6.5 X 55mm brass

[Pirate69]

Can the 6.5 X 55mm brass be formed from another caliber?

[Jim]

Yes. I've done it, successfully, with .30-06 brass.

Coupla' things:
The case head on '06 brass is .07 smaller than the head on a real 6.5 brass. Before I fire form the cases, I wrap a SINGLE turn of Scotch tape around the base of the case. This centers the case in the chamber allowing it to fire form on axis. A lot of people no-no this, saying the tape will stick to the inside of the chamber on firing. The tape on the cases came out intact when I did this.

Second, the wall of the brass will be thicker at the case mouth after trimming because the case has to be cut to the appropriate length. The brass in an '06 case is thicker at that point. Thus far, I have had no problems loading and chambering .264 jacketed bullets.

I have not, as yet, loaded any cast boolits in these cases, so I cannot say how that might be affected by the thicker wall at the case mouth.

[seanhagerty]

OK, whats the process you use here? I have some 30-06 brass laying around I may want to try this with......

[Jim]

I take the sizing ball out of my F/L die, lube the '06 case and push it in. Make sure the case goes all the way in. Easy on the lube. Too much and you'll get wrinkles in the shoulder.

Extract the case from the die and inspect for excess lube wrinkles. If there is a wrinkle or two but they are minor, they will fire form out.

Trim the case to length and check the fit by attempting to chamber one or two. If the bolt won't close, the shoulder of the bottle neck could be a bit rounded or not set back enough. If the bolt is a bit tight, but you can close it, the case will fire form. Really, a tight fit is good. That eliminates any chance of excess head space.

Use a light weight boolit with appropriate charge. The object of the game is to cause an explosion in the case that's got just enough power to bulge it to fit the chamber. No need to load to Howitzer levels.

Apply a SINGLE wrap of Scotch tape around the base of the case with the back edge of the tape at the extractor groove. Don't cover the groove and DO NOT let the ends of the tape overlap. You're making a spacer that keeps the case centered in the chamber. If the tape overlaps, the center is thrown off.

Apply a LIGHT coat of thin oil to the case of the loaded round just before chambering and firing. This allows the case to slip back against the bolt and perfectly fit the chamber. It also prevents the tape from sticking to the inside of the chamber. Fire the round.

Your case is fire formed. When you extract the fired cartridge, make sure ALL the tape is still on it. If not, it's in the chamber. You need to get that out before proceeding any farther.

Bear in mind the issue I brought up about the thicker wall at the case mouth. If the area of the chamber where the neck goes in is unusually tight, the loaded round might not chamber. Make sure the diameter of the bullets you use are nominal. If your boolits are a coupla' K oversize, that will add to the problem.

I have done this with my 6.5 X 55 Swedish Mauser. I load .264 diameter jacketed bullets and they chamber fine. As for accuracy, I finally found a load that produces 1 MOA on the bench. So, the converted brass did work.

That's my story an' I'm stickin' to it.

[excess650]

Good info there Jim.

Back when I had my Type 38 Swede, I managed to pick up several boxes of 1x fired Federal and Remington (I think) cases at a local shop. When I compare their dimensions to the Berdan primed ball ammo that I had, I noticed the undersized head diameters on the US made cases as being very similar to the 308/30-06. I never loaded any of those cases, and sold the Swede and brass.

[seanhagerty]

I looked at the specs on the cases and found a difference in the rim dia. of .003 is this an issue?

[skeet1]

Seanhagerty,

What you say is true but if you measure Winchester and Remington cases you will find that they measure the same as 06. Norma cases are of the correct size. Evidently the small difference makes no difference.

Skeet1

[Jim]

Well, that depends on your personal opinion.

If the unformed cartridge is laying in the bottom of the chamber when it's fired, it will bulge on one side. It won't be unusable , but it will be noticeable. The really picky guys like to have the cases centered as perfectly as possible.

If that's not an issue, it doesn't matter because it won't cause any danger nor will it stop the round from firing. It could, however, affect extreme accuracy.

By the way, in my first response to you, I wrote that the case head dimensional difference is .07. I was mistaken. I should have gone back to my books instead of trusting my memory. I apologize for misleading you.

[jmsj]

Great info,
When using 30/06 brass to form 6.5X55 brass, have you guys noticed a difference in case capacity for the between the formed brass and 6.5X55 brass.
Jim, I really like your post script. The Shootist is one of my favorite movies

[n.h.schmidt]

Hi
You guys have it right and give good advice. I have one thing to add. The step from 30cal to 6.5 is severe enough to give problems if done in one step.It was for me anyway. I solved this in this way. I first pushed the 06 shoulder back to about where it needs to be for the 6.5X55. I did this by running the case into a 308 sizer. The sizer needs to be spaced apart from the shell holder by a 1/8".I used a 1/8" drill bit shank to set this distance. Lubed the cases up and sized them .This gave me cases with the sholder set back and long necks. this is a good time to trim them to about where you need them. The next step is to use the 6.5X55 sizer . They will size just fine, no losses. I would not use the expander plugs at all until the cases are formed. I do that last as seperate step. The necks should be well lubed for the expander push in with low effort.
I do like the tape idea to center the cases. I have done that myself when making 7.5 french from 06 brass. Man them bases really expand in that rifle.
n.h.schmidt

[Jim]

I will agree that it takes some effort to form a 6.5 case from an '06 case. I have an old Pacific press that's made of cast steel, not iron. The handle to fulcrum length is 15", so that helps.

I use a buckshot sizes dab of automotive grease to lube the case. I put a dab of grease in the palm of one hand, rub both hands together to spread it, roll the case between my hands and size.

I'm 58 years old and have rheumatoid arthritis. On top of that, I only weigh in at about 135. All that being said, that should give you some idea of how hard it is to form 6.5 cases from '06 cases.

[mooman76]

Good read guys. I had trouble forming 6.5 from .06 and always got sever wrinkles no matter what case lube I used. I later bought some brass and if I remember right I tried it again to see if I could do it when I got my 7mm dies so I could try it in steps and it finnaly worked.

[jmsj]

mooman76,
What specific 7mm cartridge die are you using ?
I think the only 7mm dies I have left are for 7mm Rem. mag.
Thanks, jmsj

[Maven]

To the excellent posts above, let me add that after forming the '06 brass -> 6.5 x 55mm, I resize it, ream the inside of the case necks (after trimming of course), resize a 2nd time, lightly turn the necks, and lastly, anneal them. Perhaps my milsurp rifle has a tighter chamber than most, but I've never wrapped the bases in tape and have had no bulging at all with CB loads. Btw, accuracy with the "new" cases is indistinguishable from that of actual 6.5 x 55mm brass. Unless you have a huge amount of '06 brass on hand, reforming them to 6.5 x 55mm isn't something I'd undertake lightly for it truly IS labor intensive.

[Jim]

THIS (http://fgsp.wordpress.com/2010/12/19/reforming-brass-cases/) is my method. It's not THE method, it's just one of many.

[seanhagerty]

Jim,

Thank you for the tutorial and the pics. I like reading how folks do this, but seeing the pics makes me more comfortable about understanding the process.

Sean

[Jim]

My pleasure! I know very little, but I'm happy to share what I do.

[Jim]

Below are two 6.5 X 55 cases that were fired with out centering tape. You can clearly see the bulge on the right side of both cases.
As has been discussed, this is not an issue unless you're planning on developing sub MOA loads for long range shooting.

http://fgsp.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/resize-0101-e1292788369825.jpg

In the photo below, you can see chamber marks on the case. This is the area of greatest bulge.

http://fgsp.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/resize-013-e1292791314461.jpg

[TNsailorman]

Jim, when I am re-forming brass from 30-06 to 8x57, I use Imperial sizing die wax and I have never had a problem with case wrinkles. I have also re-formed 25-06 and 270 brass to 8x57 without any problems. Since you are going smaller and not larger in the neck area, this might not apply. I just wondered if you had ever tried Imperial wax? Do you anneal your cases before or after re-forming? You are working the brass pretty hard and your cases will last longer annealed. James

[mooman76]

mooman76,
What specific 7mm cartridge die are you using ?
I think the only 7mm dies I have left are for 7mm Rem. mag.
Thanks, jmsj

7mm Mauser.

[Jim]

I have not used Imperial wax. But, if it works, who's gonna tell you it don't?
I anneal the cases after forming. I have found that I get lots of unacceptable wrinkles if I anneal before forming.

[azcruiser]

6.5 X 55 SWEDE I get New Berdan primed cases for about 10 to 12 cents a round ? It's one of those special secret places .

[Dutchman]

If the unformed cartridge is laying in the bottom of the chamber when it's fired, it will bulge on one side. It won't be unusable , but it will be noticeable. The really picky guys like to have the cases centered as perfectly as possible.

No, the really picky guys buy Norma or Lapua and save the buttpain of case forming for calibers you can't buy like 8x58R Danish or 12,7x44R Swedish.

:popcorn:

Dutch

[Jim]

Well, yeah, Dutch, there is that. I was referring to the category of those that do reform.

[Smoke-um if you got-um]

About 15 yrs ago I had 100 257 Roberts cases and no rifle to shoot them in. My 6.5x55 brass was worn out and splitting necks. It was a simple conversion by just running them through the 6.5 sizing die after first annealing the necks. The overall case length was short but the Swede's used those beautiful long bullets so no problem. The smaller rim width made no difference with ejection and the base of the case did not bulge with the light/moderate loads I use. The cases formed perfectly with the nose of the bullet touching the rifling on the first firing. But, I never have and never will use the reformed brass for anything but the light/moderate loads. I use a "Lee Loader" to neck size this brass only and they have served well for many years

[Uncle Grinch]

No, the really picky guys buy Norma or Lapua and save the buttpain of case forming for calibers you can't buy like 8x58R Danish or 12,7x44R Swedish.

:popcorn:

Dutch

My NNY 6.5 cases mic true to European rim size, ie... larger than my 30-06. Plus they seem to work better in the stripper clips than resized 30-06 brass.