Making 17 Remington brass, best methods?

DiRTY DOG

DiRTY DOG

Well-known member
1. How does commercial 17 Rem brass compare to forming your own from 204 brass?

2. What is the best 204 brass to use for forming it?

3. What is the best method for forming 17 Rem brass?
 
I remember reading about this topic quite some time ago over on the coyote gods site. IIRC they were using 204 brass and a set of Mach IV forming dies. Go over there and do a search and you should find the info you are looking for.
 
Since I'm not seeing any commercial brass available and it's tough to find, I think I will need to buy loaded ammo or make my own brass. I compared the cost of doing so, here's what I came up with so far:

$50+ for 100 pieces commercial brass (if you can find any)
-Or
$150 for 100 rounds of loaded ammo ($30/box of 20)
-Or
$150 to roll your own 100 pieces from 204 brass ($25 for 100 pieces Win 204, $75 for #1 Form die, $55 for Trim die)

For 200 pieces it's $100+ for commercial brass vs $300 loaded ammo vs $175 to roll your own brass.

Forming brass yourself costs more than finding commercial brass, but the benefit is you'll always be able to find 204 brass any time you want brass to form it from. You can even get 204 brass free if you go to a range (I never shoot at ranges).
 
Buying 100 rounds of loaded ammo for $150 actually looks like a good start for a new 17 Rem owner, but I'd like to have more brass than that on hand, at least 200. I do anneal so that will help make the cases last longer. Hmm.
 
I use the combination of ashoulder bump die and full length die + 223 neck die. I had to modify my shell holder to get the shell deeper into the shoulder bump die..end result is a near perfect fit in my chamber. I did buy the worlds finest trimmer to help the trimming process. Its a few steps more but i already had the dies so i only had to buy the trimmer but i consider it a wash cause it trims 223 and 17 brass. The 17rem is hard on the brass. I get only several loads but i use them in my AR and finding shells in the snow sucks.
 
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