fire forming vs die forming 35 whelen

[farmbif]

is there any advantage to fire forming over using a die and expander ball? ive got buckets of 30-06 brass but limited 35 whelen brass.

[farmbif]

plus I don't have any cream of wheat but plenty of corn cob and walnut polishing media, will that work

[salpal48]

I have found using New brass and expanding the case neck to appox .415 or so. then sizing it back down to 35whelen works great , perfect shoulder . case must be annealed first before starting . No split necks
Fire forming Old Brass . Tends to split more . to me a waste of time

[44magLeo]

Does your size die have a long tapered expander button? If so after you lube the cases how ever you do use a q-tip to swab the inside of the neck and size. This should expand the neck well enough to form.
If not I might suggest getting this type of expander to fit you die. If no one makes one for your die get a size die from Lee.
Lee uses a long tapered expander in their dies. Expanding case necks up as you want to do is one of the reasons Lee makes them that way. Another is so cases with a dinged mouth get straightened out before the get sized.
If you have a good supply of 30 caliber lead bullets Load them up as you would for the -06 and shoot them in the Whelen. It will be a bit dirty but doable.
Leo

[Tonto]

A tapered expander in a FL sizing die should work fine for both new and once fired brass. Load something at the bottom of the range for a powder and see how it goes. Going from 30 to 35 with a tapered exander isn't going to ruin many if any of your cases unless the brass is to hard and splits, if you notice a certain headstamp doing ths you should anneal or take two steps, say a 338 expander then the 35 expander. I've made a ton of 357 Herrett brass with almost zero brass loss with once fired 30/30 cases. Lube the inside of he neck as was said.

[farmbif]

ive no problem forming with either the rcbs or Hornady die been doing it for years I have was just wondering if there is an advantage to fire forming. will fire forming stretch the neck out. and can polishing grit be used in place of cream of wheat with a few grains of bullseye or red dot. that's the problem with forming 35 whelen from 30-06 is its just a tad shorter than what it should be but they shoot just fine.

[Mk42gunner]

For whatever reason, I have never had very good luck with the cream of wheat fire forming method, no matter what I was trying to form. maybe I wasn't using enough powder???

I have had good luck with necked up brass and a moderately healthy load with a projectile either jacketed or cast.

Anymore with the cost of primers and powder I can't see the supposed advantages to using the filler method.

As far as getting spec length cases by necking up for the Whelen, I have read that .270 Winchester cases will do it, but I never had enough of them to mess with.

Robert

[farmbif]

that's an idea, ive got some 270 brass, and plenty of lg rifle primers, might just give one a try tomorrow. a few grains bullseye, a bit of stuffing from an old pillow and some corn cob media is what i'm thinking. I don't think firing off a 270 round in the 35 whelen with 130 gr game king and 54 grains of 4831 is something I want to even try.

[15meter]

Hold the rifle vertically, when I did 30-30 to 38-55 the ones fired horizontally as opposed to vertically did not blow out completely.

No idea why, just better straight up. One of the great mysteries of life, at least to me.

Someone else can probably give an explanation in three part harmony complete with lines and arrows and formulae.

[Landy88]

Hornady dies with their elliptical expander are the EASY, and primer and powder saving way. If you prefer fireforming, a wax or bullet lube plug over the filler makes that easier and more effective.

[uscra112]

Holding vertical just assures the the powder charge will ignite quickly, it being against the primer.

Dittos on the long taper Lee expanders, but I find that I have to tack-weld 'em to the nuts once adjusted or they slip, and I lose my temper.

[15meter]

Holding vertical just assures the the powder charge will ignite quickly, it being against the primer.

Not sure that is the answer, my fire forming load was unique followed with a toilet paper wad that was followed with screenings from under a grain dryer(did I mention I'm frooogal?). That was topped with another TP wad.

I've had the same uneven blowing out of other cases filled similarly. All were filled with the powder held again the primer.

Shoot them vertically and a fully formed case, horizontally, maybe yes, maybe no.

It's MAGIC I tell you MAGIC[smilie=w:

[farmbif]

the rain quit and ill probably give fire forming a try today.

[uscra112]

Magic. What Heinlein said any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from. :kidding: