458X2 American Brass

[condorjohn]

About a year ago I bought a custom built 98 Mauser chambered for 458X2. I was awere that I would have to trim any of the belted magnum brass dowm to 2".
Well, now I find I don't have the tools or time for this project, but would love to get this thing up and running.
Is there anyone out there that would be willing to trim about 150 cases to 2" for me? Of course I would be willing to pay for this service. I have thought of having it re-chambered to 450 Marlin so I could just buy brass...

Any help would be great... Condor John

[Scrounger]

Another route might be to rechamber it to .458 Winchester and just load it down to whatever level you want. I wonder what would happen if you fireformed .350 Remington Magnum brass in your chamber...

[scb]

Be sure to cast your chamber. Most often simply cutting a magnum cases 2 inches long is not all that's required. Depending on who made the chambering reamer it is usually necessary to also ream the case as well. If the brass at the neck is too thick you'll really increase your chamber pressure. I form all of mine by fire forming them out of 350 rem. mag brass. I've never had to ream any made this way. 10 gr Unique, fill with corn meal, press a paraffin plug into the mouth of the case to hold it all together. Then just shoot it.

[Scrounger]

Be sure to cast your chamber. Most often simply cutting a magnum cases 2 inches long is not all that's required. Depending on who made the chambering reamer it is usually necessary to also ream the case as well. If the brass at the neck is too thick you'll really increase your chamber pressure. I form all of mine by fire forming them out of 350 rem. mag brass. I've never had to ream any made this way. 10 gr Unique, fill with corn meal, press a paraffin plug into the mouth of the case to hold it all together. Then just shoot it.

I would add, 'be sure to point it in a safe direction', but I'm sure you would anyway. Cornmeal at ten yards can sting pretty good.

[PineTreeGreen]

I had one on a Chilian Mauser. There is an assortment of cases that you can use,but when a friend bought a .350Rem Mag and didn't reload,I found the best way to make .458X2" was the .350 Rem.Mag case. Follow scb and Scroungers advise. :mrgreen:

[condorjohn]

Thanks for the info. The book shows 350 Rem Mag brass is 2.17 long, won't I still have to trim that extra .17? As you can tell I'm kind of green when it comes to this stuff.

Thanks again... Condor John

[badgeredd]

Thanks for the info. The book shows 350 Rem Mag brass is 2.17 long, won't I still have to trim that extra .17? As you can tell I'm kind of green when it comes to this stuff.

Thanks again... Condor John

You may find there will be very little to trim off of the fireformed cases. Since I recently started working with the 35x30-30, I can tell you that the case actuall got shorter than the parent 30-30 case. I'd try a few like the guys said and see what the results are. Surely you'd have time to do 20 or so cases at a sitting if they do need trimmed some.
Edd

[scb]

Yes you do still have to trim fireformed 350 rem. mag. cases. But its so little that you can do it with an ordinary case trimmer, and more importantly you shouldn't have to ream them. It has been my experience that you will have to finish expanding the cases after fireforming. The mouth of the cases remained slightly belled inward. With my dies (RCBS) the expander plug is small enough to enter the case mouth without a problem, one should check to make sure that this is the case before running shells over the expander.

[condorjohn]

Thanks A Lot, Fellas... Condor John

[johnly]

I realize I'm coming in late, but have you considered running a 450 Marlin reamer into the chamber. The Marlin uses a thicker belt dimension, but once fired factory brass is pretty easy to come by.

John

[94Doug]

Having trimmed quite a few 30-30's down to .357 Herretts over the years, I can tell you that I found out a 1/2" cordless drill does fit the shaft of my RCBS Trimmer when you take the knob and handle off. I added a little oil when cutting and left the cases a little long initially. Then chamfered the brass, and hand trimmed the final cut.

Doug