Forming 7.5 Swiss...Safety ?s

m0ntels · July 15, 2005, 07:55 PM

Due to the heat and impending rain, I needed something to pass the time. In the neverending question to make life cheaper, I was thinking about the 7.5 Swiss. The other weekend I found some 8mm Mauser brass at the range and tried size it down, but the whole neck split. So today I decided to see what else I had in my pile of brass that I dont load (yet) and got looking at the 30-06. Chopped it down to a little over the shoulder, lubed up good, and ran it through the sizer. Trimmed it down the rest of the way and it chambers in the rifle. The rim is a bit smaller, but it still extracts just fine. I only did one because I didnt want to waste a bunch of brass if it wasnt gonna work and I used too much lube and the shoulder has a slight wrinkle, but it chambers nicely and looks like it will take a .308 bullet without neck turning.

Even though it looks exactly like 7.5 Swiss brass now, not wanting to hurt me or my rifle, I put the thing on the caliper. The case head on GP11 measure out to .495" and the reformed 30-06 measures .465". I've read plenty about fireforming cases to adjust the shoulder, but never the rest of the body.

Any opinions on the safety of shooting this thing? Bad idea because it is a military chamber? Maybe safe for lead loads only? Dangerous in general? I can wait for Wolf to come out with their reloadable ammo, but I'm sure 06 will still be much cheaper if it works. Dont need any replies telling me not to be cheap or anything like that because that isnt what this is about. Besides getting free range brass, it's also alot easier to get ahold of than Swiss brass if I need more, and it might be an option for others that dont wanna spend as much on 100 pieces of brass as they did on the rifle they shoot it out of

Just wanna be able to enjoy this great gun a bit more.

Randy

Steve in PA · July 15, 2005, 08:19 PM

I don't know about using .30/06 or 8mm brass to make 7.5 Swiss. I do know that alot of shooters use .284 brass.

You might try your luck here The SwissRifles.Com Message Board , a ton of info on the Swiss rifle and reloading.

lonniemike · July 15, 2005, 09:17 PM

Yeah, If you can live with .030" plus (maybe as much as .040"), just about any .473" dia rimless case can be made to work as long as the case is at least 55.5mm long. How hot will you load those puppies? Safe and Slow may be key!
Best-o-Luck

Leftoverdj · July 15, 2005, 10:13 PM

Not a good idea. That's about three times the chamber clearance I'm comfortable with. In the immortal words of everybody's mother, "You'll put your eye out with that thing, son."

Dave R · July 16, 2005, 12:40 AM

I use .284 Win brass, but I believe it has the same case head as a .30-06.

lonniemike · July 16, 2005, 09:52 PM

that is a good choice. The rim dia is .473" as is a 30'06's rim, however the head dia for the 284 brass should be about .500" just about ideal for the S-R chambers. The other brasses are woefully inadequate. Best-o-Luck

Freightman · July 17, 2005, 10:29 PM

Tried this with the 7.5x54 French Mas didn't like the buldged cases at the bottom threw them away after the first loading.
I buy FNM ammo and reload it after I shot it on the Swiss, and the Mas, good brass

wrcook · July 18, 2005, 05:03 PM

I used .284, the 30-06 is too small, and I would not trust for safety. The problem with .284 is that it has a rebated rim, thus not the size of the bolt face, and if your extractor is a bit worn it will not extract. No need to convert anyway, Hornady now makes the brass, and it is no more than most others that size.

Bill

m0ntels · July 18, 2005, 06:44 PM

Where are you all getting 284 brass? Everyone seems to be out of stock or the stuff costs as much as Lapua brass.

Randy

Steve in PA · July 19, 2005, 12:53 AM

Thats because everyone was grabbing up the .284 brass when Graf's ran out of their 7.5 Swiss brass.

I picked up 100rds of Graf's before they sold out. They are supposed to be getting some in during the summer, however I checked their web site the other day and they are still showing none in stock.

Dave R · July 19, 2005, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Where are you all getting 284 brass? Everyone seems to be out of stock or the stuff costs as much as Lapua brass.

Gun show score. A 20 cents a case. Then found that my local gun store had a supply of used .284 Win brass for 25 cents ea. (?) If you are desperate, Google up Shapel's Gun Shop in Boise and I'm sure they'd ship you some at a reasonable cost.

drinks · July 19, 2005, 08:53 PM

The problem with using the .470 head brass is the expansion that takes place where the solid base and the thin body join, this puts a lot of strain and can cause early head seperation.
I need .303 Savage brass, no longer available except at very high prices, Norma makes some, but even it is not the correct head size, being .008 " undersize and $1.50 each.
I use .30-30 brass, the head is .020" small, but I cut a ring .15" long from a .40 S&W case, press it on the .30-30 case, run in the .303 Savage resizing die, trim and then fire form, I Have not lost any cases in fire forming and use a 200gr rn gc at 2000fps, more than the original factory load of 190gr rn at 1900 fps with a 20" barrel. The fire formed case has 2.5gr more capacity than the .30-30 case.
A ring of about .015" thickness pressed down on a .470 head case should do as well, no need to attach the case, the first firing expands the case ahead of the ring and lockes it in place.
Don

July 15, 2005, 07:55 PM	#1
m0ntels Senior Member Join Date: November 2, 2004 Location: Perkasie, PA Posts: 263	Forming 7.5 Swiss...Safety ?s Due to the heat and impending rain, I needed something to pass the time. In the neverending question to make life cheaper, I was thinking about the 7.5 Swiss. The other weekend I found some 8mm Mauser brass at the range and tried size it down, but the whole neck split. So today I decided to see what else I had in my pile of brass that I dont load (yet) and got looking at the 30-06. Chopped it down to a little over the shoulder, lubed up good, and ran it through the sizer. Trimmed it down the rest of the way and it chambers in the rifle. The rim is a bit smaller, but it still extracts just fine. I only did one because I didnt want to waste a bunch of brass if it wasnt gonna work and I used too much lube and the shoulder has a slight wrinkle, but it chambers nicely and looks like it will take a .308 bullet without neck turning. Even though it looks exactly like 7.5 Swiss brass now, not wanting to hurt me or my rifle, I put the thing on the caliper. The case head on GP11 measure out to .495" and the reformed 30-06 measures .465". I've read plenty about fireforming cases to adjust the shoulder, but never the rest of the body. Any opinions on the safety of shooting this thing? Bad idea because it is a military chamber? Maybe safe for lead loads only? Dangerous in general? I can wait for Wolf to come out with their reloadable ammo, but I'm sure 06 will still be much cheaper if it works. Dont need any replies telling me not to be cheap or anything like that because that isnt what this is about. Besides getting free range brass, it's also alot easier to get ahold of than Swiss brass if I need more, and it might be an option for others that dont wanna spend as much on 100 pieces of brass as they did on the rifle they shoot it out of Just wanna be able to enjoy this great gun a bit more. Randy

July 15, 2005, 08:19 PM	#2
Steve in PA Senior Member Join Date: October 15, 1999 Location: Northeastern PA Posts: 573	I don't know about using .30/06 or 8mm brass to make 7.5 Swiss. I do know that alot of shooters use .284 brass. You might try your luck here The SwissRifles.Com Message Board , a ton of info on the Swiss rifle and reloading. __________________ Steve

July 15, 2005, 09:17 PM	#3
lonniemike Member Join Date: March 16, 2005 Posts: 74	brass? Yeah, If you can live with .030" plus (maybe as much as .040"), just about any .473" dia rimless case can be made to work as long as the case is at least 55.5mm long. How hot will you load those puppies? Safe and Slow may be key! Best-o-Luck

July 16, 2005, 12:40 AM	#5
Dave R Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2000 Location: Idaho Posts: 6,068	I use .284 Win brass, but I believe it has the same case head as a .30-06. __________________ I am Pro-Rights (on gun issues).

July 16, 2005, 09:52 PM	#6
lonniemike Member Join Date: March 16, 2005 Posts: 74	284 that is a good choice. The rim dia is .473" as is a 30'06's rim, however the head dia for the 284 brass should be about .500" just about ideal for the S-R chambers. The other brasses are woefully inadequate. Best-o-Luck

July 15, 2005, 10:13 PM	#4
Leftoverdj Senior Member Join Date: October 15, 2004 Posts: 934	Not a good idea. That's about three times the chamber clearance I'm comfortable with. In the immortal words of everybody's mother, "You'll put your eye out with that thing, son."

July 17, 2005, 10:29 PM	#7
Freightman Senior Member Join Date: August 6, 2002 Location: NW Texas Posts: 167	Tried this with the 7.5x54 French Mas didn't like the buldged cases at the bottom threw them away after the first loading. I buy FNM ammo and reload it after I shot it on the Swiss, and the Mas, good brass __________________ Freightman

July 18, 2005, 05:03 PM	#8
wrcook Member Join Date: July 7, 2004 Posts: 30	I used .284, the 30-06 is too small, and I would not trust for safety. The problem with .284 is that it has a rebated rim, thus not the size of the bolt face, and if your extractor is a bit worn it will not extract. No need to convert anyway, Hornady now makes the brass, and it is no more than most others that size. Bill

July 18, 2005, 06:44 PM	#9
m0ntels Senior Member Join Date: November 2, 2004 Location: Perkasie, PA Posts: 263	Where are you all getting 284 brass? Everyone seems to be out of stock or the stuff costs as much as Lapua brass. Randy

July 19, 2005, 12:53 AM	#10
Steve in PA Senior Member Join Date: October 15, 1999 Location: Northeastern PA Posts: 573	Thats because everyone was grabbing up the .284 brass when Graf's ran out of their 7.5 Swiss brass. I picked up 100rds of Graf's before they sold out. They are supposed to be getting some in during the summer, however I checked their web site the other day and they are still showing none in stock. __________________ Steve

July 19, 2005, 08:53 PM	#12
drinks Senior Member Join Date: November 6, 2004 Posts: 405	Brass The problem with using the .470 head brass is the expansion that takes place where the solid base and the thin body join, this puts a lot of strain and can cause early head seperation. I need .303 Savage brass, no longer available except at very high prices, Norma makes some, but even it is not the correct head size, being .008 " undersize and $1.50 each. I use .30-30 brass, the head is .020" small, but I cut a ring .15" long from a .40 S&W case, press it on the .30-30 case, run in the .303 Savage resizing die, trim and then fire form, I Have not lost any cases in fire forming and use a 200gr rn gc at 2000fps, more than the original factory load of 190gr rn at 1900 fps with a 20" barrel. The fire formed case has 2.5gr more capacity than the .30-30 case. A ring of about .015" thickness pressed down on a .470 head case should do as well, no need to attach the case, the first firing expands the case ahead of the ring and lockes it in place. Don