30-06 into 25-06

rickdavis81 · July 3, 2008, 12:07 AM

I traded my 30-06 last year and still have a lot of 30-06 brass. I just purchased a 25-06 from a friend needing some cash. Being that a 25-06 is a necked down 30-06 can I run the 30-06 case thru a 25-06 FL sizing die and anneal the case neck? If I can is that all there is to it or is there some reading I can do somewhere? Anyone have a favorite powder for 25-06?
Thanks

nate45 · July 3, 2008, 12:16 AM

Yep just size them to .25-06 and then fire form them.

Just don't get them mixed up with 30-06 if you ever get another one.

I like H-4831.

nate45 · July 3, 2008, 12:22 AM

I found an article from G&A on reloading the .25-06.

www.gunsandammomag.com/reloads/0701/index.html

rg1 · July 3, 2008, 02:36 AM

I haven't tried that myself but I've read somewhere that it's best to run the 30-06 case in a 270 Win die 1st, then the 25-06. Necks will be long and possibly too thick. I'd be really careful to measure the thickness of the case necks and if they are thicker than factory 25-06 necks then you'll have to turn the necks to the diameter of the factory case. Also, sizing down that much may harden the brass necks requiring them to be annealed.
Powders in the speed range of IMR4831 work well in the 25-06. Probably the most used powder is IMR4831 powder. The most popular hunting bullet seems to be the Nosler 100gr. BT Ballistic Tip.

rickdavis81 · July 3, 2008, 02:42 AM

Thanks for the replies. Is there a good book or somewhere to read about case annealing?

flashhole · July 3, 2008, 07:40 AM

I have resized several 270 cases down to 25-06. I have not had to outside neck turn them, they fit nicely in my Ruger #1. Going from .277 to .257 (inside neck diameter) is not that big a deal but going from .308 to .257 may result in excess brass (increased neck thickness) that will require outside neck trimming.

I have 223 brass that I resized to 221 Fireball and that brass needs to be outside neck turned because the brass in the body of the shortened case is thicker than in the neck. They simply won't chamber in my gun without neck turning and they are thicker to the point that you can see it with the unaided eye.

If you do trim you will want to trim and fit, trim and fit, to get it to the exact dimension you need but be aware if you are outsized neck trimming sized brass the bullet will expand it a little further once seated and your neck thickness needs to accomodate the expansion.

Annealing is easy. I use a simple hand held propane torch (Bernz-O-Matic the kind with the portable bottles you buy at Walmart) and a bowl of ice water. Hold the brass near the base and rotate the neck and shoulder just ahead of the point of the flame. Two things will happen, 1) you will notice a slight discoloring of the brass in the area you are heating/annealing 2) the case will get too hot to hold. When you see it change color drop it in the ice water. The quenching action of the hot brass has the softening effect.

flashhole · July 3, 2008, 07:43 AM

Look at this

http://www.shootersforum.com/showthr...resizing+brass

rickdavis81 · July 3, 2008, 12:17 PM

Thanks Flashhole. The link answered a bunch of questions. I think I'll check out that forum.

saudst · July 3, 2008, 05:20 PM

Rickdavis.

I have done it before, just lube as usual and run them in the die. Check your cases for length. As for powders, 4831 as posted IMR or Hodgdon, I have been useing H4831SC because it meters better and saves me time on the trickler. R22 and R19 are good as well. IMR 4350 for some of the lighter slugs, IMR7828 works well for me with the 120grainers. Let me know what your shooting at as I've loaded for this round for 26 years and have some good recipies. You got one hell of a flat shooter there.

Tim.

flashhole · July 3, 2008, 06:20 PM

I like Retumbo powder. This load uses a Nosler 100 grain Ballistic Tip bullet and CCI 200 primers. The target was set at 150 yards, the gun is my Ruger #1V.

saudst · July 3, 2008, 06:28 PM

And they say Ruger #1s can't shoot. Great group Flashole!

welder05 · July 3, 2008, 10:08 PM

I have never re sized 30 06 to 25.. but can offer the powders that give great preformance in my Savage 25 06
IMR 3031 and 4350 Hodgon 4831 is ok for hunting... but only delivers about 1.5 in groups.
My daughter likes the 3031 loads as they are not as robust as the 4350. I use the info of the IMR web site for starting-max loads.
I think the 25 06 is a great deer calibur. I have got three real nice bucks the past three years with one shot each all dropped in their tracks.

Clark · July 4, 2008, 07:51 AM

I have sized allot of 8mm down to 7mm, and then down to 257 Roberts.

The reason it works, is that I bought a standard 257 reamer, with a sloppy neck.

But, when I buy custom reamers with no-turn tight necks, thing like that do not work.

Things you can do:
1) Measure the neck wall thickness on your 30-06 brass. It should be about .014" thick.
2) Pick the thickest one you can find, neck it down to 25-06, load a dummy round, measure the loaded neck diameter, and see if it fits in the rifle.
3) Make a Cerosafe casting of the chamber.
4) Poke a pin gauge up into the chamber to measure the neck size.

Here is a picture of some 308 brass that I necked down to 243, that did not fit in the chamber.
It took ~100 pounds of force on the bolt knob to close the bolt.
Pinched necks can cause a pressure spike.

gunney 67 · July 25, 2008, 10:39 PM

Gruesome pictures, man! How did the gun and shooter come thru?

butta9999 · July 28, 2008, 04:26 AM

wow have a look at the primer pocket blow out. Great but eye opening pics.

July 3, 2008, 12:16 AM	#2
nate45 Senior Member Join Date: July 15, 2007 Location: Illinois Posts: 3,746	Yep just size them to .25-06 and then fire form them. Just don't get them mixed up with 30-06 if you ever get another one. I like H-4831. __________________ "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."- Thomas Jefferson ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ (>_<)

July 3, 2008, 12:22 AM	#3
nate45 Senior Member Join Date: July 15, 2007 Location: Illinois Posts: 3,746	I found an article from G&A on reloading the .25-06. www.gunsandammomag.com/reloads/0701/index.html __________________ "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."- Thomas Jefferson ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ (>_<)

July 3, 2008, 07:40 AM	#6
flashhole Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2005 Location: Owego, NY Posts: 2,000	I have resized several 270 cases down to 25-06. I have not had to outside neck turn them, they fit nicely in my Ruger #1. Going from .277 to .257 (inside neck diameter) is not that big a deal but going from .308 to .257 may result in excess brass (increased neck thickness) that will require outside neck trimming. I have 223 brass that I resized to 221 Fireball and that brass needs to be outside neck turned because the brass in the body of the shortened case is thicker than in the neck. They simply won't chamber in my gun without neck turning and they are thicker to the point that you can see it with the unaided eye. If you do trim you will want to trim and fit, trim and fit, to get it to the exact dimension you need but be aware if you are outsized neck trimming sized brass the bullet will expand it a little further once seated and your neck thickness needs to accomodate the expansion. Annealing is easy. I use a simple hand held propane torch (Bernz-O-Matic the kind with the portable bottles you buy at Walmart) and a bowl of ice water. Hold the brass near the base and rotate the neck and shoulder just ahead of the point of the flame. Two things will happen, 1) you will notice a slight discoloring of the brass in the area you are heating/annealing 2) the case will get too hot to hold. When you see it change color drop it in the ice water. The quenching action of the hot brass has the softening effect. __________________ ,,, stupidity comes to some people very easily. 8/22/2017 my wife in a discussion about Liberals. Are you ready for civil war?

July 3, 2008, 07:43 AM	#7
flashhole Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2005 Location: Owego, NY Posts: 2,000	Look at this http://www.shootersforum.com/showthr...resizing+brass __________________ ,,, stupidity comes to some people very easily. 8/22/2017 my wife in a discussion about Liberals. Are you ready for civil war?

July 3, 2008, 05:20 PM	#9
saudst Senior Member Join Date: February 20, 2008 Location: Central Wisconsin Posts: 184	25/06 Rickdavis. I have done it before, just lube as usual and run them in the die. Check your cases for length. As for powders, 4831 as posted IMR or Hodgdon, I have been useing H4831SC because it meters better and saves me time on the trickler. R22 and R19 are good as well. IMR 4350 for some of the lighter slugs, IMR7828 works well for me with the 120grainers. Let me know what your shooting at as I've loaded for this round for 26 years and have some good recipies. You got one hell of a flat shooter there. Tim. __________________ Tim. "Fear of death will not prevent dieing, but it may prevent living". Last edited by saudst; July 3, 2008 at 05:24 PM. Reason: spelling

July 3, 2008, 12:07 AM	#1
rickdavis81 Senior Member Join Date: April 3, 2006 Location: Missouri Posts: 398	30-06 into 25-06 I traded my 30-06 last year and still have a lot of 30-06 brass. I just purchased a 25-06 from a friend needing some cash. Being that a 25-06 is a necked down 30-06 can I run the 30-06 case thru a 25-06 FL sizing die and anneal the case neck? If I can is that all there is to it or is there some reading I can do somewhere? Anyone have a favorite powder for 25-06? Thanks

July 3, 2008, 02:36 AM	#4
rg1 Senior Member Join Date: November 6, 2001 Posts: 1,125	I haven't tried that myself but I've read somewhere that it's best to run the 30-06 case in a 270 Win die 1st, then the 25-06. Necks will be long and possibly too thick. I'd be really careful to measure the thickness of the case necks and if they are thicker than factory 25-06 necks then you'll have to turn the necks to the diameter of the factory case. Also, sizing down that much may harden the brass necks requiring them to be annealed. Powders in the speed range of IMR4831 work well in the 25-06. Probably the most used powder is IMR4831 powder. The most popular hunting bullet seems to be the Nosler 100gr. BT Ballistic Tip.

July 3, 2008, 02:42 AM	#5
rickdavis81 Senior Member Join Date: April 3, 2006 Location: Missouri Posts: 398	Thanks for the replies. Is there a good book or somewhere to read about case annealing?

July 3, 2008, 12:17 PM	#8
rickdavis81 Senior Member Join Date: April 3, 2006 Location: Missouri Posts: 398	Thanks Flashhole. The link answered a bunch of questions. I think I'll check out that forum.

July 3, 2008, 06:20 PM	#10
flashhole Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2005 Location: Owego, NY Posts: 2,000	I like Retumbo powder. This load uses a Nosler 100 grain Ballistic Tip bullet and CCI 200 primers. The target was set at 150 yards, the gun is my Ruger #1V. __________________ ,,, stupidity comes to some people very easily. 8/22/2017 my wife in a discussion about Liberals. Are you ready for civil war?

July 3, 2008, 06:28 PM	#11
saudst Senior Member Join Date: February 20, 2008 Location: Central Wisconsin Posts: 184	25/06 And they say Ruger #1s can't shoot. Great group Flashole! __________________ Tim. "Fear of death will not prevent dieing, but it may prevent living".

July 3, 2008, 10:08 PM	#12
welder05 Member Join Date: March 27, 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 29	I have never re sized 30 06 to 25.. but can offer the powders that give great preformance in my Savage 25 06 IMR 3031 and 4350 Hodgon 4831 is ok for hunting... but only delivers about 1.5 in groups. My daughter likes the 3031 loads as they are not as robust as the 4350. I use the info of the IMR web site for starting-max loads. I think the 25 06 is a great deer calibur. I have got three real nice bucks the past three years with one shot each all dropped in their tracks.

July 4, 2008, 07:51 AM	#13
Clark Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 1999 Location: WA, the ever blue state Posts: 4,678	I have sized allot of 8mm down to 7mm, and then down to 257 Roberts. The reason it works, is that I bought a standard 257 reamer, with a sloppy neck. But, when I buy custom reamers with no-turn tight necks, thing like that do not work. Things you can do: 1) Measure the neck wall thickness on your 30-06 brass. It should be about .014" thick. 2) Pick the thickest one you can find, neck it down to 25-06, load a dummy round, measure the loaded neck diameter, and see if it fits in the rifle. 3) Make a Cerosafe casting of the chamber. 4) Poke a pin gauge up into the chamber to measure the neck size. Here is a picture of some 308 brass that I necked down to 243, that did not fit in the chamber. It took ~100 pounds of force on the bolt knob to close the bolt. Pinched necks can cause a pressure spike.

July 25, 2008, 10:39 PM	#14
gunney 67 Member Join Date: July 21, 2008 Location: boise idaho Posts: 77	reply to clark Gruesome pictures, man! How did the gun and shooter come thru?

July 28, 2008, 04:26 AM	#15
butta9999 Senior Member Join Date: June 29, 2008 Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Posts: 692	wow have a look at the primer pocket blow out. Great but eye opening pics.