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bobamike
10-17-2016, 08:39 AM
hey guys,
I just found out this weekend that I could make 308 brass from 30-06 brass and I also had a bunch of 270 brass that I have picked up from the range and have so far sized the brass to the 308 dies,but I have not finished the conversions yet,as I found that I will need to get a neck turning tool.but I want to know if 270 brass is ok to make into 308 winchester also? and if there are any other rounds I can convert into 308?
thanks guys.

lotech
10-17-2016, 09:14 AM
It's possible, but a lot of work, and work of questionable value. Powder capacity will likely be different, maybe to a significant degree, from standard .308 brass. Range pick-up brass only compounds the problem. You can do the conversion with many other cases as well. In a dire situation, such measures might be justified, but the finished product will be second rate at best.

Mr Humble
10-17-2016, 12:19 PM
Why would you bother ? 308 brass is cheap and available.

bobamike
10-17-2016, 01:31 PM
first off I am cheap,I prefer to save money any and every chance I can,plus I enjoy doing things myself,but the big picture is,if killery is elected she will take our rights to guns and you can expect her first attack to be raising the cost to shoot,so the more you know and the more you know how to do the better off you will be.I get alot of free range brass in the calibers I shoot,but if I can turn brass that I dont shoot into something I can use for free,heck yeah!!!!

country gent
10-17-2016, 01:32 PM
While 308 can be formed from the 30-06 family of cartridges and some of the shorter 308 family ( 243-260 7-08) its ussually more work than buying new unpriimed brass. Using range pick ups may leave you with brass off a questionable history also. Coverting 270 or 30-06 to 308 may require neck turning and will require a heavy trimming to get to the correct length. You may also want to consider annealing the new brass. The big plus to doing this is if you know your chambers neck dia ( loaded round dia at the neck) you can fit the cases to your chamber possibly. Necks turned so that there is only .001 clearence on a loaded round when chambered. Sometimes the thicker necks doing this cause issues of their own. It can be done and has been done I can remeber some high power shooters doing it for the fitted necks.

bobamike
10-17-2016, 01:42 PM
I had roughly 150-200 rounds of 30-06,270 that I have been collecting from a local range for a while now,mainly to take and sell as scrap or trade if i find someone who loads them,but all out of the blue at the range this past weekend it was like a smack to the fore head,I can possibly resize these shells to 308! and I went on you tube and found A VIDEO ON 30-06 TO 308,BUT NOTHING ON 270,so I went home and resized all the 270 and 30-06 to 308,and when case checking realized the neck turn down issue,I have since looked up prices on the neck tun tool,and plan to get one.I used my 2 inch chop saw to trim the excess neck down to proper size and deburred and chamfered the necks,all i need to do now is turn the necks down,I just want to know if there are any issues I am un aware of at this point .I plan to load these rounds on the light side to see how the do.but I am also wanting to know what other rounds I can transform into 308.I currently make my own 300 blk rounds from 5.56 and I enjoy the process in doing that too!

brstevns
10-17-2016, 04:01 PM
Like you I am low on money. Small SS income. I have for years formed 308 win brass from 06, 270,280 rem. even a few 35 whelen and 25-06 brass. You will need to remove a little brass from the neck. I also found I do best using a forming and trim die, like the RCBS Trim dies. ( can be found for cheap on flea-bay if you keep your eyes pealed. )
Check powder compasity by filling a case of factory brass with water, weigh it and then weigh it empty to see how much water it holds. Do the same with your formed brass and adjust powder charge accordingly.
Hope this was of help

bouncer50
10-17-2016, 06:30 PM
I am on ss so i use what cheapest. I use 270 brass to make 30-06 7.7 Jap 7.5 French 8mm Mauser 7 mm Mauser my friend make 257 Roberts from 270 brass. I never made any 308 yet. 270 brass once fired is common and cheaper then 30-06. I like using R.P brass Funny part i do not have a 270 but it make great brass for other calibers. Yep i have more time then money.

EDG
10-17-2016, 06:57 PM
Just trade for .308 brass and let someone make 7.7 Jap, 7.65 Mauser, 8X57 Mauser and 7X57 Mauser out of the the .270 cases ;)

You will find that both .270 and .25-06 are loaded to the highest pressures for that size case head so the brass has to be first quality.

Mr Humble
10-17-2016, 10:44 PM
So by the time you buy all the special tooling to make this....... LOL

$18.00/100 !!!!! With reasonable cast boolit loads it will last forever!

100 + pieces of 308 brass (7.62 x 51) Once Fired Brass, Cleaned and Polished. This is once fired brass with mixed head stamps from indoor and law enforcement ranges. This brass has been cleaned and polished without using any ammonia base products, then it is inspected to remove any damaged cases. This brass is great for reloading, jewelry making and other crafts. It ships in a small USPS flat rate box.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/471999276/308-762-x-51-once-fired-brass-100-pieces?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_a-craft_supplies_and_tools-general_supplies-embellishments&utm_custom1=1e9d6e7e-5d56-4b11-83c1-3adad4b62ceb&gclid=CjwKEAjw7ZHABRCTr_DV4_ejvgQSJACr-YcwJbuLmC3vuZwjFlg704U3pn8QLXn35V0cEL36Sp-0URoC_9nw_wcB

brstevns
10-17-2016, 11:08 PM
Half the fun in reloading is doing it yourself.

bobamike
10-18-2016, 09:27 AM
its all good,I mean if you rather spend the money on brass or go one step further and learn how to do things outside the box and be better prepared for whatever gun laws that are coming that makes it better in the end.as far as buying equipment to make these new rounds,I pretty much have all the tools,just need the neck turn down tool.again I prefer to have all the necessary tools to do work on my guns and bullets in the event laws are passed or prices get out of hand on ammo,then I will be one of the lucky ones that can continue shooting and enjoy the sport for way less than those that didnt prepare and learn these skills.

NoAngel
10-18-2016, 11:13 AM
I went through a phase a while back with the same affliction. Every '06 based case i found at the range got turned into .308
.243 is the easiest. One pass and typically you don't even need to trim as they end up a few thousandths short which is on no detriment to blasting ammo.
25'06, 270, 30'06. I even found a few 280's and 35 whelens.

I got to thinking about it one day as I was pondering the depths of stupidity humans have devolved to and gave that up. NEVER put it past some fool to find something and trust the headstamp. You could drop a round at the range or who will end up with your hoard when you die?

Also, as has been stated....it was a lot of trimming for what???

nicholst55
10-18-2016, 12:20 PM
Just trade for .308 brass and let someone make 7.7 Jap, 7.65 Mauser, 8X57 Mauser and 7X57 Mauser out of the the .270 cases ;)

You will find that both .270 and .25-06 are loaded to the highest pressures for that size case head so the brass has to be first quality.

Don't forget 6.5-06 and .35 Whelen, although I prefer .280 Rem brass for the latter, when I can find it. Actually, I prefer to buy .35 Whelen brass, but that's not always possible. But yes, trade or sell the brass and get what you need. You can get .308/7.62 NATO brass nearly anywhere.

gwpercle
10-18-2016, 02:49 PM
first off I am cheap,I prefer to save money any and every chance I can,plus I enjoy doing things myself,but the big picture is,if killery is elected she will take our rights to guns and you can expect her first attack to be raising the cost to shoot,so the more you know and the more you know how to do the better off you will be.I get alot of free range brass in the calibers I shoot,but if I can turn brass that I dont shoot into something I can use for free,heck yeah!!!!

And I thought I was cheap ! You got me beat by a country mile !

I might have you beat in the dumb department.....in the 1960's you could visit GI's at Fort Polk army base, they had visitors barracks and you could stay for free. I would visit a high school buddy on weekends while he was stationed there.
We would go to the firing ranges, deserted on weekends, and I would pick up every 308, 30-06 , 223 and 45 acp I could find...and bring them home ! I had no idea that might have been against the rules, I don't even want to think what would have happen if caught. Now the hand grenade we once found , we kinda figured that was a no-no ! But since it was just a practice grenade....no one missed it.
Different time back then , drive on and off a base and no one looked twice at you , much less searched you.
My Mamma always told me the Good Lord looked after children and fools, guess she was right.
Gary

Tackleberry41
10-19-2016, 09:05 AM
If its a hard to find or expensive case, yea convert away. But 308 is everywhere. Its alot of effort. You could probably trade that 270 brass on this forum for 308 and move on.

Yea Im cheap at times, or will do stuff just to see if I can do it. But time is still worth something, and that neck reaming tools costs money. I have a big bag of 270/30-06 etc I got from a guy who worked at a range. I converted some to 8mm mauser. yes it can be done, but dont see me converting a bunch more any time soon. I made 7.62x25 out of 223, yes it can be done, but certainly not worth the effort.

Bent Ramrod
10-19-2016, 09:32 AM
Getting the experience and developing the skill is always worthwhile, but eventually economics kicks in. I bought a rifle in 7mm Mauser and, of course, found an immediate shortage of brass for the thing at all my local sources. Wanting to shoot my new acquisition as soon as possible, I converted a bunch of .270 brass (that someone else had converted to .25-06), into 7mm by the use of various neck expanders, loading dies and my trusty case trimmer. I was able to shoot the gun the next day.

Of course, immediately after that, real 7mm brass showed up in profusion, and I was glad enough to get a supply of that and use it. But, it was very nice to be able to make the stuff in a pinch. As the inscription on the Founder's statue in the movie Animal House said, "Knowledge Is Good."

bobamike
10-19-2016, 11:22 AM
I do understand both sides here,and I agree with both sides ,but for me,I tend to enjoy doing these type things,plus I feel it makes me more versatile and adaptive to any given situation,but I do take advantage of getting the 308 brass as I find it,which here in my area its not that plentiful and when I go to the range and find it,I get really happy! I mean the round is available to buy all day long yes,but I prefer to load my own stuff and if I can eliminate some cost in materials I will by all means.currently I have anywhere from 400 to 1000 rounds of spent 308 brass and a couple hundred loaded.maybe I am trying to be a horder,but my plan is to have as much as I can get my hands on so if the poop hits the fan I will have plenty,my short coming will be powder and primers,but bullets and brass will not be an issue.I am currently perfecting bullet casting,well not quite that far into it but I have done a few hundred rounds of various calibers mainly pistol .
but anyways I plan to store all the rounds that I can use to make 308,but right now I plan to make up a bunch and try them out,I have been watching some videos on this subject that has me thinking about how these cases could be better than production 308,one point is the thickness of the cases will hold up longer,and there is talk about sizing the neck down to the chamber which would make the bullet more accurate ,that is something I want to experiment with for sure,but then again the tighter tolerance could cause feeding issues,but I wont know unless I try.

Mr Humble
10-19-2016, 02:52 PM
AND, of course there will always be the idiot who picks up the cartridge drops it in his 270 and finds out he made a BIG error. The safe rule if you insist on making something of of something different is to ALWAYS go smaller. i.e. 25-06, 6.5-06, 270 etc. from 30-06 NOT 35/375/400 Whelen, 9.3x62 etc. from 30-06. If it can go wrong it will. Once you've seen some moron shoot an 8x57 in an 03A3 30-06, you will get it!

EDG
10-19-2016, 04:59 PM
You either use factory head stamp brass or you use military brass with no nomenclature.
There was NO other way to get Whelen brass for decades.
True there are preferred combinations but if you cannot comply with the preferred combinations you can be totally safe by giving up shooting.



AND, of course there will always be the idiot who picks up the cartridge drops it in his 270 and finds out he made a BIG error. The safe rule if you insist on making something of of something different is to ALWAYS go smaller. i.e. 25-06, 6.5-06, 270 etc. from 30-06 NOT 35/375/400 Whelen, 9.3x62 etc. from 30-06. If it can go wrong it will. Once you've seen some moron shoot an 8x57 in an 03A3 30-06, you will get it!

bouncer50
10-19-2016, 05:03 PM
I am use to make my own brass from different cases. Like 348 win into 41 Swiss. 44/40 into 11 mm French. 32 S&W into 32 French long. 270 win into 7.7 Jap. 270 into 7.5 French. 270 into 8mm and 7mm. That some of the caliber i make from 270. I can find dies used and new to lower cost on making ammo. If i had to buy brass for some of my odd ball caliber i could go broke. Instead of a gun hanging on a wall i can make them shot again. Gun shops and people will sell guns cheaper when they cannot find ammo. Sure it take time like casting you own bullets. A few guy ask about my 1878 Swiss rifle were in the hell did you ammo for that. They get a funny look on their face. Like your lie to them. The brass says 348 so your rifle a 348 now tell the truth.

EDG
10-19-2016, 05:19 PM
I suspect there is more .358 Win brass made from 7.62 Nato than there every was from .358 Win headstamped brass. So far I have never stuffed .358 ammo in my .308 because I do not own a .308.

I don't have any trouble with the 40-65 brass that I make from 45-70 either. I could just as easily stuff a 45-70 round into a 40-65 couldn't I? After all they are all marked the same.

Mr Humble
10-19-2016, 08:57 PM
When you get a 45-70 to chamber in a 40-65 send pictures. As for the 41 Swiss, 8mm Lebel brass works far better than 348. Rather doubt a 41 Swiss will chamber in either. In any case if you make a cartridge with a headstamp that indicates the bullet is smaller than what you put in it, best you keep close track of it lest somebody blows themselves up and, of course, promptly sues you.

If you have nothing but time and no money, you can make short .473 head cartridges out of long ones, have fun. If you are that poor, I can't imagine how you afford a rifle, primers, powder , lead, targets and gas to drive to the range. I'm too busy casting, PCing, loading and shooting to waste my time cutting, forming, neck turning and inside neck reaming a 30-06 case to get an inferior .22-250 case when the real things are so cheap. Guessing the same mind set that buys a kit to reload 22 rimfires.

Hueyville
10-21-2016, 09:10 AM
My 0.02 cents... I am cheap and willing to put labor into projects but to take a bunch of odd, miss matched range pick up brass and convert '06 and 270 both to 308 then load and shoot will get the accuracy of a worn out 7.62x54 WW2 Russian milsurp rifle. If your not prepared for the reign of Hitlary already, having cases that spray fist sized groups are not what you need to be concentrating on. I finally did a primer inventory and realized needed pistol primers bad. Ordered 20,000 (their single order limit) from one vendor and buying all can find locally along with watching for online vendors to get what need in stock. If you really shoot and don't have six to seven figure count of primers and powder in the hundreds of pounds then brass will be of no use. Look at the DDTC ITAR ruling on definition of reloading and my guess is if she is elected you will not buy primers and powder without a government license.

I will take 50 hand matched '06 cases at a time and form them as far as 22-250, usaully use '06 for forming to 25-06 which is slick as glass. Only purpose to take '06 to 308 or smaller is to come up with super thick necks that can outside turn and inside ream that gives me clearance in my match rifles to thousandths of an inch. But need to have chamber casts, barrels slugged, bullet comperators to measure distance from ogive of bullet to rifling lands and more to make use of such tactics.

Usually end up with reduced internal capacity but use such brass for shooting small groups in paper. By time go through every step properly to a finished case including all the annealing and fire forming end up with well over an hour maybe even two hours of labor per case. Take a set of meticulously prepared matched samples of such cases, sort them down to the best 25 out of the group and then load 25 factory matched Federal Premium 22-250 cases and my solid two weeks work made custom cases may shoot 1/8" better than a group of weighed and internal volume matched factory brass that came proper size without two weeks labor.

If want to go this road then more power to you. Educate yourself first. Consider price of neck reaming and neck turning tools along with real case forming dies then fire forming to correct dimension and buying milsurp Lake City cases is much, much cheaper if juse loozing for 308 cases. There is a huge dif french from saving money and letting being cheap cost yout money. If have lots of odd range pick-ups consider sorting and trading them to someone who needs for what you need. I trade brass all the time.

If don't buy the correct tools then may likely damage your barrels chamber forcing oversize cases, especially if necks are too thick, down the spout. Measure everything from chamber dimensions to final case dimensions and bullet runout before just resizing and launching bullets indescriminatly. One oversized case forced into the wrong rifle and liable to be going to emergency room to have bolt removed from your eye socket. Buy some books and do some good research if plan to make this a new hobby. Notice book titled "Handbook of Cartridge Conversion", P.O. Ackley and Phil Sharpe's books as well.

http://i64.tinypic.com/281blfn.jpg

Mr Humble
10-21-2016, 10:18 PM
It's gonna be tough to take on her private army with just flintlocks and home made black powder.

Hueyville
10-22-2016, 05:08 AM
Much better way. We can all make black powder and even as smoke poles the 45-70 launching lead is a serious cartridge to contend with. Have two stainless 45-70 lever actions with 5,000 rounds put back. Under stress can reload primers and make black powder which keeps the two lever guns running as long as I can function. Did a full inventory, without getting into my end of world, emergency supply of ammunition have enough primers and powder to shoot 100 rounds per week till age 79. Unfortunately my pistol primers are lowest count and what I shoot most. If there is not a total post election run hope to double my inventory by swearing in day. 200 rounds a week would be enough to keep the trigger finger tuned and past age 79 will have to count on muscle memory to send emergency stash downrange with little recent practice. But cases are last thing on my list to worry about access. If still able to acquire primers and powder then cases will be easy.

BTW lots of cases can be reformed into 308. 25-06, 7mm-08 and many more.

shredder
10-22-2016, 06:45 PM
Not sure if anyone mentioned neck turning but you will be doing a bunch of it using specialized tooling if you want 308 from anything based on 06. The reason is that you will be using part of the case body to be the new neck in the 308. Material thickness will need to be measured and in my experience needs neck turning to get you down to a workable thickness.

facetious
10-23-2016, 03:40 AM
I tryed this. years ago a guy that I worked with gave me about 250 30-06 mil/surp brass that i cleaned up and put away. a few years ago I decided to turn them in to .308's to make cases for cast boolits. In the end it did work and I now have a set of thick walled cases that will be just for cast. It will be the the last time I do that. More work than it was worth. All I have in .308 is a bolt gun and 500 LC cases would last me the rest of my life.

Now if you were trying to make cases with thicker necks for a lose chamber I could see it.

bouncer50
10-23-2016, 08:01 PM
I have a friend who was a Army Ranger in Vietnam. He told me the Cong use to take a 50 cal bmg round and make 20 gauge shot gun shell. They used a punch the rim down so it would have a rim. Another taking 223 and making 7.62 Tok ammo. He said they were very clever making ammo and bombs out of are stuff. So one day we might have to be clever making ammo.