Forming 6mm PPC from 7.62x39 - anyone?

[Ken73]

I have a gorgeous Kimber (of Oregon) Super America in 6mm PPC - brass is pretty much impossible to find but I managed to get 100 once fired 7.62x39 Remington cases with the small primer pockets and the Redding forming die. Does anyone have an experience with this? I've only done two so far and both look terrible (they crimp up around the shoulder.) I know you have to fireform them to fit the chamber afterwards and trim them, as well as decrease neck thickness.

I'm guessing I need to anneal the brass before I try to form it, but wanted to ask if anyone here has any suggestions (or better yet, knows how to do it!) because I have such a limited supply of brass (and who knows when I'll be able to get any more with all the craziness going on!)

I did fireform one of the two pieces I made (with the crimps) and it looks good other than the crimps.

[GARD72977]

I have done a lot of them but its been a while. First you need a great lube like IMPERIAL SIZING LUBE. I don't remember if I annealed before of after I formed them. May have been both. Make sure that the neck does not have a buildup of lube or it will deform.

Buy some Imperial lube
try annealing one before you form
you will need to anneal after you form to increase case life.

I would bet you have too much lube on the neck.

[deltaenterprizes]

Did you look for .22 PPC brass?
I tried converting the 7.62x39 by running it into the PPC sizing die and the results were dismal. I was using new brass and did not anneal the necks.
There was an article at the time in a gun magazine written by a varmint shooter that did not want to pay PPC brass prices and he had good results.

An intermediate die is a good idea and should increase your success rate.
I did some .308 to .243 in one step and expected the same result but did not get it.

[Doc65]

I used to(13 years ago?) shoot a 6PPC match rifle in HighPower rifle. I still have the barrel, but it is no longer mounted. I have a few hundred 6 ppc and probably a couple hundred that are reformed from 7.62/39 also a few (50/100 )loaded rounds if you need them. Been meaning to list them, but haven't gotten to it. It's been long enough ago I cant tell you how many times each has been fired, some probably once, others 2-3.

[GARD72977]

I had good success making them from 7.62x39 with little loss. I have even made some from used brass.

[SOFMatchstaff]

I have a 6mmPPC case forming die set listed in the Swap and sell section. Its a four die set, so there must be more to it than just squeezin them down like I'm used to. I dont shoot 6mm, so I cant say how they improve the process. Comes with a neck reamer die and reamer.. If you're interested send me a note..

[Ken73]

OK, so annealing before = horribly bad. I basically smashed the neck down when I tried that method. I have some Hornady Unique lube so I tried that and just went slowly, backing off and wiping the neck in between when pressure increased and was able to make one successfully, but the others (maybe 5 or so?) all had some crimp in the neck. Out of the ones I made, only one was able to actually chamber in the rifle. I'm using Red Dot with a small wad of TP in the neck for fireforming and it seems to do fine (for the one that has worked so far.)

Worst part is, I tried the factory Sako ammo I have and it won't chamber in the gun either! So, I need to clean it real good first, then do a chamber cast to see what's going on before I go any further. Good thing I bought some of the Cerrosafe stuff to do casts with!

Gard, what die (or die set) are you using to form yours from 7.62x39? Do you have a procedure?

[rockrat]

Wonder if you can find some 6.5 grendel brass and form the 6mm ppc from it, or possibly form it to 6.5 grendel first before going to 6mm ppc

[Ken73]

Hopefully this illustrates what's going on.. 58793

So far this is the only one that chambered enough for me to fireform (I need to clean the chamber and do a chamber cast to see if anything is awry.) None of the others would chamber at all.

[Ken73]

OK, the chamber was dirty - keep in mind this was an inherited firearm and I haven't really had a chance to clean it up until now - the factory ammo glides in smooth just like it should and after a few runs in the standard sizing/decapping die the rest seem to go in the chamber the way they should. I do think I need to outside neck turn them though, but do I do it before or after I fireform?

[gzig5]

The 6ppc is used extensively in benchrest shooting and those guys are very picky about their cases. I think the usual way is to form from .220 Russian cases by necking up or fire-forming with or without a bullet. They are usually using expensive Lapua brass.
Good info here and on other BR oriented forums.
http://www.accurateshooter.com/cartridge-guides/6mmppc/

IF you don't fireform, the key to necking down as much as you are trying to do from .30 to .243 is do it in stages. If you have a lathe you can make a couple simple neck sizers or find someone to make them for you.
SSA makes 6ppc cases that are semi-reasonably priced too. http://www.ssarmory.com/6mm_PPC.aspx