What was the first brass you converted

[Bad Water Bill]

My first one was trying to convert 30-30 to 22 H P.

[No_1]

My first was 7-30 Waters followed by 256 Win Magnum.

[GRUMPA]

My first was doing 300 Blackout, which by now is upwards of 500K and that's a conservative figure. Although I do things just a bit differently than most do.

The conversion bug bit me, pretty hard. Now in between doing conversions and reading, I look for more conversions. But I'll need to put a limit on that, at times I get so sore pulling handles I have to wonder...

[ballistim]

30 Herrett. Very good experience early on for me with annealing, forming, cutting, trimming, flash hole deburring, fire forming with COW, and all the bullets tried out in load development really taught me a lot in my younger days.

[Cmm_3940]

30-06 —> 25-06

[texassako]

9.4 Dutch out of 41 Magnum brass. I couldn't let such an interesting revolver go unfired, and it led me into casting my own and loading with BP.

[C. Latch]

I helped my grandpa form 25-06 from 30-06. That must have been back in the late 1980's. His rifle was a Weatherby Vanguard, I think it was a VGL model....plain walnut stock, blued finish.

My personal 'first' was forming 30-30 from .32 Winchester Special. Does that count? :-P

Currently working on 6.5 Remington Magnum from 7mmRM. Now that there's this new forum I will try to start a thread documenting the process once I get it finalized.

[labradigger1]

303 British to 44 mag cylinder shot shells.

[Hickok]

30/30 to .30 Herrett a long time ago. The T/C barrel I had was throated long enough to seat 200 gr bullets without touching the lands.. Did not show good accuracy with 125 gr bullets so I sold it.

I think T/C had the first Whisper/Blackout cartridge the way it was throated, they just named .30 Herrett!:-x

[Rick Hodges]

Mine was and is the 7x30 Water's from 30-30.

[Kraschenbirn]

Learned to form .270 Win. from 30-06 from my reloading mentor (who also coached our Boy Scout/Explorer smallbore team) while I was still in high school.


Bill

[ballistim]

30/30 to .30 Herrett a long time ago. The T/C barrel I had was throated long enough to seat 200 gr bullets without touching the lands.. Did not show good accuracy with 125 gr bullets so I sold it.

I think T/C had the first Whisper/Blackout cartridge the way it was throated, they just named .30 Herrett!:-x

Mike Bellm wrote about extending the neck area of the 30 Herrett chamber the full length of the 30-30 case to be able to seat bullets out with more case capacity, kind of got my interest with some of the molds available in 30 caliber.

[s mac]

Mine was and is the 7x30 Water's from 30-30.

Same here. I am curious about how hot a load most use to fireform these, it seems with a midrange sort of load the shoulder is not as crisp on the first firing.

[altheating]

308 to 358 for a Lone Eagle Pistol 25 years ago.

[1911cherry]

30.06 to 8mm Mauser I broke the linkage on an old press after 20 rounds.....

[ballistim]

Same here. I am curious about how hot a load most use to fireform these, it seems with a midrange sort of load the shoulder is not as crisp on the first firing.

Fire-forming I often do using a fast burning flake powder, had a large supply of 700X that worked well with Cream of Wheat topped off with a wax plug, (which honestly doubles as a close range form of pest control.) I read about it in an old Handloader magazine a long time ago. I also used the half-jacket Speer Plinkers in my Herrett with a fire-forming load given to me by Bob Milek, although I'll probably use the Lee Soupcan in the future.

[dragon813gt]

300 Savage from 308. Lots of trimming but as easy as it can get. I did find that I needed a small base die so they would chamber in a Savage 99 for the first firing. After that regular dies work fine.

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa39/dragon813gt/TimeToMakeAmmo/F5CC072F-CD60-4D2B-BDA2-B811A44DD8D1-36773-000021B8D0ED8ABD_zpsa7025be8.jpg (http://s198.photobucket.com/user/dragon813gt/media/TimeToMakeAmmo/F5CC072F-CD60-4D2B-BDA2-B811A44DD8D1-36773-000021B8D0ED8ABD_zpsa7025be8.jpg.html)

[fryboy]

6.5 jap from a 303 ...i did it the hard way and only made two cases ( what a pain ) next was the 30 herret and then the 7-30 , compared to those two 6.5 jap's they were a walk in the park on a nice day ( especially the 7-30 ) there's been more than i care to count since then .....

gee no thread for the last cases we formed ? lolz ( rimless 375 jdj from 30-06 ,not as easy as making rimmed from 444 marlin )

[kenyerian]

250 savage to 22 varminter ( or 22-250)

[MarkP]

22 - 6 mm 6 mm Rem down to 22

[Bad Water Bill]

I can think of several more threads to start but Others should step up with their own ideas or questions.

[marvelshooter]

.30-30 to .38-55 even though they come out a little short and is a pretty easy conversion.

[JWFilips]

30-06 to 8 mm Mauser. At first it was a chore. Now that I have it down I actually find it quite enjoyable.
Any 30-06 I find I convert (Since I do not have an 06 rifle) Of course if I gather up a good bunch and need to buy something I might sell them!

[obssd1958]

.375 Winchester and 38-55 from 30-30.
The first few cases didn't have enough Red Dot in them, and came out wasp-waisted between the mouth and the shoulder. Once I got enough powder in them, I went to town creating a bunch of straight walled cases using a good friends Big Bore Winchester. Used Cream-O-Wheat on top of the powder, and fired them in the basement (wife was at work) to keep from having the neighbors complaining, or having to drive 20 minutes to get away from the subdivisions.
Probably should have noticed that the filler was acting like sandpaper on the sheetrock ceiling........
[smilie=b:

[country gent]

First was 357 herrets from 30-30 and 32 win specials. easy to form just alot of trimming there. Then 243 from 308 learned neck turning from that. 25-06 from 30-06, again had to lightly neck turn and anneal. A wildcatt on the 300 wsm case to 6.5mm. Have reformed some cases one offs for paper wieghts or key chains. Once made bushing to step down 50bmg in an arbor press to 22 caliber. I have thought about a 219 zipper or Donaldson wasp(?) for awhile and forming from 7-30 waters.

[Rainier]

6.5 Creedmoor from .308 cases - takes a bit of trimming but with the judicious use of Mobil1 motor oil forming was really easy.

[DCM]

7mm RM to 30-338 was the first, many many moons ago.

[quack1]

First one was forming GI 30-06 into 25-06, when it was still a wildcat. Last one was just last week, 32-20 into 25-20.

[dtknowles]

I know this hardly counts but 32 Special to 30-30. I know it sounds backwards but I was a kid and had a 30-30 and found a few pieces of 32 Special brass.

Tim

[JWFilips]

I know this hardly counts but 32 Special to 30-30. I know it sounds backwards but I was a kid and had a 30-30 and found a few pieces of 32 Special brass.

Tim

Tim..... Say it ain't so! .......Eye Teeth for 32 Spec brass!:mrgreen:

[salpal48]

The first for me was a 256 Newton from 30/06
That go me hooked . now I try to form everything

[dtknowles]

Tim..... Say it ain't so! .......Eye Teeth for 32 Spec brass!:mrgreen:

I know, I know but it was 1975 and it was not a issue then and the only 30-30 brass I had was from factory loads, a few more pieces for free was good.

Tim

[btroj]

444 Marlin to 309 JDJ. Took some learning to get things right but boy was it worth it.

[karlrudin]

My first was 308Win to 7-08Rem, followed by 270Win to 8x57Mauser. My next will be 223 to 7.62x25Torkarev. All of these are done because of value and availability

[karlrudin]

30-06 to 8 mm Mauser. At first it was a chore. Now that I have it down I actually find it quite enjoyable.
Any 30-06 I find I convert (Since I do not have an 06 rifle) Of course if I gather up a good bunch and need to buy something I might sell them!

Another alternative that I use for 8mm Mauser is 270Win. I find a lot more of it laying around at the range than 30-06. Works good for me.

[brstevns]

30-30 to 38-55, 303 british to 30-40 krag, 35 rem to 6.5 jap.,, 30-06 to 308 win. , 308 win to 243 win., 220 swift to 6.5jap

[Nueces]

Other than fooling' around, my first was 33 WCF, then 38-56, both from 45-70.

[Sweetpea]

300 Savage to 22-250...

I got to learn neck turning right out the gate!

[MaLar]

First was 308 too 6.5mm-08 (before the 260 came around) found I needed to ream necks with that. Then along came the 7mm-08 made that easier, and 243 was even better. Never bought 260 Rem brass still using my converted. Then 220 to 6.5 Jap.
Then made a wildcat from 350 Rem mag blown out straight too 45 with fast powder and corn meal.
Left it long at 2.17". I tried using some cast 357 bullets to fire form them once was a HUGE mistake.
45 cal barrel went to 35 cal with a lead liner. I'll never have to learn that one over.

[dtknowles]

My first was 308Win to 7-08Rem, followed by 270Win to 8x57Mauser. My next will be 223 to 7.62x25Torkarev. All of these are done because of value and availability

I have done .223 to 7.62 x 25, I needed to neck turn and I did not completely work out whether it was better to turn before sizing or after. I only made a few as I have a bunch of surplus ammo and a few hundred factory brass.

Tim

[krag35]

44 Spcl. cylinder length shot shells from 30 US Army brass. 7.62 X 54R to 209 primers, back when boxed primed cases weren't available. Happened about the same time.

[joesig]

308 to 7mm BR. The first piece I never trimmed. Dreamed of converting a rifle in 22-250 to 7mm BR and wanted to see how the length was in the magazine.

Second was 284 Win up to 375.

[Bad Water Bill]

For some real time consuming projects try making 221 fireball or 20 Var Targ out of mil 556 brass.

Yes you will learn about annealing, lubing, neck trimming and cutting off a nice long piece of brass tubing.[smilie=s:

1,500 down and beating my head against the wall rather than making any more.[smilie=b:[smilie=b:[smilie=b:

[TreeKiller]

Last was 50-90 Sharps to 11 x25 Dutch Beaumont. After 10 i cheated and just bought the CH4D dies . Just trim and run them through the dies twice.

[crazy mark]

6.5 swede to 7.5 french. Really easy conversion when I couldn't get brass for my mas 36.

[John Boy]

Here we go again with another 'What Was" thread! :groner:

[Mohillbilly]

7 mm benchrest to .357 / 45 Grizzly Winchester mag. and .357 Auto mag from 30 06 .

[pdgh59]

22 Hornet to 297/230. In retrospect not the wisest conversion to start with.

[Uncle Jim]

I just started 5.56 to 222 rem

[bullet maker 57]

My first was 348 win to 11.15x58 Austrian Werndl. Second was 348 win to 8mm Lebel.

[rbuck351]

38spl to 7.62x25. This was before there were boxer primed cases available.

[Reg]

First was 7.65 Mauser from 30-06 back in 1962 and it just went from there.

[Gar]

348 Win to 12.7x44R for my rolling block. A fairly easy one to start with since it is mostly just trim the 348 Win to length on fire forming it with some Unique and COW.

[rmatchell]

7X57 from 30-06 and 270. I have a Remington #5 that likes the thicker brass.

Also made 6.5x55 from 308 blanks just to see if it would work.

[glassparman]

.30-06 Military to 7.7 Japanese and 7.65 Argentine Mauser.

Now I'm using 6.5x54 MS brass to make 7.62x45 for my VZ-52 "She" rifle. While making the 7.62x45, I learned about reaming the inside of the neck due to excess thickness.

[skeettx]

308 Winchester to 44 Auto Mag 1972 :)

Trimmed on Forster trimmer and inside neck reamed
270 Sizing die
44 Mag Belling die
45 Seating die

Worked GREAT !

[mattw]

My first was 284 to 6mm/284 for a bench rifle.

[Gar]

.30-06 Military to 7.7 Japanese and 7.65 Argentine Mauser.

Now I'm using 6.5x54 MS brass to make 7.62x45 for my VZ-52 "She" rifle. While making the 7.62x45, I learned about reaming the inside of the neck due to excess thickness.

What are you using to size down the cases? I just finished up doing a 100 6.5x54 MS cases using a 41 Mag sizing dies but it was a real pain and I broke one sizing die in the process, the carbide ring fractured.
Gar

[Mauser48]

7x57 Mauser to 257 Roberts

[ballistim]

44 Spcl. cylinder length shot shells from 30 US Army brass. 7.62 X 54R to 209 primers, back when boxed primed cases weren't available. Happened about the same time.

How about a thread on how you did the 7.62x54R to 209 primers sometime? I'd be interested because of thee constant supply of 209 primers & the ability to save boxer brass while using these for plinking loads for the grandkids. They love shooting the military guns with light loads at the bench, and I have plenty of berdan empties.

[pjames32]

Mike Bellm wrote about extending the neck area of the 30 Herrett chamber the full length of the 30-30 case to be able to seat bullets out with more case capacity, kind of got my interest with some of the molds available in 30 caliber.

My first was .30 Herrett from 30-30.
Then Mike Bellm's .300 BS from .307. I need to play with the BS more.
PJ

[rr2241tx]

My first was 8x52R from 8x56R to try out my Siamese Mauser. That was easy. Then I made 40-70 Shiloh Bottleneck out of 45-70. That was even easier. Then 40-65 Winchester (Ballard) from 45-70 military surplus line throwing cases. Still pretty easy but ended up having to buy a forming die to get better results. Then I made 40-70 Ballard from 40-70 Sharps Straight that were BA-converted from 30-40 Krag. Results were marginal, about a third of them split lengthwise on first firing. Still waiting on Jamison to run 40-70 Ballard again. Latest adventure is .22-6mm Remington from 6mm Remington.

[ballistim]

My first was 8x52R from 8x56R to try out my Siamese Mauser. That was easy. Then I made 40-70 Shiloh Bottleneck out of 45-70. That was even easier. Then 40-65 Winchester (Ballard) from 45-70 military surplus line throwing cases. Still pretty easy but ended up having to buy a forming die to get better results. Then I made 40-70 Ballard from 40-70 Sharps Straight that were BA-converted from 30-40 Krag. Results were marginal, about a third of them split lengthwise on first firing. Still waiting on Jamison to run 40-70 Ballard again. Latest adventure is .22-6mm Remington from 6mm Remington.

That's a LOT of experience!

[fast ronnie]

7x57 from 06 - 8x57 from o6 - 7tcu from 5.56 - 7x50r belm from 5.6x50 magnum
next will be 7x57 from .270 (06 cases seem to have a better use in the garand)

[Maven]

My first was .30-06 -> 8 x 57mm Mauser as the latter is often in short supply.

[MattOrgan]

Well the first was unintentional. When I was a teenager I thought I'd cut a fat hog when I bought a gorgeous pre-64 M70 Super Grade in .300 H&H cheap. Went to the range and got it zeroed and was shooting pretty good groups and was pretty happy. As I began to put the fired cases back in the boxes, something wasn't quite right. I realized that the cases looked much different than when I chambered the .300 H&H ammunition. I took the cases to an older friend who had been reloading for years. He knew what was going on immediately. The rifle had been re-chambered to .300 Weatherby. I was very disappointed and sold the rifle for a slight loss. I wanted a "pure" model 70. I really regret selling the rifle how. Since then I've done everything from .17 Javelina from .222 and .223 to .40-82 Winchester from RCBS basic .45/70 brass.

[patrick_sween]

First was 7-30 from 30-30 for my Contender, then went all out and developed a wildcat of my own which required lots of forming. The .17 Mojave Green, formed from .357 Magnum parent brass. Had to take the neck down in 8 steps to keep from crushing them.

[pertnear]

This may not count, but .30-06 to .270 Win! My first "real" conversion was .30-30 brass to 7-30 Waters.

I've been contemplating my own wildcat by taking .30-30 to 6.8mm SPC(R) where the "R" stands for rimmed. The idea is to create an ideal deer cartridge on a single shot action (hence the rim). The only problem is the large primer pocket on the .30-30 limits pressure/head expansion. Most 6.8 brass has small primer pockets, which is more desirable.

FWIW

[alrighty]

The first was making .308 Norma Mag. from .300 Win. Mag.

[WarEagleEd]

My first, and only, forming attempt so far is .300 Blackout from .223 & 5.56 brass.

[Bad Water Bill]

Just remember that the 5.56 has less internal capacity than 223 so cut the load even more when starting out and ALWAYS keep the brass separated.

[Brett Ross]

Not sure if my first counts, 9x19 to 9x18. second was 7.62x25 from .223 still not completely successful with that one. Now I do many, Vetterli from lebel, Wrendl and Beumont from 50-90 sharps and 577-450 Martini-Henry from 24 Gauge shotshell. I get a kick out of these old BP cartridge rifles.
Tony

[Swede 45]

Started with some easy ones .. 6.5x57R from 7x57R, some 9.3x57 from 8x57 and 243win from 308win.
The most recent are 401wsl from 7.62x39..that's the first one that requires fireforming.

[danthman114]

.338 winmag to .30-338 winmag...

[376Steyr]

.350 Rem Mag from 7mm Rem Mag. Turned out to be a lot more work than I thought it would. Bought a bunch of factory .350 brass soon after, but its nice knowing I can do it again if I have to.

[mac60]

9X19 para. to 9x18 mak.

[chill45100]

.308 BR into .22 CHeetah

[HABCAN]

Old tired 6mm Rem up to 7x57 back in the '60's and all sortsa stuff since.............!! .303Brit to 5-in-1 blank, and then 7TC/U, 7-30, .257R, .32 Win. Spl., 7-08 & etc.

[dragonrider]

Like a few others mentioned mine was 7-30 Waters from 30-30.

[jblee10]

My first was 30-30 to 357 Herritt. Since then I've converted every manner of TCU cartridges and the 300 Whisper. I've really used up the 223 brass.

[pworley1]

43 Beaumont from 50 90 sharps.

[Four Fingers of Death]

8mm from 3006, closely followed by 358Win from 308Win

[TXGunNut]

32Spl from 30-30 and then 35 Whelen from 30-06. Both very simple but the 32Spl's were a bit short. I'd rather use correct headstamp brass for hunting ammo but it's good to be resourceful.

[jj850]

first was .221 from 5.56. then .357 herrett from .30-30. 6mm Ackley from 7x57 mm, latest is 7mm ihmsa from .308

[jjnpg317]

30-06 to 250-3000 30-06 to 7x57

[Four Fingers of Death]

I think a couple of 44Mags into 44/40 when I loaded some cowboy 44Mag loads into my Uberti and fired them. They fed rough, but fired and extracted ok. Thank goodness I don't let any of my full strength 44loads anywhere my cowboy ammo and also mark them well.

[tangolima]

.30-06 to 7.7 Jap.

-TL

[bob208]

first was 7.65 mauser from .30-06
7.62 mauser from .223

[DTruck]

First was .40S&W to .357Sig

[barrabruce]

First would have to have been 22lr balloon r's.
Fire fromed an old well maintained winchester 1901 if I recall.
Then I progressed to the 12 guage that was ""till allright to shoot" which the cases would make a tink sound if you raised or lowered the muzzle but were had to extract.

Maybe 22 khornet
then 303-25 from 303
38-55long down to 30-30 so they fit in my lonnnnng neck chamber.

[Charley]

I don't remember. So many now, they all run together.

[1Shirt]

222 from 223, and 270 from 06.
1Shirt!

[RustyReel]

I'm kinda like Charley, been a lot over the years. My first may have been 9mm Mak from 9mm Luger, back when 9mm Mak was somewhat rare, at least in my neck of the woods.

[freebullet]

I tried to convert my thumb in to a decapped 9mm case. Thankfully the conversion failed.

[Bad Water Bill]

OUCH

That hurts even reading about it.

[Roy Acuffff]

7.65 Mauser from 30-06, then 9mm mak from 9mm and 300 AAC from 5.56

Roy

[badbob454]

44 special from 44 mag , 9mm makarov from 9mm Luger, 358 win from 308, then 8mm Mauser from 30-06.
but thousands of the makarov , i permanent mark the brass so it is easily recognizable when picking it up off the range ..

[Bad Water Bill]

A challenge for our poter folks.

Several years ago someone posted several chemicals you could safely dip your brass in and just what color you could expect.

Have at it folks.

[Rockzilla]

Noticed a few Herrett fans and one .44 Auto mag.

Herretts here also I remember the instructions.."adjust the die till it just
goes shut with a snap. .44 Auto mag from .308 brass.

-Rock

[ballistim]

Noticed a few Herrett fans and one .44 Auto mag.

Herretts here also I remember the instructions.."adjust the die till it just
goes shut with a snap. .44 Auto mag from .308 brass.

-Rock

I remember going through that "snap" fit with the Herrett, really loved shooting that in the T/C, I learned a lot just loading & shooting that cartridge.

[wallenba]

First was 30 Herrett. Then 7-30 Waters from 30-30, 6.5x55 Swedish from 270, 284 Win. to 7.5 Swiss, 30-06 to 7.7 Jap and 8mm Mauser. Also turned some 22 Remington mag into 223 Remington during shortage. And 308 to 300 Savage.
I picked up a lot of used rifles in the last decade just when reloading components were getting scarce. Started buying Redding form and trim dies when I could.

My biggest use of conversion is making 6x47MM Lapua from 6.5x47 Lapua for my 'J' word target rifle.

[dh2]

years ago I started with 25-06 from 30-06 got a good deal on bulk 30-06 brass
then on to .338-06, .300 Blackout, 9.3x62mm Mauser, 25-06AI and .280 AI what will be next.

[rexherring]

6.5 Swiss to 7.5 French, ad .223 to 7 TCU

[Smoke4320]

357 Herrett, followed by 30 herrett, then 7TCU, 300 Blackout, now 358 Winchester ,, hopefully soon 6.5 x 68 Schuler

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

257R x 6.5 made from 257 Roberts

[HGS]

Making .222 remington from .223 military brass back in the mid 60's to 70's was first with my Father, then moved on to the Thompson Contender TCU and Herret wildcats which I am still doing today 40 years later.

HGS

[GhostHawk]

.223 Blank cartridges to 7.62x25 for the CZ-52. Having some issues with it, not sure if it is the brass that is too thick or the bullet is bigger than it should be.

Still, some of them go pop, FCD made it so they at least chamber and don't hang up.

I'd call it a work in progress.

[tking308]

30-30 to 7-30 Waters

[oger]

30 Mauser from 223 only problem is the Broomhandle stripper clips won't work using 223 cases.

[tangolima]

30 Mauser from 223 only problem is the Broomhandle stripper clips won't work using 223 cases.
The broomhandle is bit difficult to load without the clip. I managed to learn it after a lot of practice.

10mm brass may work.

-TL

[Janoosh]

8mm from 30-06, and then 6.5x50 jap from 35 rem. Won't do that again, both cases now expensive for this cheepsk...frugal individual.

[scb]

30 carbine to 5.7mm Johnson. Almost 40 years ago.

[Expat74]

9X19 para. to 9x18 mak.

Me too

[Bad Water Bill]

Thank you Robert for exposing ANOTHER wealth of knowledge stored between the ears of many of our members.

Now how many folks are going to start asking questions about how someone succeeded where you failed?

[dk17hmr]

For some real time consuming projects try making 221 fireball or 20 Var Targ out of mil 556 brass.

Yes you will learn about annealing, lubing, neck trimming and cutting off a nice long piece of brass tubing.[smilie=s:

1,500 down and beating my head against the wall rather than making any more.[smilie=b:[smilie=b:[smilie=b:

Would have been nice to stop at 20 caliber.....I took it down to 17 caliber.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f208/dk17hmr/1545194_10100196413273671_1153046414_n_zpsb85f3646 .jpg (http://s48.photobucket.com/user/dk17hmr/media/1545194_10100196413273671_1153046414_n_zpsb85f3646 .jpg.html)

I have formed all sort of stuff started with 270 win into 243 Super Rock Chucker....Neck down, push shoulder back to have a crush fit, trim, turn, fire form.

[Bad Water Bill]

My OLD eyes told me to stop at 20.

It is hard enough to see or pick up and align 20s let alone see the holes at 100 yards.

A man has got to know his limits don't you know.[smilie=s:

[dk17hmr]

This may not count, but .30-06 to .270 Win! My first "real" conversion was .30-30 brass to 7-30 Waters.

I've been contemplating my own wildcat by taking .30-30 to 6.8mm SPC(R) where the "R" stands for rimmed. The idea is to create an ideal deer cartridge on a single shot action (hence the rim). The only problem is the large primer pocket on the .30-30 limits pressure/head expansion. Most 6.8 brass has small primer pockets, which is more desirable.

FWIW

I did that as well. I had a 6.8 SPC contender with the a counter bore for the rim on a 30-30. One pass in the 6.8 die and a lot of trimming but it worked great....Mike Bellm does this conversion also.....I believe he will run a 6.8 reamer deeper to use a full length 30-30 case a lot like the 7-30 waters.

http://www.bellmtcs.com/store/images/category474/6.8%20rim.JPG

[Mod42]

The very first conversion for me was the 7MM BR from about anything with the .473 rim DIA (that was before you could get any of the .308 bench rest brass). Since then I have formed for a lot of other calibers. Now I just form both the Herrett's, .221 Fireball from .223, and .222 from .223. The only one I never had any luck with was forming .22-250 from 308's. Should have been a simple conversion, just never could get it right!

[dnepr]

My first was 250 savage from 22-250

[roverboy]

The first was by simply lubing and running .270 Win. brass to make .30-06. Later I made 8mm Mauser from .30-06.

[TheDoctor]

First was easy, necking down .308 to form 7mm-08. Learned about the importance of good lube and a tapered expander when trying to neck up .243 to 7mm. Split quite a few till I changed lubes and expanders. Had I have known about annealing at the time, it would have also been helpful. Live and learn...

[FrankG]

First was in mid 70's , 25-06 from 270 which was a piece of cake .

[C. Latch]

Fi Had I have known about annealing at the time, it would have also been helpful. Live and learn...

I'd never heard of annealing before the internet, except that it was something benchrest shooters talked about in magazine articles.

I think we often forget how awesome the internet is. We have access to knowledge at our fingertips that the typical shooter could NOT have acquired in a lifetime a generation ago.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Made 405 brass out of 30-40 Krag cases when 405 was not available. Annealed the krags and used 10 grains of red dot and stuffed the cases with all the tissue paper I could cram on top of the powder. Made quite a mess, but worked with not too many splits. Problem was that the finished case although it looked like a 405, was 1/4 inch too short. They worked fine in my 95 until I cold get new 405 cases from Hornady. LLS

[Harter66]

I was a party to making 22-250 from 308 in about 1975. The last major undertaking was 303 to 410.

[rbt50]

3030 to 30 herrett and 357 herrett

[justingrosche]

My first one was trying to convert 30-30 to 22 H P.
I'm with Bill, 22HP from 30-30. I made quite few ugly one until I got it figured out. I case form and fire form so many now, I have to go thru my range brass with a caliper to see what it is. I can't trust a head stamp anymore.

[Thin Man]

The first was 30/06 became 35 Whelen. The last was 357 Sig became 8mm Nambu.

Thin Man

[WardT]

338 Win Mag to 30 Alaskan Magnum

[Rich/WIS]

303 British to 30/40 Krag, shorter but work fine.

[Okie73]

30-06 to 7.65 Argentine

[Hexbasher]

First was 300blackout from 223
now I'm doing 410ga from 303brit

[Motor]

First was GI 30-06 to .280 Remington.

[Good Cheer]

Making 9.5x52 from B.E.L.L. "A-Base" Mauser brass and .38 Long Cox (.375x45-70) from 45-70's.

[gwpercle]

284 Winchester to 7.5 Swiss for a 1911 Schmidt-Ruben Carbine. Every bit of factory ammo was loaded with them stinking berdan primers. This was about 1969.
Cartridges of the World clued me in on how easy it was to convert 284 Winchester brass. Good book to have.
Gary

[DLCTEX]

1968, 30-30 to 219 Zipper for use in a Win 64. Learned a lot about hydraulic dents and neck reaming. Have done 243 to 22-250, 223 to 222, 308 to 243, 30-06 to 25-06, and 223 to 221 fireball. Most of the latter just to prove to myself I could if I had to..
I forgot, I formed some 257 Wby. from 7mm mag so I could shoot a new gun until my brass order came in. I refused to pay the price for factory ammo. Necks were a tad short but worked fine.
Also, last year I did 150 of 243/22. Easy one, just run the cases through the proper die. I turned the necks on the first 50, then the gunsmith told me it wasn't necessary, he was correct.

[Bad Water Bill]

Now lets change it from bragging rites (Me to) to I did it and here was my problem and just what I did to do it.

With OVER 130 posts there must be a few moves,products you can share.

[DLCTEX]

BW Billl, Imperial sizing wax, allowed to dry, helps to prevent hydraulic dents. When reducing thickness of case necks take small cuts at a time. Lee's case trim pilots and cutter and a cordless drill makes quick work of shortening long case necks. Buckshot (fellow member) makes pilots for calibers Lee does not, 257 Wby. for instance. Anneal case necks with hand held propane torch and chuck a socket adapter in a cordless drill with a socket that holds the case loosely. Heat only enough to produce a darkened neck then dump case in water to stop heat from continuing down the case. It is not necessary, even detrimental, to turn the neck red hot. I do it in a darkened room and dump the case at a hint of glow.

[Bad Water Bill]

That is exactly what I was hoping for.

Lets keep it up.

When your Imperial LOOKS low heat the bottom of the can with a BIC lighter.

You will be amazed at how much is still clinging to the sides and bottom.

When it is really low allow it to cool at an angle.

[georgerkahn]

.30 Remington to .32 Remington. Also -- both ways -- .38WCF & .44WCF
georgerkahn

[Doggonekid]

6mm br to 22 br. Time consuming to me I had never done it before. Got 400 done that should last me for a while. Must of done it right because my xp100 can nail ground griz over 500 yards. (Not every time of corse but I am happy with my results.) Anything out to about 350 most of the time is right on.

[WouterNL]

.348Win -> "8x60R" to fit my Steyr M1886 Kropatschek

[shdwlkr]

bwb
I first did 270 from 06
then I went to 256 win mag from 357 mag
I use the same sizing lube I use when I size to reload, nope don't know what one as I like to try so many different things that I am not sure which I like best but I have used hornady sizing lube, Mobil 1 motor oil, Rcbs lube, wire pulling lube, and many others all worked to some degree of success.

[tangolima]

Anybody tried fire forming 38 spl into 41 long colt? That's what I am going to do next.

BTW, any recommendation on 41 long colt reloading die? The cheapest one is $70 made by redding. Thanks.

-TL

[Bad Water Bill]

When I acquire a new set of dies I take a bore mop and apply some Flitz to the mop and run it thru the die for a few seconds.

It polishes the sharp edges left after machining and, at least for me, seems to make it much easier to run brass thru.

[Coffeecup]

Earliest I can recall was the ".225 Kraut." A friend had a guild rifle he'd picked up cheap, but no idea what it was chambered for. I spent a summer playing with it trying to load ammo. Started with a sulfer cast of the chamber, compared it to available brass, and figured I could make it from '06. Maybe.

Resized fired military cases, then necked down in .270 Win, 25-06, then 22-250,dies, using ivory dish soap as the case lube. Squared up the case mouth. Fire-formed with a charge of bullseye and a 55 grain HP loaded backwards to engage the rifling and keep the case against the bolt face. Neck-sized the brass, loaded with a guessed-at starter charge, and found the bullets wouldn't hit the side of a barn. Finally got it to shoot well with a .225 bullet made in a set of RCBS dies, and charges for a 22-'06 wildcat from Sharpe's book. Looking back, I suspect it was a 5.6x61 Vom Hofe.

After that, it was 8mm Kurz for a rifle we put together to play with. It was a quick cut-form-ream job from 7.62 cartridges.

[country gent]

Polish expander balls with very fine sand paper or a cratex stick then fine cotton cloth and flitz or simichrome polish the high polish reduces force and drag. Use BBs ( plastic or copper coated steel) in your neck luber under brush keeps motor mica, graphite or molybneum from clumping on outside of neck.

[Mr Peabody]

The first was 33 Winchester from 45-70 cases. The men at Huntington's were the best of help.

[rking22]

First was 308 to 243 in 1974, then 357 to 256Win for a contender. Then more Contender stuff, 30 and 357 Herrets, 38 Special to 30cal. Now a short version of 35 Whelen. 243 is the only one I don't still have !

[lightman]

I don't remember the first. It may have been 308 from 308 blanks. I converted a few berdan primed cases to boxer, just playing around. I also played with making 308 from lots of other stuff. The only thing I have done lately is 357 Herrett from 30-30. Its kinda fun!

[chief3]

My first one was 8X57 fire formed into 9.5 X 57 about 40 years ago That started many years of fun and too many conversions to list.

[jr612]

Does cutting down the 460 Rowland to 45acp count?

[Bad Water Bill]

Only if you succeeded with your project.[smilie=s:

[Lead Fred]

Odd six to 8mm x 57, then to 8mm-06 Gibbs.
Same two CZ-24s

[gmsharps]

30-06 to 9X56MS

gmsharps

[ulav8r]

44 Special trimmed to 11mm German revolver with self made file die, about 1972. Used load recommended by PO Ackley. Still have the letter he sent me. Next was 30-06 to 25-06 for my dad.

Used a Lyman 310, think I shortened the sizing die and maybe the crimp die. They are in a pile of boxes in the garage, would take a day or two to dig them out to check.

[Bad Water Bill]

Used load recommended by PO Ackley. Still have the letter he sent me.

That is one letter you MUST post so that the rest of us OLD timers can enjoy seeing some of his wisdom again.

[Preacher Jim]

22-30-30 for a old martini I acquired in 1958.
22 varminter in 1959 followed by 25 nieder. Man am I getting old.
Remember when we made our own jacketed hollow point pistol bullets.

[RedneckRob]

My first was 8mm Label to .41 Swiss. Then it was 50-90 for my Beaumont. Next will be for a Japanese type 18 Murata.

[phaessler]

.270, 06' to 8x57, trim and push the shoulders back then fireform, but since I acquired a Redding Form/Trim die its almost 2 easy.

.30-06 to .22-250 --> .22-250AI 40deg, after fireforming the .22-250's in my Ackley they were always 0.020" too short for the chamber cast, came acroos a set of RCBS form dies to make .22-250 from 30-06/.308, its quite a few step and after making over 500pcs, I am probably set for a while. Dies were an Ebay find a few years ago, and was surprised to see what they cost.
130351
5 steps, reaming, trimming, neck turning, and sizing, then fireforming, resizing, and neck turning sometimes again.

Pete

[xman777]

Since I'm a young buck, my first conversion was 223 to 300 Blackout. I have tried many others since then because I enjoyed the process so much.

[ratboy]

357 to 256 win mag. took a lot of reading and about a dozen cases before i got the hang of it.
2nd was 22 jet
now i look for contender barrels in odd calibers for an excuse to make cases

[Harry O]

Like the first post on this thread, I tried to convert 30-30 cases to .22 Savage Hi-Power cases, none to successfully. I was 16 or 17 at the time. I had nothing special other than a full length .22 Savage die. Lots of crumpled cases, but I got enough to shoot the gun a while.

Later, I got involved with the 41 Long Colt. This was before Starline and good cases were very expensive. I tried 30-30 cases and 7.62x39 cases, but finally made up some dies to convert a .38 Special case. It worked, was easy, and I never had a failure, but several people cautioned me that I was going to lose my hand someday.

After that, there was 9.5x57 Mannlicher-Schoenauer cases. I tried 8x57 Mauser cases, 30-06 cases, and finally found .35 Whelen cases. That last one worked perfectly.

I bought a wildcat benchrest Ruger #3 from a widow. It had a custom 26" long heavy barrel and was chambered in a reformed 30-40 Krag case. It was necked down to 7mm then blown out in an Ackley-Improved style. The internal capacity of the case is just about identical to a .280 Remington.

Right now, I am forming .32 Long Colt cases from .32 S&W Long cases. This consists of taking 0.335" diameter cases and squeezing them down to 0.315". Not hard, but it does take some time.

[Mk42gunner]

My first case conversion was making 7.65x53 Argentine Mauser from once fired .30-06 cases. A set of Lyman full length dies, a compact tubing cutter and a Lee 7.65mm trimmer and I was set (I thought). I didn't know enough to check for thick necks, or how to trim them if necessary.

First rifle I personally built for a wildcat was a 98 Mauser in 6mmx300WSM. Starting out with 270 WSM brass is much easier. A cobbled set of dies that started out as 243 Win allowed loading and neck sizing the first loads. After I found a set of Redding dies for the 243 WSSM loading became a piece of cake.

Orphan loading dies from gunshows that can be modified cheaply are a definite asset to this endeavor.

Robert

[Geezer in NH]

Thirty Herret, total pain sold the barrel as soon as a 30/30 barrel was available

[Texas Tinker]

7mm TCU from .223

A big step for me at the time (I think I was about 19 y.o.) I went VERY carefully with each step, had excellent results.

[Texas Tinker]

7mm TCU from .223

A big step for me at the time (I think I was about 19 y.o.) I went VERY carefully with each step, had excellent results.

[ballistim]

Thirty Herret, total pain sold the barrel as soon as a 30/30 barrel was available

Cast Boolits are all I shoot nowadays & have considered having mine chambered to leave the entire 30-30 neck as suggested by Mike Bellm for two reasons, one is to allow cast boolits to be seated out further with more of the boolit held by the case neck and more powder capacity, and the other would be eliminating cutting the neck thereby eliminating one step of the process. My 30 Herrett is my second favorite T/C bbl next to my Bellm chambered .357 Maximum and both are very accurate. Years ago at the Rio Salado Sportsman club in AZ getting ready for deer season I was sighting the Herrett next to a few older gentleman each one sighting in a .243 Winchester, and they asked me to help them using my spotting scope. Pulling targets at 100yds. they admired their minute-of-grapefruit groups when one remembered me shooting the T/C and looked at my 1.25" group. He looked at his friend and then back to me and said, "Wow-reach out and touch something!", it was kind of cool after working out my loads and I really felt confident in both the gun and the load.

Tim

[greywuuf]

not the first but the most interesting was 7.62 Nato to .45 acp. Takes a good deal of inside reaming but Man what a load you can develop in them ( kinda tough on the old 1911 but works a treat in the converted Turk mauser I built)

[sawzall]

8mm French Ordnance from 32-20 and then 45 Raptor from 30-06.

[Lee S. Forsberg]

A very long time ago 223 to 17x223.

[gbehrman]

22 Niedner Magnum from 30-30. Later learned to use 25-35, much easier

[Steve77]

The only conversion for me would be 5.56/.223 into 300 blk. Unless you count the occasional 30/06 to .270 or vis a versa.

[Old Coot]

270 Weatherby from 300 H&H brass.

[WRideout]

My first case conversion was making 7.65x53 Argentine Mauser from once fired .30-06 cases. A set of Lyman full length dies, a compact tubing cutter and a Lee 7.65mm trimmer and I was set (I thought). I didn't know enough to check for thick necks, or how to trim them if necessary.

Robert

When I was a youngster hanging out at the gunshop, the owner let me do the same conversion for an Argy Mauser I bought from him. I used the same load of IMR 3031 that was safe in the Norma 7.65 brass, but quickly saw high pressure signs. At the time I thought it was just the thickness of the case reducing inside volume, but now I think I had thicker necks than factory dimensions, which held the bullets really tight.

Wayne

[aap2]

.310 cadet from 25-20. I did not have dies for .310 Cadet so I thinned the rim thickness in a drill press on the 25-20 cases until the breechblock would close, fireform with Unique and cornmeal then trim to length. Used a Lyman mould designed for some boolit that was a thumb-press fit in the case. Worked well.

[TheCelt]

isn't difficult to do but I convert .308 Win to .338-08 (.338 Federal) cause I can't find .338 Fed brass commercially.

[Bob Busetti]

38/56 from 45/70, 22R2 Lovell from 25/20 ss, 219 Zipper from 30/30, 25/35.

[Swede44mag]

My first was from 38 special to .380 I wanted to shoot a .380 charge in my Haws western .357 single action.
I did this as an experiment to shoot rabbits with. I was about 18 at the time.
Since I have made 22-250 from 30-06/308 brass and 243 from 30-06/308 brass using a RCBS form die set with a reamer included for the neck thickness.
What I didn't know at the time was they needed to be annealed so I had neck/shoulder splits and case separation.
I still have the RCBS reform dies may try again some day.

[kutil]

223/30 carb. blanc

[muzzleblastm38]

30-06 to 8mm. 30-06 to 270 30-06 to 6.5x55 Swede 357 mag to 30 carb(with somme la th work)

[CA Dude]

Surplus 30-06 brass to 257 Roberts Ackley Improved. Now the list is long and distinguished.

[rbuck351]

38spl to 7.62x25. This was before you could get boxer brass or cheap mil surp.

[skeet1]

.243 Win. from .308 Win.

Ken

[scarry scarney]

.308 to 44 automag.

[RugerFan]

8mm Lebel to .41 Swiss.

[freebullet]

The first brass I ever converted was 357 mag into garbage. It was not awesome.

[Bad Water Bill]

CONGRATULATIONS

You are the first to tell the truth about your first attempt.

[Windwalker 45acp]

not the first but the most interesting was 7.62 Nato to .45 acp. Takes a good deal of inside reaming but Man what a load you can develop in them ( kinda tough on the old 1911 but works a treat in the converted Turk mauser I built)

That was my first as well, except I used a split neck 7.62 Nato and turned it into a 45acp snake charmer load for those pesky rattlers. Patterns are still hit and miss (pun intended).

[chill45100]

.308 BR to 22 CHeetah. It was both a very steep learning curve with no one in the vicinity to help and a frustrating one with the very high case failure rate during forming. Recently pulled the combination out of the safe and have had no more shoulders crumpled. It's amazing what another 30 years of reloading will add to the mix.
Chill45100

[Tracy]

.270 Winchester to 7x57 and 8x57. Then .270 to .35 Whelen. I had a .30/06 but not a .270, and I used range pickups.
I was doing that years ago. Most recently I made some .32/20 from 5.56.

[rbuck351]

32/20 from 5.56 I haven't done but it sure has me to thinking some thick wall/neck 25/20s might be kinda neat.

[43PU]

My first was 30-06 military to 7.7 Jap I made about 300 size,trim,deburr,aneal on Thursday and on Saturday I went to the flea market here and found a guy selling Norma 7.7 Jap for $5 a hundred.... so needless to say I bought all 700 rounds, but the hardest I've done is 32-20 to 25-20. And the strangest I've done is 32-20 to 7.62x38R for the Nagant revolver

[BaconStrips]

My first was 270 to 30-06. It was unintentional. The gun and I both survived. 30 Herrett and 300 BLK are the only others I have done intentionally.

[Renofish]

22-250 from 308, 30-06, 270 and 25-06 cases.

[3leggedturtle]

35/444 for a T/C Carbine

[Elkins45]

30-06 --->8X57

I'm getting ready to try my hand at turning 308 into 35 Remington.

[tew45]

My first was the .38-.45 ACP the next was .219 Z from 30-30 cases

[samwithacolt]

k hornet then .32win from .30-30, then .38-55 from .30-30. Now 9.3x62 from 30-06.

[perotter]

30/06 to 7.65x53.

[Remiel]

so far .30-06 to 8x57 mauser,

[Bagdadjoe]

357 Herret, 30 Herret both from 30-30, 222 from 223, 7 TCU from .223 and 8mm Mauser from 30-06 in that order.

[Gert Odendaal]

This was my first successful attempt, I use this brass to shoot big bore competitions. I am still doing research on this brass to see how many times I will be able to re-load and shoot the brass. Scroll down to the page and see the description of the process...I will upload the research part if someone is interested.

http://www.gunsite.co.za/forums/showthread.php?24182-375H-amp-H-Restoration-and-rebuilding-project/page37

http://www.jaracal.com/viewtopic.php?f=138&t=21923

My next attempt will be to fire form .375 Ruger to 8x68S brass.

I will then use 375 Ruger to fire form to 10.75 x68 as well

Gert

[tnpaw]

30-06 to 25-06, way back in early 70's! I know, I know, I'm just a kid compared to some of you Pilgrams!

[bruce drake]

First one ever was 8x57 from 30-06 and then 6.5 Jap from 220 Swift/35 Remington cases. Since then, 9mm Largo from 38 Supers (semi-rim needs to be turned down) as well as 300 BLK, 30 Apache and 7.62x25 Tok from 223 Rem cases. Also 6.5 Grendel from 7.62x39 cases. Currently cutting 30-06 down to 7.7x58 Arisaka as well as 7x57 brass.

The hardest conversion for me was the 6.5 Jap and 30 Apache conversions due to the resizing via several steps.

Bruce

[hotbrew]

Back in the 80's I turned 30-06 to 25-06 without much issue. I then moved to creating 219 Donaldson Wasp out of Zipper or 30-30 brass.

hotbrew

[eljefeoz]

30-06 to 9.3- latest-awaiting fireforming with 19gr Blue dot and 270 gr CBE GC projjie
7.92x57
and 7x57
Single pass after annealing, use some good lube like Lanolin, then cut and trim to length, fireform, and BINGO.

[Geraldo]

I picked an easy one to start with: .44 Mag to .357 Bain-Davis.

[Alberta woodsman]

My first was 41 swiss from 348 win brass. Did this for my converted swiss vetterli.

[mazo kid]

I believe my first was 50-70 from 348 Win. brass. Then 40-50 SBN from 45-70, also 40-65 and 38-56. On to 41 Swiss from 348, 25 Rem from 30-30, and 43 Mauser from 30 Rem Mag. And others....

[xvigauge]

My first was .30-06 to 7x57. Now I regularly convert .30-06 to 8x57, .257 Roberts, 6.5x55, 7.65x53 Argentine, .25-06, and 9.3x57. I also convert .308 to .300 Savage.
xvigauge

[JFrench]

My first was 8mm Nambu from 30 Remington using RCBS forming dies.
Latter lathe turned rims from 30-30 to 30 Remington specs. At the same time I bought formed cases from George Spence,
Steele, Missouri. George made his from military 38special. They shot great but expanded like a fat mouse. They were reloadable.
Eugene

[6.5x55]

Began loading and forming brass from different cartridges when I was 19, late 70s.

.308 to .358

.308 to 7mm-08

few thousand .223 to 7mm TCU

.30-30 to 7x30 Waters

7 x 57 to 6.5 x55

more recently

.270 to .25-06

.223 to 6x45

.223 to .222

current project .32-20 to .218 bee

looking for a .25-20 sizing die to assitt with this.

6.5

[Frank46]

7.65x53 Argentine mauser from some Israeli boxer primed brass I got at a gun show. Still have some of the Israeli stuff around here somewhere. But Lately have bought some of the PPU argy brass. Frank

[oger]

30 Mauser from 223 back when you couldn't get boxer primed cases.

[labradigger1]

After reading 11 pages of this thread I realize two things.
First, we are a enterprising group of people here,
Second, without the 06' brass we would be in trouble.

[Pressman]

44 mag to 357-44 Bain and Davis. More recently 45 Colt to 41 Whitetail.

Ken

[shangai]

30-06 to 8mm Mauser.

Does someone know, is it possible to get a 7x64(7mm brenneke) from 270w? Thanks!

[cowboybart]

The first was either 30-30 to 30 Herret or 223 to 6.5 TCU.
The most difficult was 475 Wildey from 284 Win
So far 30 Newton from 375 Ruger (once fired) is giving me problems. I just got some 375 Ruger basic brass and I will see how that works. The 8x68 to 30 Newton works great - except for the price of the brass.
Another surprise was 6mm up to 6.5 Roberts. Easy to make but the headspace spec was longer and brass life was short. 8x57 brass has a longer headspace spec and I necked the 8x57 down for the 6.5 Roberts, allowing for a crush fit on the shoulder - it worked.

[Ed Barrett]

.43 Spanish from .348 Win. I Bought a rolling block back in 1965 for $10 and wanted to shoot it. Broke two sets of FL size dies making cases for me and some friends. After I sent the second die back to RCBS they asked what I was doing, I told them and they said they wouldn't replace any more dies. By them I had made several hundred cases made.

[taco650]

270 to 30-06 (found the 270 brass at the range & don't have a 270).

30-06 to 7.7 Japanese (bought the Type 99 for $10 and wanted to shoot it. Way cheaper than new Norma brass!).

44 mag to 44 special (well used mag brass cracked at the mouth and a friend needed some Specials).

[Leadmelter]

308,3006 to 44AMP
A long time ago
Leadmelter

[texaswoodworker]

32-20 WCF to 7.62 Nagant

[CATTLEMAN]

My first conversion was 223 to 7TCU, it is hard to believe but that was almost 30 years ago... I am clearly going to run out of time before I run out of projects.

[zuke]

24 gauge to 577-450

[azrednek]

Back in the early 70's the only way to accumulate brass was buying factory ammo or paying nearly the cost of a box of Remington, Winchester or Federal ammo for empty Norma cases. Friend and I lucked into a smoking good deal on a couple thousand Canadian 30/06 blanks. We made 7 & 8MM Mauser, 7.65 Argie and 7.7 Jap from those blanks. We also sold fire-formed 7.7 brass at gun shows. I sprang a pre-Hornady Pacific brand 0-7 press out of alignment re-forming the brass. I also discovered STP was the best lube for re-forming brass.

[Ken in Iowa]

Oh boy, I can't recall the first....

223 LC to 222
7x57 to a 6.5x57 improved.
7x57 to a 6mm improved.

[countryroads]

.30-06 to 35 Whelen.............

[curt48mauser]

1911Cherry writes: 30.06 to 8mm Mauser I broke the linkage on an old press after 20 rounds.....

I did the same thing with my first Lee press doing 30-06 to 8mm, was working fine until the whole frame cracked. Lee gave me some credit and I got a pretty good upgrade from them.

[Tenbender]

My first. 219 Zipper Ackley Improved from a 30 30. Equal to a 225 Winchester with a bigger rim.

[Bzcraig]

Just did my first....223 to 300Blk

[Bad Water Bill]

Now the fun begins.

5.56 military brass to 221 Fire Ball then to a 20 Var Targ.

Trim off about 1/2" of extra neck then thin the neck to about .013 neck thickness and figure out a SAFE starting load as the books only list for commercial brass.

I just got my modified case from Hornady today so HI HO its off to work we go to get 1K ready IF i get a chance to go P Dog shooting.

No this is not my first but certainly the most challenging.

[Marine Sgt 2111]

.222 rem to .17 Fireball (when you couldn't find brass)
.223 to .17 Fireball (when you couldn't find brass)
.22 hornet to .17 ackley imp. hornet
.30-30 to .38-55 (when you couldn't find brass)
.30-30 to .32-40 (when you couldn't find brass)
.30-06 to 35 whelen (when I didn't want to buy brass)
.45-70 to .40-70 BN Sharps
.308 to .308 x 1.5
.308 to .358 win
30-06 to 6.5-06

[dale2242]

222 Remington to 17-222 in 1968.
I had P O Ackley rebarrel my Rem 722 Action.
Simply run it through the FL die and neck turn....dale

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

In order:

308 Win to 45 ACP Shotshell

223 Rem to 300 AAC BO

223 Rem to 17-223

405 Win to 350 GNR

I also cut some 460 SW brass down to 454 length, but not sure it that counts (testing difference between large and small primers).

[Cariboo]

I had limited funds so when the 357 mag and 44 mag cracked at the neck I made 38 spl & 44 spl so I could use the brass another 15-20 times.
It seemed like powder, primers & gas to drive to the gravel pit was the prime reason for limited funds.
Kind of brings back fond memories. I would load my buddy’s revolver and he would load mine. You never knew when the hammer was going to fall on a full mag load, a very light target load or anything in-between.

[1Iron]

223 to 6.5MM TCU
223 to 7MM TCU
30-30 to 30 Herrett

[303carbine]

30-06 to 8x57

[Spector]

.348 WIN to 10.4x38 Vetterli......mike

[snowtigger]

My first was 338 Winmag to 308 Norma. Have since gone to 7mm Mag to 308N. Easier, one pass through the die, and trim for length. Latest 270 Win to 280 Rem. Easy Peasy..

[ol skool]

375 Ruger to 338RCM required neck turning. Great intro to "wildcat" or "orphaned" brass.
300 RCM to 338RCM easy.

[frogleg]

45/70 to 40/65 And 30/06 to 8mm/57

[coyotewacker]

7mm BR from 308

[walkingjay]

7.5 x 55 from 284 winchester.

[kdbarker]

Surplus 7.62 NATO to .260 Rem... then to .22-250

144171

144172

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

Fl 30-40 Krag to 25 Krag Improved. Neck down in FL sizing die, and then fire form.

[NavyVet1959]

I think my first was probably converting a damaged .308 to .45 ACP for use in a .45 SUPER +P+. The only one after that was converting .223 to .300 AAC and I've probably done a couple hundred of them.

[Budzilla 19]

First conversion was 284 Win.to 6mm-284. Not my last one, but certainly one of the best ones! Just my .02 cents.

[Mytmousemalibu]

30-06 to 7.65x53 Argentine and 5.56 (mostly LC & FC military brass) into 7.62x25 Tokarev. Both around the same time and both using modified Lee dies. A tubing cutter makes short work of a large trim jobs and annealing and good case lube are your friends. I like pure lanolin and Imperial sizing wax for those jobs. Both of the above conversions require case neck turning too. Both of which I use a standard style hole reamer to inside ream the cases, no sharp step in the neck that way. I have made a "collet" to hold standard 1/4" shank reamers in my Redding 1400 case trimmer for this job. The Tok brass likes a form-ream-form-ream again to get the brass right. I also enjoy converting berdan to boxer. Even as far as trying 7.62x54R steel to LR boxer which requires swaging in a primer bushing ring from copper tubing.

I like all this stuff! In fact it has created a shopping list for guns I'll have to make brass for! Wanting a Martini Henry, Swiss Vetterli, Beaumont, 43 Spanish, etc, etc. Its too fun! And something to be said for bringing an obsolete gun back to one you can enjoy!

[gwpercle]

284 Winchester to 7.5 Swiss
1967 had a 1911 Carbine and the only ammo to be found was expensive . Didn't know squat about reloading, but had CH dies and a press, and all my empty cases, so decided to roll my own.

After bending a pin on the first one , and getting nowhere , the gun shop owner taught me all about Berdan and Boxer primers . All the ammo available , and all my empties were Berdan primed...no boxer cases to be had. So he sold me once fired 284 Winchester cases, and explained the process of reforming them ...TA DAH ! I did my first.

Gary