Reforming brass for the 7X57

[SP5315]

I found myself a DWM 95 Chilean Mauser in 7mm Mauser. Other than the barrel being on the dark side it looks to be in good shape. It does have matching numbers. I have checked it with a set of go, no go gauges and the head-space is good. I need to slug the barrel and will do a chamber cast to check the throat. I have a RCBS 7mm-168-sp and a Lyman 287641 on the bench somewhere that I hope will work with this.

Now here is my question. I have an overabundance of 30-06 and 270win brass. How much of a pain is it to reform this brass to 7mm Mauser? I've heard of this being done but this will be my first time trying this. My next question is if I do reform this brass would it be better to neck turn, or neck ream the brass to get to the proper neck thickness?

[uscra112]

I'd rather buy than make, but if you have the time and a good strong press, two passes into a 7mm die will do it. The shoulder only has to be set back about .200". I always prefer to O.D. turn. In the early '90s I had a Wilson neck-reaming setup for .243 Win, but I could never manage to get it to give me good concentricity. And of course you can't tune neck wall thickness with that tool. Traded it off and bought the neck-turning accessories for my Forster trimmer, and have never looked back.

[Lefty SRH]

I have easily reformed .270s to 7x57 using a RCBS trim die. Lube well and run thru the trim die, trim off excess neck and file flat. I then (lube well again) run thru a full length sizing 7x57 die. I don't bother reaming or turning for a mil-surp rifle. I then load and fire-form the cases. I then trim again after the fire forming.
I find it easy and not very time consuming plus I have PLENTY of .270 brass that I'm willing to reform for one of my favorite calibers, 7x57.

[leadman]

I reform brass for several mil-surp rifles and don't have to turn any necks. These guns usually have plenty of room in the chamber. You could do a chamber cast or expand the neck out some when you get it cut down to 7 X 57 and see if it will chamber. Just measure your brass in the neck area and add the size of the boolit you want to shoot, then expand the neck somehow and put it in the gun and close the bolt. The empty case should squeeze down enough that you can get an idea of the size of the neck.

[brotherdarrell]

I have been re-forming 30-06 the last couple of weeks for a new 7x57. All has been factory brass and none have any need for neck turning. All have been no more than .002" thicker than 7x57 factory. The only "problem" I have run into is that with a Lee fl sizer (7x57) some of the -06 brass was too long to do in one pass. These I just lop off a little with the dremel. I give the brass a spray of Hornaday one shot lube, let sit a few minutes and then form. You should feel two levels of resistance, once when the neck is reduced and then a higher level when the shoulder is pushed back. When pushing the shoulder back it is important to do it in one smooth motion to keep from getting wrinkles.

I am in the same position you are, once fired -06 brass is plentiful and cheap. Time I have, $50 for factory brass not so much.

brotherdarrell

[UBER7MM]

A friend of mine asked me to re-size some 30'06 to 7x57 for him. I told him the following:

It's a lot of work. One must size them to 7x57 through a die with out the decapping pin installed. Then cut and trim them down to the correct length. Then I neck turn them to get the right thinkness of the neck. Then full length size them again with the ping installed. It's takes me about 40 minutes per case, about half a day for 50. One can buy a bag of 50 for about $40. IMHO, It's well worth the money to go buy a bag of cases. And the headstamp is correct as well.

Having said that, I believe that it is a go experience to learn how to reform brass from one cartridge size to another. I appreciate the work involved because I've tried it.


That's my 2¢,

[Beekeeper]

I know I will get stomped on for answering but I form all of my 7X57MM and 8X57MM brass from milsurp brass.
Yes it is heavier brass but I have never had any problem with it and have never had to turn any necks.
Wouldn't know how and don't have the equipment.

Have 3 7X57 MM Mausers and 4 8X57MM mausers and have never had a problem.

But then I am not an expert and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night.


beekeeper

[Jim]

I know I will get stomped on.....beekeeper

Not by me. I have die formed, then fire formed brass from M1919 milsurp brass for 6.5X55, 7.62X51 and 8MM. And I've never owned a neck turning tool.

[brotherdarrell]

What Jim said as far as being stomped. Just piddling around I can do 20 cases in less than an hour, start to finish. When I first tried this I had a couple factory 7x57's to check. The cases I formed from -06 brass had neck thickness exactly the same as the factory 7x57 with the exception of a couple that were no more than .002" thicker. I can also trim the brass to the length of MY rifles chamber. I picked up 50 pieces of once fired factory 30-06 brass at the LGS for $12.99.

Just my preferences

brotherdarrell

[Beekeeper]

When I was young and foolish " versus old and foolish" I asked a Marine Gunnery Range Officer for some 30/06 brass.
He asked if that was my pickup out front and I said yes.
Told a corporal to put some brass in my pickup.
He did , a complete 50 gallon barrel of it.

Has taken me 55 years to get rid of all but 1500 rounds and that is mostly match brass.
I have been making 7X57 and 8X57 Mauser brass out of military brass for 55 years as well as giving it to anyone that wanted it.

That was long before I got a computer and found this forum.

I have never shot a commercial 7 or 8 MM bullet in all those years.
I shot match for years using a Lee Classic loader and even went to all Navy once with home made brass and hand loads.

But with all that I am no expert on brass I just do what I think is right and let it all hang out.

Like I said I am no expert and I did not stay at a holiday inn last night.


beekeeper

[SP5315]

I'm going to give it a shot. I've got plenty of time, and it would be interesting doing something a little different. I've ordered a set of 7X57 dies along with an RCBS trim die.

I have a few more questions. Any thoughts on annealing the newly reformed cases, needed or not? And second does anyone have an idea on what i can do to remove the head-stamp markings? I wouldn't want one of these reformed rounds to get away and have someone try to chamber it in an '06.

[skeettx]

I use an RCBS trim die and a Jewelers Hack Saw, final clean up and trim with a Forster Case trimmer or the Motor powered RCBS case trimmer. Chamfer inside and out after case trimming.

Mil surp, open up crimp on primer pockets the first time.

Annealing not necessary.

As to removing head stamp markings, do not, sorry will mess with head space.
If you must, mark the bases with indelible colored magic markers.

Works great

Mike

[357maximum]

I actually prefer reformed mil 06 in my milsurps....the extra brass thickness in the neck area makes good "shimstock" and improves accuracy over the thin necked commercial brass. My 7, 7.65 and 8mm reformado brass simply outperforms the thin commercial stuff. It also has the added bonus of allowing one to get brass that is actually the right length for their chamber as most commercial stuff is actually too darn short for most milspec millimetric chambers. I wish someone would have given me a 55 gallon drum of the stuff......lucky dawg. :lol:


Once I have established what my chamber wants for length and shoulder location I size all of mine in an RCBS form dies. I then cut all the necks close to length with the cheap harbor freight mini chopoff saw, deburr, full length size, then trim. PERFECT brass that FITS everytime. Just watch your die adjustments, shoulder location, overal length and make brass that actually fits your toys.

I only use the thin commercial brass for plinking ammo(unique loads), all my full effort stuff gets reformado brass.

[Beekeeper]

Annealing after forming is not really necessary but I always do.
Habbit I guess.
You start out one way and it works so you do not change until it no longer works.

You need to be carefull of the sizing lube. Too much and you crincle a case , too little and you stick one in your die.
Takes a couple to figure it out but don't let that stop you.
Unless it is a bad crincle you can fireform it out.
Any in the shoulder is a no,no!!
Don't ask me how I know.It was too many years ago!


beekeeper

[chief3]

I can't remember the last time I bought new rifle brass. Must have been 30 or 40 years ago. I load 10 rifle calibers and 3 pistol. I pick up brass at the range when I can and buy once fired stuff when I have to.
Of course, I enjoy reforming brass and most of my guns are in calibers that are hard to find if you can find them at all . 8X50 Siamese for example.
My favorite round is 7X57 for many reasons and I have reformed 06, 270,and 8X57 into 7mm and it is easy.
For me , reforming the brass and casting the boolits go together.

[fa38]

SP5315
>>>>My next question is if I do reform this brass would it be better to neck turn, or neck ream the brass to get to the proper neck thickness? <<<<

I would turn the necks. You will get a more consistent bullet pull which should help accuracy. The 06 cases I reformed varied from .018 down to .013. I turned them all to .013 and very few did not clean up all the way around.

[TCLouis]

In answer to your question all of my original 6.5X257 brass was WWII era 30-06 MG brass.

1/2 or more of my 7.92x57 brass is from commercial 30-06.

ALL of my 7.7X58 is from 30-06 or 270 commercial brass. Trimmed 150 7.7s last night with the Lyman drill press trimmer If you don't have a cut off saw then the Lyman drill press trimmer makes whacking off 6mm much MUCH faster.


Of course the 30 and 357 Herrett brass start their life as 30-30 and get some mechanical redistribution of metal in the making.

Forming brass over buying makes sense if you have time and look at brass prep/reloading as an extension of the shooting hobby and time is not a critical or limited commodity in your life.

Fire forming the annealed brass to final form in the 7.92 and 7.7 mm is practice time on the trigger where I can practice the mechanical aspects of shooting. Some fireforming loads can be VERY precise thus providing full practice regime.

I neck turn the brass for the 219 Donaldson, but have not had to do any other.

Remember as an old fahrt who started rifle shooting with a 6.5X257 and 219 Donaldson Wasp, "making" my brass was just part of my shooting hobby.

Lotta hassle and some time spent, but far better use of one's time than the TV offerings.

Course that is my opinion on that, and we all know about opinions

[farmallcrew]

I have some 7x57 berdan brass fs on this forum.

[atr]

I re-size .270 brass all the time for my 7x57...
I would suggest you first remove the rod assembly holding the sizing button and de-capping pin....then run the brass through the die....it will come out with a very long neck which you need to trim...I use a standard tube cutter for that process and I trim them slightly long.....then I anneal the shoulder/neck....then I put the rod assembly back into the sizing die and run the cases through once again. After that I do a final trim to correct length
ALWAYS check to make sure the re-formed brass will chamber....sometimes its necessary to adjust the sizing die to get the shoulder correct.
hope this helps
atr

[dragonrider]

I reform 30-06 brass all the time for my 7, 8, 9.3 x57's. After first forming and trimming I anneal the neck and shoulder and size once more in a full length sizer. I try to leave them a little long in the shoulder so that on first firing it closes tight, after that I neck size only. A good lube is a must when forming in the first operation.

[jonk]

I'm cheap.

I use 06 brass for reforming to 8mm, 7mm, 7.65 Argentine, 7.7 Jap, I've tried it for 6.5 Swede and 7.5X55 but didn't like the results.

Using a form and trim die isn't necessary per se but surely makes it easier.

Either way, it isn't a huge issue, just lube, size, trim, and shoot. The trim die just makes the trim step easier.

[Jkallen83]

i believe i may have the same rifle as you have, except mine was in mint condition and unfired when i got it. i dont resize brass for it. i tried and as much as i love to, the neck turns out to be too thick to chamber easily and im not gonna "force" a round into the chamber with the possibility of wearing the chamber out to fit. the gun is just too accurate and awesome for that.

what i do is buy bags of winchester brass, usually around $36 per 50 rounds. also, i ran across a GREAT deal on 140gr 7x57 ammo in PMC. i dont use 140gr for nothing. i use usually 175gr in mine all the time with the exception of now using 162gr hornady SST's. BUT, buying several boxes of the 140gr give me something to target shoot with and some great reloadable brass. im not sure how the condition of ur rifle is, but my 7x57 chilean mauser can shoot 140gr at the same point of impact as 175gr at 100yards with no sight adjustment. mine has pinpoint consistant accuracy.

so if u wanna resize, its slow and can be done, but i would suggest finding a way to thin the necks to chamber easier.

great rifle u have, EXCELLENT for deer. and if its like mine, should be very little recoil. just all around fun to shoot.

[La Dano]

I just tried reforming 270 brass for my 7x57 mod95. Everything went pretty smooth until I tried chambering. My bolt was pretty tight to close up and open back. I'm using RCBS FL die. My mauser has been rebarelled with a Adams barrel from Midway. Is this normal? Chamber a tad bit short? I'm new to reloading and this is my 1st attempt.

Thanx

[TNsailorman]

I have reformed military 30-06 for years into 8x57. Things I have learned over those years: (1)Use Imperial Die Wax for the reforming-makes things easier and wipes off with a paper towel or an old bath towel. (2)remove decapping assymbly from the Full Length sizer for the first resizing pass. (3)After the first resizing, measure the length of the extra long neck to be cut off and mark with a magic marker-leave the neck a little long for the case trimmer to finish. (4)Finish the trimming process and inside neck ream with a Forster Case trimmer. Mine is set up to trim to length and inside neck ream in one pass. (5)Inside and outside case mouth chamfer. (6)Check the finished cartridge in the rifle for which you intend the brass to be reloaded for fit. Sometimes because of a tight chamber or heavier brass you might have to run through the full length sizer die again. I usually do this again anyway but enclude the decapper unit this second time. (7)You can anneal or not anneal (your option). If the brass has not been loaded several times I may skip annealing until I have fireformed the brass. You can decapp the brass, primer pocket uniform, and deburr the flash hole either before or after the case is formed but I always do this before starting the case forming operation. After reloading the case, check the loaded round in your rifle before taking to the range--saves frustration when you find one at the range that doesn't chamber easily. Works for me anyway. james

[La Dano]

Figured out my should is not setting back far enough to chamber.
I believe the 270 brass I'm using is not a good idea.

[La Dano]

Thank but I'd rather it be empty brass.

[Nrut]

I run commercial (don't have any LC that I know of) 30-06 brass thru a Redding body die with no lube.
Then I take a Lee case trimmer shell holder and mount it in a portable battery operated drill and insert the case tightly.
Then I place the cutting part of the Lee case trimmer in a large vise tightly.
Then have at it.
Check the first case to make sure it is the proper length and chamfer in and out, zip zip you are done..

[La Dano]

Well I went back to the drawing board and started over. This time I snugged the FL die down a little tighter on the shell holder. This time I used Hornadys Unique lube instead of their spray lube. Ran a case through without the stem, trimmed a little long, deburred and I ran it back through with the stem. Chambered up just like my factory Rem brass. Did some measuring on the necks and it looks like they are good to go. Waiting on the trimmer to come in to trim to size and weight. Thanx for all the help, I do appreciate it. Oh, do I anneal now or after I trim to lenght? Guess it doesn't matter Thanx again.

[eljefeoz]

@ ATR and Dragonrider:
Hi
Do you guys neck turn your 7x57 cases formed from other calibers like 30-06 and 8x57?
Cheers

[UBER7MM]

Do you guys neck turn your 7x57 cases formed from other calibers like 30-06 and 8x57?....

When necking down, I do. The necks are just too thick to seat a bullet if they are sized to the correct outside dimention. If I expand them to the correct interior dimension, the cartridges are too wide at the necks to chamber. If others successfully converted cartridges without neck turning, my hat is off to them.

I hope this helps,

[EDG]

Uber
What loading tools are you using. With normal dies .30-06 and .270 make really good 7X57 cases.
The .270 are the best since a fired .270 neck is almost exactly right for a 7X57. All you have to do is push the shoulder back, trim and anneal. I have never had a problem seating bullets or chambering a loaded round.
Perhaps your set up is not pushing the shoulders back far enough or you are using really fat cast bullets?

[Lefty SRH]

I use .270 cases and haven't had a problem yet. I run them thru a RCBS trim die to form them (push the shoulder back), cut the neck off, full length size with a 7x57 die, fire form, neck sick, then final trim to length.

[atr]

NO,,,,I do not neck turn the brass....I use 270 brass since I've got a lot of it from range pickup...I have also used '06 military brass without problems and without neck turning
glad you discovered the "trick" of tightning down the die to get the shoulder set-back correct !

[Char-Gar]

I have made thousands of 8 X57, 7.65 Belgian and a few others from USGI 30-06 brass and it is very doable. Here is what I do.

1. Get a file trim die from either RCBS or Redding. They are not the same, as one FL resizes and other other does not.

2. Adjust the file trim die to contact the shell holder just like a FL size die.

3. Lube the case with Imperial sizing wax and push it into the die. Go in about 1/4 of the way, drop the ram rotate the case and do it again. About three or four times rotating and raising the ram with get the job done without creating wrinkles or dents in the case shoulders and/or neck.

4. Take a fine tooth hacksaw and cut off the excess sticking above the die. With a fine double cut file, file the ragged case mouth flush with the top of the die and might as well stick you deburring tool into the top of the die and get rid of the eternal burrs left behind.

5. Remove the case and deburr the outside of the case mouth.

6. If the trim die also FL sizes the case you are done, if not the case will need to be passed through a FL resize die. I assume you know how to adjust the FL die or trim die (if it FL sizes) to provide for the proper case headspace. Turn down the die until it contacts the top of the shell holder. Drop the ram and turn the die down a tad more and raise the ram a. When there is a snap that removes all of the slack from the press linkage, you are good to go. This information is included in the instructions that come with the dies, if folks take the time to read them.

Now you have your cases..Ream, neck turn, and/or anneal?

None of the above are necessary, but all are helpful. The new case will be work hardened and annealing will give you longer case life. The case necks with be a little thicker and that may or may not be an issue depending on the level of accuracy you are hunting. If you are going to go this step, I think neck turning is the best use of time. It will produce a neck of the proper thickness, plus give a neck that is uniform all the way around. A reamer may very well leave the neck with a thickness that is not uniform all the way around. A neck of uniform thickness will provide even neck tension and bullet release which is helpful in those one hole groups.

Is all of this worth your time? If depends on how much 30-06 brass you have on hand and what you think you time is worth.

[dragonrider]

No I do not neck turn, my rifles are all milsurps and chambers are not terribly tight.

[UBER7MM]

Uber
What loading tools are you using. With normal dies .30-06 and .270 make really good 7X57 cases.
The .270 are the best since a fired .270 neck is almost exactly right for a 7X57. All you have to do is push the shoulder back, trim and anneal. I have never had a problem seating bullets or chambering a loaded round.
Perhaps your set up is not pushing the shoulders back far enough or you are using really fat cast bullets?

EDG:
Using 270 cases,
1) I form the case with a Redding 7x57 full length die that I've removed the decapping pin.
2) I then cut the neck off about a 3/32" inch long with a hack saw.
3) I then trim the length to the max length with a hand lathe trimmer.
4) I then use an expander die and force the neck to the correct interior dimension. I am careful not to flare the edge of the case.
5) I then use a Forster Neck turning tool to turn the case to the correct exterior dimension.
6) I then run the case through the 7x57 full length die again with the decapping pin.
7) Load as normal brass.
8) The next loads I'll neck size for use with the specific rifle.

I should think that 8x57, 244/6mm Rem or even 257 Roberts cases would work too. Less cutting with a hacksaw. 30'06 and 270 are going to be easiest to find.

I don't know why but the necks of the reformed brass seem to be thicker. The neck turning tool takes care of any chambering problems, so it's definitely external diameter. If I don't expand the neck before loading I shave off lead from my boolits. Again diameter, thickness of the necks.

I was using standard commerical brass. I don't remember the brand.

[EDG]

Uber
You process is similar to mine except that I have never had to turn a case neck. My rifle is a M95 Chilean Mauser.
I use Federal .270 brass.
One trick you can use is to expand a case into a trumpet shape a little larger than the chamber neck.
Shove the case in place with the bolt and the over size neck will squeeze down to fit the chamber neck.
Extract the case and measure it. It will tell you what your neck diameter is.

[UBER7MM]

EDG,

That sounds like a good trick. I'll give it a try.

Thanks,