Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Resizing 22-250 to .250 Savage (250-3000)?

Does anybody do this? Having trouble finding .250 brass, but have a surplus of 22-250. Ordered a Redding decapping rod assembly from Sinclair, according to picture of item, it looks to have a tapered expander, while my redding .250 die has a rather blunt expander ball.

For those of yall that do this, what do yall use, and have you had any problems with brittle necks etc.??

Thanks
HeavyBarrel

I used the COW method to make my 250's from 22-250's. I feel that it's easier on the brass this way. The reformed brass has held up real well. I feel that it is better quality brass than the "real" 250 brass.

Have fun.

COW method?? Excuse my ignorance.

HeavyBarrel

Gonna be real interesting when somebody shoves on in a 22-250......

Safe to neck down (30-06 to 270), necking up in an accident waiting to happen.

250-3000 brass is easy to find:

http://www.chestnutridge.com/products/brass.asp

I use once-fired Winchester 22-250 brass in my 250 AI. Neck up with Lee Collet die. I anneal the cases after fire forming. Works fine.

Cream Of Wheat to fireform the case.

Fill the .22-250 case with a charge of pistol powder and add cream of wheat to the base of the neck. Tamp in a small piece of folded up toilet paper to hold it in place and fire it. I use standard rifle primers.

I used 18.0 grains of Unique to fireform .250 AI brass from .22-250 cases - I got that load straight from Mule Deer. I have no idea how much to use to make regular .250 Savage cases but as a WAG I'd start with 16.0 grains.

The .22-250 brass does seem to be better than factory .250 Savage brass, at least my Winchester .22-250 cases reformed aren't as soft as my big batch of Remington .250 brass. Be aware that case capacity can be very different. The .22-250 reformed cases will hit max pressure (very sticky bolt lift) a couple of grains below working loads in the .250 cases.

If someone removes a round from the ammo box clearly marked 250 Savage, somehow manages to chamber it into a 22-250 and get the bolt closed, and only after firing realize they are in error, then they probably deserve an "accident". For the rest of us who aren't retarded, we'll happily take the increased quality of 22-250 brass.

I am using W-W brass, and found that a fairly heavy chamfer helps prevent split/damaged necks. I also trim after necking up.

I use WW 22-250 to form all of my 6-250 brass, and .250 just takes one more step. One pass through a Hornady 6mm neck die to expand and one pass through my 6-250 FL abd it's ready to fire. A second pass through a .25 neck die would have you ready to FL to .250 When I'm forming .250 Imp, that's all I do.
Follow Arac's advice above on the chamfer and trimming AFTER necking up. Actually we always trim only after firing once, since necking up will shorten the OAL anyway. I gotta also call BS about chambering a .250 loaded round in a 22-250! I guess Sasquatch could get it done, but I couldn't!

My 99 A 250 Savage has a large chamber like a lot of 99,s.

I neck 22-250 brass to 7 MM then down to 257 leaving a false
shoulder, then fire form. Much better case life. With a case
that is fit to chamber.

Gonna be more interesting to see how somebody could even manage to shove a .285" loaded neck into a chamber with .255"neck.

I just bought 300 rounds of new Lapua 22-250 to fire form into 6x250AI. Have done it with Win 22-250 brass also and prefer the Lapua. Should be no problem to go to .250 Savage as mentioned.

As others have said, I use 22-250 cases in my 6-250 and it works nicely. The batch of brass I got here is nickel plated which makes annealing tougher, but I haven't had many split necks or shoulders at all.

When I get another batch I'll do Lapua & anneal after the second or third firing to lengthen case life.

You shouldn't have any issues. COW or just necked up with a die, anneal after 1st firing, and neck size only. You keep pressures reasonable and you'll get great case life.

Just run your brass thru the 250 die w/an expander button and you will have some nice brass. Trim after first firing and anneal using JB's candle method. Winchester brass will work nicely but I wouldn't buy brass if I had 22/250 brass. powdr

Bought the tapered expander ball for my Redding Die and it works great. Have not fired the ammo yet, but resized with minimal effort and no split necks. The annealing process looks a little intimidating, but I might give it a try.

Thanks
HeavyBarrel

Anyone have "donut" problems?

"Anyone have "donut" problems?"

Not for a standard factory chamber. The only downside to expanding up is the already too-thin for best accuracy necks get even thinner. However, it's not likely to cost you very much in accuracy.

Stretching up to .25 caliber actually works the necks quite a bit, annealing would probably double case life before splits start. Google annealing cases for detailed info on how to do it without over heating the necks, which will destroy bullet grip.

Don't sweat someone trying to fire your new .250 ammo in a .22-250 rifle, it ain't gonna chamber.

What is JB's candle method for annealing?

Do a search for "candle" and user Mule Deer, going back earlier than 1 year as there are a few threads on it.

In a nutshell:

Use a standard wax candle. Hold the cases in your fingertips halfway up and smoothly rotate the neck and shoulder in the flame until the case gets too hot to hold, then drop it in some suitable container. You don't have to quench it, just let it air dry. Also, don't make it an exercise in machismo, if it gets too hot to hold drop it, don't see how long you can stand the pain.

This heats the neck and shoulders enough to anneal properly but it doesn't allow the head or base of the case to get too hot.

A tip - the case gets "too hot to hold" all of a sudden like. What I do is count the seconds it takes for a case to get too hot. Time about three cases holding them halfway up, you'll find they all take almost exactly the same number of seconds. Then for the rest of the batch hold them by the base and just count that same number of seconds for each. It will save scorched fingertips.

Neat method and has given me as many as 4 extra firings after the first couple. Simple and dummy proof...thanks John. powdr