Forming cases from 3006 case family

[rmatchell]

I picked up a m96 a month or so ago and still haven't built up a stash of brass yet. Now I know sweed brass is available but I can get 270 brass from the local scrap yard for next to nothing as often as needed, and who doesn't enjoy a project. I have been searching for different threads on the subject and after testing out a few cases this morning after work I'm sure I can make cases that will work. I'm also looking at making 7x57 i'm just waiting on a fl sizer.

My question is more for the guys who have done this.

What can I expect from these cases, as for case life and I'm guessing a lil bit smaller case capacity? More or less wondering what kind of luck people have had with doing this.

Reformed RP 270 on the left and RP 6.5x55 on right
I did not anneal this case, got in a hurry.

100544

[HARRYMPOPE]

all of my 8x57 and 7.65 Argie is from LC cases.I haven't annealed them or tuned necks. With mid range cast bullet loads they have over 20 firings.

[uscra112]

All my best 7x57 brass is reformed from .270. Piece of cake. If you can get .270 brass cheap at a yard, I'd bring home a bucketful. Check it carefully for stretch marks, though. It might be 12x fired stuff that somebody scrapped as being too old.

6.5x55 Swede is a bit bigger in the base, isn't it? I've read warnings about making it from our -06 size cases. I think.

[EDG]

I do not like to form cases using brass with undersize heads. I do not like to use 30-06 family brass for the Swede. I do not like to use Swede brass for the 7.5X54 French MAS.
Get the .270 brass and swap it for Swede cases.

[upnorthwis]

I've made Swede out of .30-06 but found that several others like 7MM Mauser, and 6MM Rem work a lot better. As far as the smaller head, have been shooting mine for only two years but have never had a failure to extract. Also, R-P brass seems to work the best.

[jonk]

Worst that happens is you get short case life and incipient case head separation, as the 06 family is indeed smaller than the 6.5. I would trade for 6.5 if I were you.

[runfiverun]

let's see cheap, available easily, and replaceable.
I'd be down there getting buckets of the stuff [after sorting through it for the better cases] and re-forming it into everything I have.
then I'd shoot it until it looked like it might fail then I'd send it back and get some more.
but I'd definitely be getting it now and not regretting it later.

[rmatchell]

I pick up all the rifle brass that comes in the yard. Most of it is from a local shooting range that doesnt allow reloads and from what I can tell nobody picks up there brass. I figure with mild cast loads if I can get 4 or 5 loads then ill be happy.

[Larry Gibson]

Been forming 6.5 Swedes out of '06 cases for 35+ years. Use them for cast and jacketed loads with no problems. I NS most often and partial FL size for easy chambering when needed. Most commercial cases have '06 sized case heads anyway.

I use a 7x57 form die adjusted for the 6.5 shoulder initially. A small tube cutter to remove excess neck and then the 6.5 FL die to finish forming with headspace giving a crush fit. Necks are turned for uniformity, trimmed to the chamber neck length and annealed if needed. They last for many firings.

Larry Gibson

[tomme boy]

Stay away from the Winchester brass for doing this. The head are is a little smaller than others I have measured. Federal and Remington have worked the best reforming for me. Just anneal afterwards. They will last a long time.

[MUSTANG]

rmatchell:

Take that excess 270 and other brass you do not need and put it on the Swapping and Selling link. I am sure that many others would be interested in the 270 and other brass that the scrapper is going to send out to be melted.

[curator]

I prefer the slightly longer 270 Win cases (2.540") for forming my .35 Whelen Imp since regular .30-06 cases (2.50") end up shorting considerably when fireformed. .270 brass is plentiful around here for some reason (less reloaders?) and it is almost perfect length after the initial firing. I also make 7.7 Jap, 8X57 Mauser and .257 Roberts from either .30-06 0r .270 Win cases. Reformed brass seems to last almost as long as factory brass.

[williamwaco]

At some point as you neck them down to smaller calibers, the necks will become too thick and it will become necessary to either ream them or outside turn them.

That is another argument I don't intend to enter but I can tell you I have made .25/06 cases without that problem but when I made .22-250 cases then necks were so thick I couldn't seat the bullets.

[Larry Gibson]

At some point as you neck them down to smaller calibers, the necks will become too thick and it will become necessary to either ream them or outside turn them.

That is another argument I don't intend to enter but I can tell you I have made .25/06 cases without that problem but when I made .22-250 cases then necks were so thick I couldn't seat the bullets.

That can be beneficial with some cartridges because the neck can be reamed or turned not only for concentricity but also being kept thicker they can fit the diameter of the chamber neck better (between bullet diameter and chamber neck diameter. This can give minimal expansion of the neck with better concentric support of the bullet base (that part of the bullet in the case neck) as it transitions under pressure from case neck to throat. This can be quite beneficial with softer alloys used for hunting and with HV loads.

Larry Gibson

[nicholst55]

It's funny; years ago, RCBS would tell you that you'd blow yourself up if you formed 6.5X55 brass from .473" head size American brass. Lapua and Norma still make it the way the drawings call for, with a .480" head. Then, when Remington and Winchester began loading the cartridge and selling brass in numbers after the influx of M96 Mausers, guess what? They preferred easy and economical to right, and made the brass with .473" case heads. I haven't heard of anyone blowing their rifle up with American brass (except when they were stupid), so perhaps RCBS was just listening to their lawyers all those years. Go figure.

[geargnasher]

Tape the case heads when fireforming.

Gear

[DanM]

A lot of M96 shooters see improved accuracy by reforming LC 30-06 to 6.5x55. Thicker brass giving a tighter fit in the chamber. I tried this trick, but was unable to chamber the reformed cases with cast loads. I abandoned that project, as I do not have the tool for neck reaming, and was getting good results with factory cases.

[Good Cheer]

Made 8x57, 6SuperVarmint, 300Savage and .308 from .270's and 30-06. Never had a problem.

[tomme boy]

Thats because all of those cases use a 0.470" head. The 6.5x55 and the 7.7 Jap do not. The case head is bigger. Sure you can use the 06 based brass, but why not just get the right brass for it to begin with.

[leadman]

It isn't the head (or rim) but the diameter of the case in front of the head that is the issue. The 270 is .468" while the 6.5 X 55 is .477". The 270 brass will work but when I used it it bulged where the taper coming up from the bottom of the inside of the case stopped. I never did have it fail though.
I suppose if the 6.5 had an oversized chamber it could fail but most of the Swedes have decent chambers and bores.

[tomme boy]

Most prints I have looked at are 0.470" but some list it at 0.4689" for the 3006.

[kawasakifreak77]

The only brass I have for my Swede is PMC & its the same size as 30-06. So far, so good.

[geargnasher]

Thats because all of those cases use a 0.470" head. The 6.5x55 and the 7.7 Jap do not. The case head is bigger. Sure you can use the 06 based brass, but why not just get the right brass for it to begin with.

Because you can't reduce the tolerance stack in the right places for cast boolits in a military Swede OR a Jap without using '06 brass.

Gear

[tomme boy]

Gear???? Way too many pain killers right now. Please elaborate.