RepackboxRotoMetals2WidenersMidSouth Shooters Supply
Lee PrecisionTitan ReloadingReloading EverythingInline Fabrication
Load Data
Results 1 to 16 of 16

Thread: Resizing from 30-06 to .270?

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    189

    Resizing from 30-06 to .270?

    I was messing with some brass today, and I ran a piece of 30-06 brass through a .270 sizing die. The result seemed to be a decent looking .270 case, but the neck was considerably shorter than the suggested trim to legth. My question is, would it be okay to resize brass like this, and to shoot it from a .270? Is there a way to lengthen the cases? Will these be accurate if I shoot them? I'm sure someone has done this before.

  2. #2
    Boolit Man

    67bear's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    80
    I've made and used them before. Worked good for me with jacketed bullets, but I never tried them with cast boolits.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master

    Kraschenbirn's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    East Central IL
    Posts
    3,448
    Back in the early 1960s, my first commercial centerfire rifle was a Win. M70 "Featherweight" in .270. (Sure wish still owned that one!!) I'd just started reloading and formed most of my brass from miltary 30-06...of which I had an almost unlimited supply at the time. This was my first serious attempt at load development and, as I recall, I managed to, at least, equal factory load accuracy. (Also, at the same time, I was using bullets pulled from milsurp 7x57 ammo and swaged down to .277 using an arbor press and a homemade die.)

    Bill
    "I'm not often right but I've never been wrong."

    Jimmy Buffett
    "Scarlet Begonias"

  4. #4
    Boolit Bub Sanchez's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Posts
    54
    Ans to all is: Yes. This is one of the easiest/most basic cartridge conversions & a perfectly normal situation. The .270 case will run a nominal 1 mm longer than '06.

    To "lengthen" the case: simply FL size, load & fire them a couple times, measuring their resized lengths. Should take 3-4 firing/resizing cycles to stretch-out to a native .270 length. After that & only then, do ya get to start trimming them ...... Funn !!

  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master


    missionary5155's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Last trip to Arequipa... till April.
    Posts
    7,133
    +1 on the above. The only item to be careful of is that as you are sizing down the neck area becomes thicker. The change from .308 to .270 is not that great But if your rifle has a tight .270 chamber-neck diameter the thicker neck wall may cause a tight fit.
    I learned all this sizing some .308 down to .243. Most worked fine but a couple had just thick enough neck walls that they chambered a bit tight and one upon firing caused the primer to leak a bit. You may not have any problems. Just be aware.
    "Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
    Male Guanaco out in dry lakebed at 10,800 feet south of Arequipa.

  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    189
    Thanks guys! All great information. I often find myself running short on .270 brass, so this might be good for future reference.

  7. #7
    Boolit Buddy Boondocker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    NE PA
    Posts
    259
    Yes it works and I size 06 down to 25-06.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Western Oregon
    Posts
    2,623
    I make all my 25-06 brass from 270 brass. Real sweet, real easy. Just size, trim and fireform.
    I save my30-06 brass for my ------30-06, and also make my 8mm-06 AI brass out of my 30-06 brass. Very nice.
    Jack

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Pacific Northwest
    Posts
    2,621
    I have gone both ways with 30-06 and 270 brass and it works both ways. In fact I found some once fired 270s recently and just resized them to 30-06 as I do not own a 270 at present. Both cases also are good for making any of the military Mauser brass except for the 6.5X55 Swedish stuff. I personally made or make 7 mm, 8mm, 6.5X57mm from them.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
    nicholst55's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Houston, TX Metro Area
    Posts
    3,606
    I've been told that Jack O'Connor was actually, technically, shooting .270-'06 all them years, because he was doing exactly that - necking (USGI) .30-06 brass down to .270! This was during the era when milsurp .30-'06 AMMO went for a penny a round.

    I like to form .35 Whelen brass from unfired .270 brass, since Whelen brass is frequently difficult to find. Expanding .30-06 brass yields a case that's .030-.040" short in the neck; using .270 brass yields a case that frequently needs a very minor trim before loading. I have to run it through a .280 Remington neck sizer as an initial step, because Redding's tapered .280-to-.35 expander crushes about 10% of the brass, otherwise.
    Service members, veterans and those concerned about their mental health can call the Veterans Crisis Line to speak to trained professionals. To talk to someone, call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1, send a text message to 838255 or chat at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.

    If you or someone you know might be at risk of suicide, there is help. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, text a crisis counselor at 741741 or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

  11. #11
    Boolit Bub Sanchez's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Posts
    54
    All good info here, gents.
    But please remember: this conversion is prone to fatigue splitzz, & sometimes it occurs @ the 1st fireform.

    Thus, anneal them necks !!
    Last edited by Sanchez; 09-20-2010 at 09:46 PM.

  12. #12
    Boolit Grand Master
    Shiloh's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Upper Midwest
    Posts
    6,763
    Does one have to turn the necks after making .270 from .30-06??

    Shiloh
    Je suis Charlie

    "A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves."
    Bertrand de Jouvenel

    “Any government that does not trust its citizens with firearms is either a tyranny, or planning to become one.” – Joseph P. Martino

    “If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert , in five years there would be a shortage of sand.” – Milton Friedman

    "Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns; why should we let them have ideas?" - J. Stalin

  13. #13
    Boolit Grand Master


    missionary5155's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Last trip to Arequipa... till April.
    Posts
    7,133
    Greetings
    Turn Necks ?
    Only if that rifles chamber is on the tight side and the case wall that hair to thick with a seated boollit.
    Just place a cast boolit of proper size for that throat in a resized case (no powder or primer) and gently push the case with boolit into the chmaber. If it seats properly no problem.. Close the bolt and again " Feel" for reisistence. If there is no "Sticking" you are fine.
    "Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
    Male Guanaco out in dry lakebed at 10,800 feet south of Arequipa.

  14. #14
    Boolit Man muzzleblastm38's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Posts
    83
    i been reforming 30-06 and 270win into 6.5x55 ,with ag-42 the fly over 10 yard to the right. there always planty of 30-06 or 270win brass on the grund.

    and with die and can reforme 30-06 into 7.62x39. but with heavy work

  15. #15
    Boolit Buddy TDC's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Oregon
    Posts
    388
    My experience sizing 30-06 to 270 follows what Sanchez said. Some brass products seem to respond better than others. Split necks are the common result if some products aren't annealed.

    I've re-sized 30-06 to 270, 30-06 to 280, and 30-06 to 25-06 having good results with RP, WW and Federal brass. I've had frequent neck failures with Frontier brass which is no longer produced.

    I believe it's important to anneal all brass whenever the neck size has been modified, and as other have said, beware of tight neck problems that can elevate pressures. Also be aware the head stamp isn't changed and that can cause some dangerous confusion when two different caliber rifles using 30-06 brass are taken to the range (ie, a 280 and a 30-06).

    Resizing/fire forming works well with some belted magnum cases too. 264WM to 338WM is a long stretch but it has worked for me. So does 264 to 7mm mag. The fabulous wildcat, the 30-338, originated from a 338WM case necked down to 30 caliber. All my cast 338 boolits are loaded in fire formed 264 cases.
    "Hindsight is always so much more accurate than foresight, but well considered foresight so much more valuable." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

  16. #16
    Boolit Bub Sanchez's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Posts
    54
    [QUOTE=TDC;1013238] .... beware of tight neck problems that can elevate pressures ..... QUOTE]

    More good points missionary5155 & TDC! I also seem to recall that some brands/headstamps of brass are more prone to said situation (RP jumps-out, along w/ most GI brass).

    Bottom line: measure wall thickness after resizing, turn (or ream) neck, trim OAL, then measure neck OD on loaded round.
    Last edited by Sanchez; 10-03-2010 at 11:38 AM.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check