Reforming rifle brass

Boondocker · January 22, 2000, 09:41 PM

I have tried this last year with 50% success. 2506 from 3006. I have alot of 3006 and was trying but some of my necks bulged. Am i wasting my time or is there a better way than using standard Lyman dies. I was thinking of using 270 as a step. And does anybody have a good varmit loads in 700 bdl to get me in the ballpark with.
Thanks racer

bfoster · January 23, 2000, 12:24 AM

racer... I reform 300 or 375 H&H to 244 H&H (improved). My case loss rate is less than 5%. I use a set of form dies, but if I happened to have a 275 H&H sizing die (or a 7 Rem Mag or 7 STW sizing die), it could be made to work.

A few remarks on procedure-

You won't need the decaping/expanding stem from the 270 die. Remove it.

An excellent lubricant is needed. I prefer Imperial die sizing wax. A very little bit goes a long way.

Because even the smallest nick in the mouth of a case can develop into a split as the neck is reduced, it will pay you to trim and deburr the cases prior to forming. Don't worry if you have to take them below nominal length- they will grow in length as you form them.

If you get neck splits after just a few loadings, make annealing part of your procedure.

Check the neck diameter of each loaded cartridge. Reducing neck diameter is prone to produce large case neck dimensions.

Pay attention to case neck concentricity if you are loading varmint ammunition. You don't have the rigidity in a home setup that the case manufacturer has for his dies; any eccentricity in the parent case inside/outside diameter relationship tends to be amplified by case reforming unless care is exercised.

My 25-06 is a Mauser M96 (straight pull, not a Sweede). It prefers IMR 4350, Rem 9 1/2 primers, and Nosler 85 grain Ballistic tips for light duty work. This bullet is better on coyotes than whistle pigs, not being quite as frangible as would be optimum for light varmints. Bob

alan · January 24, 2000, 01:11 AM

Since 25-06 brass is readilly available, correct me if I'm wrong, why bother unless you want to "play".

January 22, 2000, 09:41 PM	#1
Boondocker Member Join Date: January 15, 2000 Posts: 47	I have tried this last year with 50% success. 2506 from 3006. I have alot of 3006 and was trying but some of my necks bulged. Am i wasting my time or is there a better way than using standard Lyman dies. I was thinking of using 270 as a step. And does anybody have a good varmit loads in 700 bdl to get me in the ballpark with. Thanks racer

January 23, 2000, 12:24 AM	#2
bfoster Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 1998 Location: N. of Fords Switch, OK, USA Posts: 297	racer... I reform 300 or 375 H&H to 244 H&H (improved). My case loss rate is less than 5%. I use a set of form dies, but if I happened to have a 275 H&H sizing die (or a 7 Rem Mag or 7 STW sizing die), it could be made to work. A few remarks on procedure- You won't need the decaping/expanding stem from the 270 die. Remove it. An excellent lubricant is needed. I prefer Imperial die sizing wax. A very little bit goes a long way. Because even the smallest nick in the mouth of a case can develop into a split as the neck is reduced, it will pay you to trim and deburr the cases prior to forming. Don't worry if you have to take them below nominal length- they will grow in length as you form them. If you get neck splits after just a few loadings, make annealing part of your procedure. Check the neck diameter of each loaded cartridge. Reducing neck diameter is prone to produce large case neck dimensions. Pay attention to case neck concentricity if you are loading varmint ammunition. You don't have the rigidity in a home setup that the case manufacturer has for his dies; any eccentricity in the parent case inside/outside diameter relationship tends to be amplified by case reforming unless care is exercised. My 25-06 is a Mauser M96 (straight pull, not a Sweede). It prefers IMR 4350, Rem 9 1/2 primers, and Nosler 85 grain Ballistic tips for light duty work. This bullet is better on coyotes than whistle pigs, not being quite as frangible as would be optimum for light varmints. Bob

January 24, 2000, 01:11 AM	#3
alan Senior Member Join Date: June 7, 1999 Posts: 3,847	Since 25-06 brass is readilly available, correct me if I'm wrong, why bother unless you want to "play".