up for .30/bulk or .300hammer.
Just got some out of my lake city stash.

going to outside turn the necks??

you anneal the brass before sizing?

I'm seeing alot of messed up brass

Can't imagine necking it down in one step?

I necked some 7.62 nato head stamped brass down to 243. When I fired them they were about 50FPS faster. Now that they are fireformed I am curious to see what velocity will be when I load them again.

I did like I described earlier. I would push them in a bit then back off. Repeat till they were fully sized. I left out that I annealed them. I use a drill with a 1/4 inch drive socket chucked up in it. Socket on an extension. Turn the adjusting screw so it revolves slowly. Hold a mapp gas torch in one hand. Drill with a case in the other. Just heat till I see a color change. Works just fine.

Have had several people tell me thats dangerous. Might mix up rounds. I think if I stick a 308 in a 243 it wont chamber. I stick a 243 in a 308 I will just miss. IMO its safe.

for case forming,, best money I ever spent
https://burstfireguns.com/products/new-gen-2-burstfire-2-in-1-case-annealer-case-prep-center

edited to add:
are you lubing inside the necks?

Wolfe, if you could find some commercial brass it would be easier to size as it’s not as thick walled as LC brass. I understand having a large quantity of GI brass being part of the attraction of this caliber.

I would think that your squished brass percentage would go down a good bit if you anneal the stuff first