Need advice on forming 6.5 x 55 cases from .30-06

[strangwn]

I have never done any case forming, but would like to know if it is possible/feasible to make 6.5 x 55 from .30-06 military/commercial cases. I know the dimensions of the case heads do not match exactly. The 6.5 x 55 would only be used to shoot low pressure cboolits in my Swedish Mauser. If it is feasible, I need step-by-step guidance. I don't have a 6.5 x 55 sizing die, but do have a Hornady 6.5 universal neck sizer and I think I have a 6.5 x 54? MS sizer. Would like to get by without having to buy more dies. Please help.

[Maven]

It CAN be done, but there's no reason to do so unless you have a huge quantity of '06, or .270 brass and have a lot of time on your hands. You will need a FL 6.5 x 55mm die set (a clean, used set is fine: RCBS is the one on the strength of their lifetime warranty), a 6.5 x 55mm trim & forming die (Redding), a case trimmer, a means of annealing the brass (I do so prior to forming) and perhaps an inside neck reamer + neck turner: I use a Forster trimmer for both operations.
Here's what I do:
1) Anneal the brass you want to reform. Let it air cool or place it on a damp towel, sponge, etc.

2) Insert the trim & form die as per its instructions into your press. Take a .30-06, etc. case and lube it halfway, i.e., from web to half of its length, but avoid getting it on the shoulder or neck. Trim the formed case with a hack saw or razor saw. Inspect the neck for folds, dimples or other flaws. If you find any disgard the case and start with a new one.

Variation on #2: Here you use the 6.5 x 55mm FL die to form the case by inserting a lubed case and gradually turning the die down after you raise the ram. Repeat this until the FL die makes firm contact with the shell holder. You'll still need to trim the case to length with a saw and case trimmer and you may get more creased (ruined) case necks this way.

3) Trim the excess brass with a burring tool, but don't be too scrupulous about it. Next, re-lube the case and run it into a FL 6.5 sizing die adjusted so that it touches the shellholder.

4) Inside neck ream the case and FL size it a second time. Use the burring tool to remove the brass wire and chamfer the case mouth.

5) Optional: Turn the neck so that it is concentric, which means removing a minimum amount of brass.

6) Expand the neck via a Lee Universal Expander, Lyman M-Die or needle nose pliers, seat a cast bullet and try chambering the newly formed dummy round in your rifle.

Btw, I do this on occasion and it works very well* with the '06 family of cartridges, but why do this when 6.5 x 55mm brass can be had relatively inexpensively?


*Accuracy is the same and the cases chamber perfectly, but their life expectancy isn't the same as that of 6.5 x 55mm brass.

[Buckshot]

..............I'd only do this if 6.5x55 wasn't available. When 8x 57 was hard to get I altered many 30-06 cases and it was a simple thing to do. But with 8x57 available, why?

Also, the differance in the standard Mauser .473" base and the Swedes' .478" has never presented a problem for me (and apparently a couple thousand other shooters). Before someone steps up and mentions "Ultimate Accuracy" all my Swedes appear as they did when they were born, and accuracy is all anyone could ask for. This is both cast and 'book load' jacketed loads.

...............Buckshot

[Bret4207]

It's a lot of work. Whats your time worth?

[largom]

By the time you buy the forming dies and other items it would be cheaper to buy factory brass and be done with it.
Larry

[atr]

resizing can be done but it is a total pain in the butt....you have to have a very strong press and you will have to anneal the cases especially at the neck/shoulder not to mention all the case trimming.....Ive never found resizing to be worthwhile...try buying brass from NORMA instead...your time will be better spent

[atr]

and here is another reason NOT to...if you dont anneal the cases correctly then they wont expand under pressure in the chamber...and they must expand to seal the gasses....

Also,,if you must,,,be especially careful of resizing GI brass because that brass is usually made of a harder composition and from my experience it is more difficult to get annealed properly...

(NOTE...midsouth supply has the brass you need for sale !!)

[NoDakJak]

I made many of them years ago when the only cases available were the very expensive Norma cases but now that they are available and cheap it certainly is not worth the effort. Unless you use something like 7x57 brass you will have to ream the necks and anneal the brass. Spend your money on new brass and with what you save you can buy some molds. Been there. Done that! Neil

[9.3X62AL]

I'll pile on here, and say that unless cases are positively unavailable, case forming is a lot of freakin' work that eats up a whole lotta hobby enjoyment time. Been there/done that too, with 30 Mauser/7.62 x 25 Tokarev, and you haven't LIVED until you've reformed 500 9mm Win Mag cases and then file-trimmed the critters (yes, 500 of them), and given every one a chamfer by hand. Both the file-trim die and its owner/operator were unimpressed by all those file strokes, I assure you. I don't know what that file-trim die top surface is made out of, but it's harder than woodpecker lips for sure.

6.5 x 55 brass is too available and FAR too affordable to make it worth most folks' time to consider the reformation option--in my view, anyway. Free advice, and possibly worth it too. :)

[NoDakJak]

Hey, 9.3x62 Before 9mm Largo cases were available I made a couple hundred of them from 223 brass. NEVER AGAIN!! Talk about an exercise in futility when the Verdamnt gun spread them all over the country. I invested more in time and money than I had invested in the gun. Neil

[scrapcan]

once nice thing about forming your own brass is that you can make the case length match the actual chamber neck length and/or fit the headspace of the firearm. You may not want to run the sizing die all the way to the shellholder depending on your rifle. You can do the forming in steps. Anneal and size down, then trim to get it close to length, turn down and test fit, trim if necessary, turn down and so on. A pound slug can really help you decide on your case neck length.

I have made 6.5x55 out of commercial and milsurp 30-06. If you have a loose neck chamber you can help that condition out by using the milsurp (I used lake city brass). One thing that was pointed out by 45 2.1 is that you can center the case with 473 case head in the swede chamber by puting a wrap or two of tape around the head.

I have done the reform route a bunch. Sometimes because the brass was not commerically available and sometimes because I was cheap. When it is cold and snowy outside it is nice to spend a few hours of quiet reloading and then get to go out and fireform those cases.

I have been happy with commercial 6.5x55 brass more recently though.

[Crash_Corrigan]

I am sitting here with a broken leg in a cast. I am trapped in the house and I looking forward to converting about 300 06 cases ahd another 300 8x57 cases to 6.5 x 55. How much tv can one watch?

[Typecaster]

It's a lot of work. Whats your time worth?

Bret—

First, I've got a shoebox full of 6.5 Swede brand-new brass, but that's not the issue, I think.

One of the major reasons I cast and handload is that it's a lot easier to sneak away from reality and do some loading/casting/smelting/reforming/take yer pick than it is to get away and actually shoot (Southern California isn't very "range-friendly"). Some of my favorite activities have been around my weirdo calibers, like the .25/222. I can easily find time to fart around forming cases, annealing, turning necks, etc. between magazine deadlines and issues with my 97+year-old father. I can't break away to shoot very often, even when I've gone to Prescott to visit him and there's a wonderful public range.

Besides the curiosity factor, for some I think this activity could be one where getting there is half the fun.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but (as you can tell) I'm in need of a reloading "fix." Maybe I'll go count cases...

Best,

Richard

[Doug Bowser]

I neck annealed and sized the .30-06 USGI brass. The loaded neck diameter was too thick, so I inside neck reamed the cases. The brass had a life of about 4 shots, then the necks split. I would never do this again. I have 100 Lapua cases that I have been reloading for 10 years, I never had on split. Norma brass is not as durable as Lapua. I also have a large quantity of PPY once fired brass. I have not used any of it but I have heard it is OK.

Good luck on whatever you do with your project,

[EDG]

You don't have the dies required. Not even close. I would recommend that you not even think about this if you have to ask.
I performed a similar task back when there were no 7.5X54 MAS brass available. I made it from 6.5X55. Yes the 6.5 heads were too small and they swelled out a lot just like the 30-06 will do if you try to make 6.5X55 brass out of it.
If you have to make something out of it make 8X57 and sell it to someone with one of those brass munching Hakim autoloaders.

[TAWILDCATT]

winchester makes swede at $21 for 50.and the heads are stamped with the cal.
:coffee:[smilie=1:

[Doug Bowser]

Hey, 9.3x62 Before 9mm Largo cases were available I made a couple hundred of them from 223 brass. NEVER AGAIN!! Talk about an exercise in futility when the Verdamnt gun spread them all over the country. I invested more in time and money than I had invested in the gun. Neil


I also played with converting .223 to 7.62x25 tok. The fired OK and operated the action but the pistol threw them into the woods. I kept 2 of the rounds for rememberance. This was done before anyone had any Boxer brass available. All we had was Chinese ammo.

The CZ52 was designed to shoot the Czech sub machinegun round. It was a sizzler. 1610 fps in the CZ52. It's penetrating power was amazing.