Got basic brass - now what?

[xwray]

I have a Remington rolling block in .43 Spanish. I bought a couple boxes of Bertram .43 Spanish basic straight sided brass. What I know about case forming could fit in the navel of a gnat. Hopefully there are those here who have gone down this road before that could provide some pointers and gotchas to look out for along with a source for the dies I will need.

I'd appreciate it...

[Mk42gunner]

I've never used basic brass, my .43 Spanish brass is reformed from .348 Winchester.

My loading dies are a Lee two die set, with a home made neck expander. My biggest problem was that I broke three or four Lee shell holders before I finally found an RCBS #22, since then no more problems. Maybe Lee had a batch with bad heat treat?

You are going to have to move a lot of brass to get the neck formed, I would make sure the necks are round before sticking the case in the first die, a wrinkled neck kind of takes the fun out of things. I would also neck it down in steps, by using the seating die first.

Good luck,

Robert

[xwray]

Thanks...is there a "best" lubricant for necking down a case like this...might as well take advantage of the best technology available.

[Bent Ramrod]

Imperial Sizing Wax. It's in a class by itself.

[reed1911]

You will want to anneal that brass before you do much of anything with it. Bertram brass is notorious for being brittle.

[tward]

No experience with large cases, just 256 Winchester, but I tried imperial and Lee case lube. Found the Lee case lube thinned with water worked better, for me, than Imperial. I thinned the lube with water and applied it with my fingers and let it dry, worked great! Good luck,Tim

[salpal48]

43 Spanish (11.15x57r) is a simple reforms. Anneal first .
If you have trim die . It will make it easier. If not. Trim to basic length. . Start the neck to. 45 cal. (458). . You can go to a second Intermediate. but if you don't. slowly in steps. form the case in your 43 spanish FL sizer without the expander plug. Lee ides are not good for this but if that's what you have take it slow. any good lube and keep rubbing the case to keep the lube soft between pushes
Sal
Good luck

[EDG]

You will probably break the Lee shell holder if that is what you have.

You might search for an older RCBS #22 from the late 60s or early 70s. They are 1 inch in diameter and are pretty much bullet proof.
The RCBS #22 shell holder depth is .150 because the rim is so thick so it may not match the depth needed for the Lee dies.