Did I miss the sticky thread on case forming?

[C. Latch]

I can't seem to find a sticky on forming cases, so I'll ask here:

I have a 6.5 Remington magnum. It's a '69ish model Remington 700, LNIB, that my grandpa bought in the early '70's. The story goes that a distributor had it mothballed and sent it to a local shop by mistake, but the shop owner kept it because 'some gun nut will come in and want it'.

My grandpa bought it, removed the rear sight, installed a cheap scope, adjusted the trigger, and basically didn't touch it again until he gave it to me ~20 years ago. I've never loaded it, though I did pick up ~8 boxes of 120-grain factory loads back in the '90's when I'd find odd boxes in little sporting goods stores. I hate to shoot that ammo.

When my grandpa died I didn't get the dies and whatnot that went with this rifle, so while bullets, primers, and powder are easy enough to get, brass is almost impossible unless I use up my factory ammo or form from another case. Hence, this thread.

As I understand it my best option for case forming is to use most any .532" bolt face magnum case and shorten them and run them through 6.5 dies.

I've done simple case formation, but it's been a long time (20+ years ago when my grandpa bought his first 25-06) and this strikes me as a bit beyond 'simple'.

I don't plan on ever shooting this rifle much, and wouldn't need a large number of cases; if I tried to learn case forming it would be done as much to learn the art as it was to feed this rifle. Having said that, what do I need to know and where do I start?

[Randy C]

I had the same problem when doing my 223wsm over to 243wssm I did a lot of internet searches and winged it, good luck there are a lot of talented people here, I think it has been warming up spring is on its way. That is a good idea for a sticky. I think there's more people with the 6.5 mag that's a sweet gun I think the extra work will be worth it and you will shoot it more than you think.

[billyb]

According to the manual of cartridge conversions you can use 300 H&H magnum brass to form 6.5 rem mag. It says to run the case into the die then trim to length and you may need to anneal. That's all the book says. Bill

[Randy C]

I never thought to look for a book of cartridges.

[billyb]

the full title- The Handloader's Manual of Cartridge Conversions by John J Donnelly & Bryce Towsley Bill

[badgeredd]

Actually you'll probably have better luck using/finding 300 Winchester mag or 7 mm Remington Mag brass for conversion. Myself, I'd look for 7mm Mag brass to convert. New brass will be the easiest but the best situation would be ONCE fired brass. Get a good case lube to use because there is a lot of pressure being exerted on the parent brass; I use lanolin but Imperial sizing wax is excellent too. I'd try forming without annealing the brass before the forming operation first. If that doesn't work, then lightly anneal the brass and give it a shot. There may be (I haven't looked) a case forming set of dies avaiable from RCBS or CH4D which in all likelihood will make the job easier. Although more expensive, the fact that you're moving the shoulder quite a ways, the form dies would make the job easier. AFTER forming anneal all of the formed cases. You'll also want to check the neck thicknes as it'll likely be a bit thich. Good luck.

Edd

[Mk42gunner]

I have not formed 6.5 Remington brass, but here is what I would try first, assuming you have a standard two die set and a fairly stout press (something on the order of a Rockchucker).

Lightly lube a case and run it into the stripped seating die to move the shoulder back and start reducing the neck diameter.

Next trim it almost to length, you will have almost ½" to cut, so a chop saw or mini tubing cutter will be faster than a case trimmer; then use the full length sizing die, anneal and trim to fit your chamber.

Honestly, I think I would either look for some new brass or shoot one box of the factory loads. Case forming when you don't need to is a real PITA.

Robert

I just remembered, there is at least one article on castpics regarding case forming.

R

[C. Latch]

Thanks, folks.

My dad has a fair amount of 7mm Remington Magnum brass that otherwise will never get used, and I'll grab some next time I visit and have it to experiment with. Now I just need some dies.

[scb]

I would be very surprised if you can simple form the case and use it as is. I believe you will more than likely have ream the necks. At the very least. Once you get one formed which I believe will require several intermediate reducing dies I would seat a bullet into one your "finished" cases without any powder or primer and see if it will chamber.

[Newtire]

Get a good case lube to use because there is a lot of pressure being exerted on the parent brass; I use lanolin but Imperial sizing wax is excellent too. Edd
I've done some case forming here lately and can tell you that Personally I have not had real good luck like everyone else who uses Imperial Sizing Lube. In fact, going light on the lube with the Imperial stuff like I do with lanolin to keep from getting neck wrinkles, I stuck 2-cases. Never stuck a case before and now my name is on the wall of shame not once but twice! I'm sold on lanolin and besides, it makes your hands real nice so SWMBO don't complain. I keep trying to think of a possible use for the Imperial lube..maybe Butch wax? In my sizing down operations from .30-06 to 6.5, I have found that I didn't have to neck ream either but that may be something that happens.

[cbrick]

Now I just need some dies.

As of today Midway has in stock - Hornady 2 die set and Redding 3 die set.

If you have 8 20 round boxes of factory (160 rounds) and your dad has a fair amount of brass I would certainly be using that as opposed to forming brass from something else. Sure it can be done but it is a lot of work and tedious and if not needed to have brass why bother? Use your factory stuff.

Rick

[C. Latch]

As of today Midway has in stock - Hornady 2 die set and Redding 3 die set.

If you have 8 20 round boxes of factory (160 rounds) and your dad has a fair amount of brass I would certainly be using that as opposed to forming brass from something else. Sure it can be done but it is a lot of work and tedious and if not needed to have brass why bother? Use your factory stuff.

Rick

I'm holding off on the dies - for now. I'd like to have some by this fall.

The brass dad has is 7mm Remington magnum brass, that'll never be used again if I don't use it. I mentioned the case forming idea to him today (went to visit and shoot a while) and he thought it was an awesome idea.

I'm hoping to save the old factory ammo for....well, something. I just hate to shoot it.

[rockrat]

Just pulled out a piece of 7mm mag brass and tried to form to 6.5 rem mag. No go. shoulder was collapsing in on itself. If you can find some 350 rem mag brass (good luck), it should work. Otherwise, just use a couple of boxes of your ammo. Alot easier.

[cabezaverde]

I have made 350 rem mag out of 7 mag and 300 mag brass.

[Ed in North Texas]

Put searches up on Gun Broker and Guns America - every once in a while some brass shows up (the guy who got a bag of 100 Remington new for $25.00 stole it). Look also for .350 Mag (I agree with rockrat that it should work for necking down). Gun Broker currently has several offers of .350 Rem Mag brass and cartridges. Higher than from regular suppliers, but the cases are available now, not whenever supply catches up on higher demand cartridges.

Graf's is out, the listed price is a dollar a case (100) for Remington. Midway had Quality Cartridge (IIRC) (now overdue) @ $5x.00 per 20 (ouch!).

[C. Latch]

Alright, folks, I finally got to try case forming last night. I removed the guts from a 6.5 RM sizer, lubed up a 7mm RM case, and let 'er rip.

I ended up with a case that folded (or buckled, running lengthwise of the case) in numerous places around the case.

Annealed cases fared somewhat better; I used a Dremel to hack the end off a couple of annealed cases to see if they'd form easier.....hmmm. Maybe. Hard to tell.

I ended up with several buckled (collapsed) cases, several that had severe lengthwise buckles, and out of 10 cases, only 1 that seems useable (it has one buckle; I think it might fireform out).

I tried light annealing and I tried heating the necks bright red (knowing that I'd remove the neck anyway) and neither way seemed to help as far as the finished product went. I tried a .300 weatherby case; I couldn't physically get them to full form. I think my .300s are made of thicker brass.

Should I 1) try .300 H&H cases, or 2) get a real set of forming dies, or 3) just hold out for finding some 6.5 brass or use what I already have?

[cabezaverde]

What are you using for lube? I have good luck with Imperial Sizing Die Wax.

[C. Latch]

What are you using for lube? I have good luck with Imperial Sizing Die Wax.

I used the Lithi-bee that was sitting on the bench. Lubrication didn't seem to be an issue. Cases actually formed fairly easy.

Would a different (Lanolin) lube make a difference in HOW the cases formed?

[BK7saum]

The problem is that you are reducing the diameter too much in one step, hence the lengthwise buckling. Might not work, but can you try running the shoulder portion into a 308/3006 die, then into maybe a 30/30 die and then a 223 die to see how the diameter is reduced? Also, seating dies are obviously larger that the FL sizer, so additional intermediate steps could use the seater die followed by the FL sizer die. Just an option, and if it works, then you are that much closer to having usable brass.

Brad

[BK7saum]

Also, I have had better luck by sizing in steps with the same die. With the die screwed out, size a little then turn the die in/down a turn or so, size, and repeat.

Brad

[Mk42gunner]

In my opinion, case forming dies are prohibitively expensive; unless you plan to form enough brass to make them pay for themselves.

Unless you plan to shoot your Grandpa's rifle a lot, I would shoot up a box or two of the factory loads that you have.

On the other hand, since your dad has a bunch of 7mm Rem Mag brass; you could find some orphan dies to modify from the $5.00 box at gun shows. Moving the shoulder back roughly half an inch is going to be tough without losing a large percentage of cases.

Robert

[dh2]

According to the manual of cartridge conversions you can use 300 H&H magnum brass to form 6.5 rem mag. It says to run the case into the die then trim to length and you may need to anneal. That's all the book says. Bill
the .300 H&H will be the parent case for about every thing belted Magnum, may be a lot of forming to do

[C. Latch]

So if I started with h&h brass and ran it through a .350 mag size die first, would that be more likely to work?

[Nrut]

C.Latch,
Redding sells a Form & Trim die for the 6.5 Rem mag.
Part #749-005-688ST for $53.99 at sinclairintl.com

I usually form all my brass these days from some other larger cal. brass so as to obtain a crush headspace to keep the brass centered in the chamber during the fire forming..
I also trim the brass "long" to fill the chamber neck if I plan on shooting cast bullets in that rifle..
If I can't case form with a regular die set I use either a "body die" from Redding if I have already one, or buy a Redding "form & trim" die..
It sounds like the have the lube problem solved..
2 cents anyway lol..
Imperial Sizing Lube has always been the "go to" lube for years but a some time ago I came up with a job where it plainly won't work..
So looking to try something else I tried Lee's sizing lube and it worked..
Later Dan from Bullshop sent me a complementary small container of his case lube with a large order of Speed Green..
That lube is by far the best I have used to date for case forming..

If the "form & trim" seems expensive then sell a box of the loaded 6.5 ammo to fund the cost of the die..

Should add if you are case forming with a regular die set try sizing with the seating die first as it is slightly larger than the sizing die..

[tygar]

the full title- The Handloader's Manual of Cartridge Conversions by John J Donnelly & Bryce Towsley Bill

I've got that book but mine just says Donnelly. Good book but mine is fairly old & maybe isn't up to date it says 1987.

Was just using it yesterday to see if there is another case to make 375 Win than 30-30.

I also have a Rem 6.5 Mag. Better check my brass situation if it's getting hard to find. I got a 6.5 140 mold to try in it. I do have H&H brass, so could try that forming.

[tygar]

Just looked, have enough brass. Also found 2 new loaded boxes of .264 winmag. Don't think I even have one anymore. Just means more to sell with 300WBY & 300 H&H.

[C. Latch]

Hypothetically speaking, could I find a 7mmRemMag or .300WinMag or .338WinMag resizing die, remove .30" from it, and use it as an intermediate forming die?

[Mk42gunner]

Yes you can, that is what I meant when I wrote about orphan dies in post #21.

Be advised the .300 Winchester has the shoulder even farther forward, so you would need to cut its die even shorter.

I would take the decapping stem out and leave it out of any die you cut shorter.

The Redding form and trim die Nrut mentions is a lot less expensive than the others I have priced. It might even be cheaper by the time you figure your time modifying other dies.

Robert

[C. Latch]

Thanks!

Right now this is as much an academic exercise as a practical one. I want some cases, but the bigger thing I want is to learn how to work brass.

I'm going to bide my time and see what sort of used dies show up for sale. I also need to see what sort of machinist I have nearby, as I'm in a new town and don't know a good one yet.

[Alan in Vermont]

6.5 RM forming from anything is not a beginners project.

Using any of the regular belted magnum cases, 300, 7mm, etc, it is easy to get them to 350 RM. A trip through a 350 RM FL die leaves you with a very long necked case. A 350 RM trim die would be nice to have at that point as a hacksaw with a 32 TPI blade would shorten them easily. Would be best to leave them a little long and clean up with a cutter type trimmer.

Going from the 350 to 6.5, as others have already found out, is where the problems begin.

I've got a bunch of cases stared down the reformation road, both long magnums and 350 RM. They will not neck down step. I missed a set of Hornady form dies a couple years back, they sold for well un $100 on fleabay and I forgot they were ending until too late.

I once worked in a shop that did commercial reloading and the owner had reformed the then available Norma "Basic" magnum cases to 6.5 RM with a combination of dies he had in stock(he loaded over 100 calibers). Member "Nickel" here is that man's Son and has his fathers equipment. We have talked about joining forces to form a batch of 6.5 for both of us but haven't done it yet.

After some consideration I think that WSM dies will work for intermediate forming steps. I found a cheap set of Lee 7mm WSSM dies but the jump from 350 to 7mm is still to great, cases still just crush. I've been watching for a cheap 300 WSM die. If that fails I will try a 323 WSM(I think there is such an animal) and if even that fails I will sell the WSM dies and get on a waiting list for a set of real forming dies.

I thought about shortening regular magnum dies but I think they would leave the formed case sized down too much along the case body.

If one of you guys who needs 6.5 RM cases has a 300 WSM sizer you will loan me I'll do trials on my brass and return your die. If it works I'll send my 350 RM dies back with yours and explain what I did to get usable brass. When you get your brass formed send me back my dies.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I would probably start with 7mm Rem Mag and find a .350 Rem Mag set to start. I would try Hornady Unique case lube. I would start with 350 seater and size 1/4 or less each time, then to the .350 sizer with no expander. Common Magnum dies like .338, .300, 7mm could be cut shorter if the price was right. There are a few 'universal' neck sizing dies for various calibers out there. Cutting the case to length as early in the process as possible would also help. Various WSM die sets could also be involved, .325, .300, 7mm and .270 might be borrowed or bought cheaply online. STP or other commercial automotive greases may work better. Depends how how much you want to spend and how much experimenting you are willing to do. There is are two other case forming books out therebeside Donnelly's that I know of; Cartridge Conversions by Nonte, and Designing and Forming Custom Cartridges by Howell. Many case forming techniques are provided in these books. Redding or RCBS will have case forming dies, if want to follow that route.

[C. Latch]

Common Magnum dies like .338, .300, 7mm could be cut shorter if the price was right.


I just snagged a .300Winchester die set on the S&S forum.

As soon as they get here, the seating die will get hauled to the local machine shop.

I actually got out a box of the old 6.5 factory ammo the other day, but just couldn't shoot it. We'll see what happens when I get these dies fixed up and get to work with them.

[C. Latch]

I should have updated this thread already.

I shortened the .300WM die and over the course of the last several weeks have ruined a double handful of 7mmRM and .300WBY brass in order to get.....one....useable piece of 6.5RM brass.

I have learned a great deal along the way, and believe at this point that my best bet is to start with a .35 to .37 caliber belted-mag sizing die, such as a .358 Norma mag or .350 Remington, then move on to the .shortened .300WM, then 6.5RM.

I still have plenty of brass to work with. I also scored some old Norma 7x61S&H brass the other day, and from looking at the dimensions of the cartridge it would seem to be a great candidate for shortening. I will try some of it soon, but am going to wait until I secure some sort of .35 die to use as an intermediate step.

[cabezaverde]

I should have updated this thread already.

I shortened the .300WM die and over the course of the last several weeks have ruined a double handful of 7mmRM and .300WBY brass in order to get.....one....useable piece of 6.5RM brass.

I have learned a great deal along the way, and believe at this point that my best bet is to start with a .35 to .37 caliber belted-mag sizing die, such as a .358 Norma mag or .350 Remington, then move on to the .shortened .300WM, then 6.5RM.

I still have plenty of brass to work with. I also scored some old Norma 7x61S&H brass the other day, and from looking at the dimensions of the cartridge it would seem to be a great candidate for shortening. I will try some of it soon, but am going to wait until I secure some sort of .35 die to use as an intermediate step.

I have a little 6.5 RM brass I would trade for some 350 Rem Magnum if you are interested.

[C. Latch]

If I had any .350 brass I'd totally take you up on that, but I have none. I have tried to buy some to form to 6.5 but nobody wants to sell it. Even people who shoot 350s but don't reload, know they need to hold on to their brass.

[tygar]

You know something I found out back in the 60s when I was making 25-06 out of 30-06 was that it sucked. The necks were way to thick after necking "down". In the case of 25s I started to use 270s & it helped some & neck turning was way less than with 06s.

What I did do with 6.5-06 was use 25-06 & neck up. This negated the neck turning problem.

So, the question is, is their a smaller cal case that can be fire formed or swaged up to work for this application?

[C. Latch]

You know something I found out back in the 60s when I was making 25-06 out of 30-06 was that it sucked. The necks were way to thick after necking "down". In the case of 25s I started to use 270s & it helped some & neck turning was way less than with 06s.

What I did do with 6.5-06 was use 25-06 & neck up. This negated the neck turning problem.

So, the question is, is their a smaller cal case that can be fire formed or swaged up to work for this application?


To the best of my knowledge, the 6.5RM is the shortest, smallest caliber .532" belted magnum cartridge ever commercially produced.

What's TRULY crazy is that it has the absolute perfect case capacity to dominate the current 6.5 craze. It's faster than any of the .473 boltface short action calibers, on par with the 6.5-06, ahead of the 6.5-284, but anything bigger would be excessively hard on barrels (6.5x300wsm, 264WM, 26Nosler). It is literally the perfect caliber for the current long-range craze.

But the only brass I can find is $48 for 20 on gunbroker.

To be completely honest, however, I am enjoying the ability to have this to play with through the wintertime. The 7x61 brass shows a lot of potential, it is only ~0.2" longer than the 6.5RM; I'm not sure how case length will change as I neck them down but it appears that when I'm finished, the neck of the 6.5 will contain part of the original 7x61 neck. It *should* be an easy conversion. I just need to get the .35 intermediate die first.

I think I'll order a set today, actually. I have been holding out on a used set but I never go to gunshows and none have popped up online.

[gunwonk]

It *should* be an easy conversion. I just need to get the .35 intermediate die first.

I think I'll order a set today, actually. I have been holding out on a used set but I never go to gunshows and none have popped up online.

I recently traded for a bunch of .300 WM brass, and have been running them through a .350 Rem Mag trim die.

PM me your address, and I'll mail you a few to experiment on, before you put money into more dies.

[44magLeo]

Why can't you shoot a box or two of the factory loads? It seems asinine to not shoot it.
Leo

[tygar]

Actually I've been talking to my lgs about rebarreling mine to something else since it is to short to effectively use larger bullets & I have 6.5-06 & 6.5-284.

[C. Latch]

I recently traded for a bunch of .300 WM brass, and have been running them through a .350 Rem Mag trim die.

PM me your address, and I'll mail you a few to experiment on, before you put money into more dies.



Got them a few minutes ago. I'll try to have a report tonight.

THANK YOU!!!!

[C. Latch]

Why can't you shoot a box or two of the factory loads? It seems asinine to not shoot it.
Leo

I'm trying to learn here. Shooting this rifle isn't even a particular desire. Learning to make brass from other calibers would open up an entire world of wildcatting possibilities, not to mention giving me a useful skill for self-sufficiency.

[C. Latch]

Actually I've been talking to my lgs about rebarreling mine to something else since it is to short to effectively use larger bullets & I have 6.5-06 & 6.5-284.

This one is in near-new condition, and it belonged to my departed grandfather. It's hard to modify it, hard to sell it, and even hard to shoot it much.

[C. Latch]

Well, I couldn't stand it, so I went to the bench for a minute.

The first case looked so 'easy' that I didn't even anneal it. A quarter-inch into the shortened .300 die and its neck cracked. I continued, then put it in the 6.5 die and the shoulder collapsed.


I figured I'd better anneal the next one, and it went perfectly; first into the .300 die then into the 6.5 die, then I re-installed the 6.5 expander and ran it again, and other than the neck being a tad thick (I have to get the rifle out and do some measuring before I shoot these and/or ream necks) it looked gorgeous.

The next one, I let my lock ring slip when installing the .300 die again, and accidentally turned it a turn too far. I ended up with some lube dents that will shoot out, and a shoulder that's way too short and a neck that's way too long. I'll shoot this one with a reduced load - it may or may not form out and be useable.

The next two, they went perfectly, first through the .300 die (now with the lock ring tightened, to stay) then through the 6.5 die with the expander in place, as it occurred to me that there's no need for two trips. The 6.5 die is set to barely cam over, so it should be fully sizing the brass.

So out of five case, three are great, one is ruined, and I think the last one will 'form out' when I shoot it with a very light load.

This tells me that I need a .350 die, and based on the various measuring that I did before hand it appears that I need to cut my magnum brass to 2.15", then go from .350 die to .300 die to 6.5 die. Should be simple enough. Time will tell if I need to turn necks.

[Duckiller]

WHY are you running long brass into a 350 RM die and then into a 6.5 RM die? As you said the 6.5 and 350 RMs are two of the shortest belted cases around. I can't see how expanding then reducing the brass is going to help you. Your idea of using 300H & H and maybe 7 x61 S & H may work. The part of the body that you want is already somewhat reduced in size. You are starting with brass that has the proper head size. You are going to have to chop off the body some somewhere behind the shoulder and resize the neck to 6.5 mm. If you start with 300 H & H brass you have the right size head. Anneal the sholder area and down size to either 7mm or 6.5 mm and gradually move a vestiage of the shoulder back. Since the case head spaces on the belt you don't care if the body diameter is too small. If you can create a piece of brass that is the correct length a with shoulder that will let the bolt close and a neck that will hold a 6.5 mm bullet then you should be very happy. Body diameter and shoulder position will be taken care of when you fire form the brass. I understand your desire to learn how to make brass that will work in this rifle. This last November I shot a deer with my father's rifle using ammo that I had loaded for him many years ago. My brother has also taken deer with this rifle and ammo. My father died more than 40 years ago. I view my brother and I using his rifle and a way to further the bond among the three of us. While he didn't use it much, your grandfather bought the rifle and ammo to shoot and hunt with. Definitely save the box of ammo that is in the best condition and shoot and reload the rest. When you shoot his gun think of your grandfather, either at the range or hunting. Just offering a slightly different point of view. You have enough ammo to shoot this gun a bunch and somewhere , sometime you will find affordable brass that you can add to your collection. This is a gun that you are going to sight in for you and then every fall shoot a few rounds to check the sights then shoot an animal or two. Enjoy it and bond with your grandfather.

[41mag]

Sounds like you are on your way to a batch of shootable brass sometime in the near future.

Interesting that I ran across this post right in the middle of deciding on a 6.5 build. After hours of research and days of reading post on different cases on which to run off of the 6.5 RM was one I was highly considering.

Most of everything I own is based off either the 308 or 30-06 cases since I have an abundance of both to work with. In a worst case situation I could easily shoot for years in many calibers and not need any brass what so ever. Of course the other components do play into that as well.

Having read through this however it has swayed me back a bit more towards my original ides of simply going with the 6.5-06 in either the standard or the AI form. If I went for the AI version I could still shoot the standard loads, like I do with my 25-06 AI, and have accurate target shooting and hunting ammo on hand at all times. Then if or when I wanted to "reach out" I could use the higher octane improved version.

I also know where your coming from on your rifle as well. I have several in the safe with ammo that for the most part I only shoot once in a great while. One of them is an old Rem 81 from around '38 or so, that is in awesome condition. I have a couple of boxes of Rem/Peters factory ammo that I have no idea how old it is. Just guessing by the boxes sometime around the mid '60's. Like you it isn't so much that I don't want to shoot the thing, but I don't want to take any chances of something breaking that I can't get fixed anymore. Lots of old moving parts in that ol thing.

My pop's 03A3 is another one however it does get shot on occasion. In fact I worked up loads for it year before last using Rem CL's and some H4895 just to have some good ammo on hand. I also have a couple of boxes of almost factory fresh milsurp that we found the back of his closet years after his passing along with half a dozen new barrels still in the cosmoline wraps. There are both 2 and 4 grooves in there in case I ever need to replace one.

Anyway sorry for the ramble, I'll check back on this as I still haven't made any final decisions as of yet, and I DO have close to 1K of belted magnum cases in which to play with should I decide to go this route. Keep up the progress and post up your results.

[C. Latch]

WHY are you running long brass into a 350 RM die and then into a 6.5 RM die? As you said the 6.5 and 350 RMs are two of the shortest belted cases around. I can't see how expanding then reducing the brass is going to help you. Your idea of using 300H & H and maybe 7 x61 S & H may work.

I may try the 7x61 brass again when I get a .350 die, but honestly, I fear that the small diameter at the shoulder is just goingt o cause buckles in the sizing operation. That's what they've done so far, much worse than full-diameter brass.

[C. Latch]

Sounds like you are on your way to a batch of shootable brass sometime in the near future.

Interesting that I ran across this post right in the middle of deciding on a 6.5 build. After hours of research and days of reading post on different cases on which to run off of the 6.5 RM was one I was highly considering.

On paper it makes a lot of sense.

If I ever perfect the process of making brass - if it really is as simple as chopping, running through a .350 die, a chopped 300 die, then the 6.5 die, then final trim - then it isn't THAT bad, and you end up with thick-necked brass that is the basis for very consistent brass after a bit of turning. I think you could do worse.

[gunwonk]

I also have a Rem 6.5 Mag.


Actually I've been talking to my lgs about rebarreling mine to something else since it is too short to effectively use larger bullets & I have 6.5-06 & 6.5-284.

When Remington introduced the .350 and 6.5 Mag's, a good part of the idea was to make them short enough to fit a medium length (=.308 Win) action. As a result, heavy bullets end up seated pretty deep, and not all bullet profiles would work.

If your 6.5 is on a medium action, that's your situation. But if it's on a long action, you can probably stick the bullets out where you want them, and still get things to work.

The .350 is that way too. I think a whole generation of gun writers put beans on the table, talking about how the base of the bullet sticks out below the neck. :smile: