Swiss 41, Brass for a M78 Vetterli

[alsmith]

Not new to reloading. But have never reformed brass before.

I have a M78 Veterli that was just converted to centerfire.

I am looking at reforming brass.

At the present time I have a 2 die set of the Lee 41 Swiss Dies.

Question: What equipment do I need and what steps do I have to follow in reforming 8x50R Lebel and what equipment do I need and what steps to follow in reforming 343 brass?

Have a good day.

Al

[dubber123]

I really would have thought you would have gotten an answer by now. I have fooled with one a bit, and will take a stab at it. If you have the Lee dies, I would think running them into the size die should set your shoulder, and give you a good idea of trim length.

I bought my brass from Smokemjoe here on the board, and his measure 1.615" long. Joe said they might be too long at this length, and need re-trimming, but they work just fine at this length in this gun. I think the Lee dies come with a shell holder for 348 Win. brass, and you may need another one if using the Lebel brass. Have fun.

[Andy_P]

Have a look here:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=21917

[P Patcher]

I have the Lee two die set and have used it often to form 348 brass. I find that the 348 case need's to be shortened to about where the original shoulder is before you try to form it because the original neck will not pass thru the threaded portion of the die. Apply small amount of lube ( read almost none) and the brass will form so easy you won't believe it. The biggest problem is just above the rim, depending on the chamber in your gun you may have to file a couple of thousanth's Just chuck the neck up in a drill press or hand drill and use a fine file with a safe edge. I think that dubber123 meant Joe's cases are trimmed to 1.615, just short of 42mm and should work fine for the Lee 310 bullet. I have never worked with Lebel brass. Another thing about the Lee dies is that they are made to seat bullet of about .425 max and must be opened up for a bigger bullet.
Addison

[smokemjoe]

I have made over 400 rds. of brass from 8MM Lebel, 1 st. I anneal the brass were the new shoulder will be, I expand the neck out in 3 different steps and leave the brass long until finished as it stops it from spliting.Then cut to lenght. You will need a No. 17 Lee shell holder for Lebel brass. You could try and cut to 1.675 and with a good load of bullseye and corn meal fire form it. Then expand the neck to finish with the Lee die. Have used 348 brass but the Lebel brass is cheaper. You can use brass longer as the lead is long in the throat. Hope this helps- Joe

[alsmith]

Smoking Joe,

After fire forming the case, do you trim it to length?

What bullet do you use.

Some have referenced the Lee 310, but I am not sure what that refers to.

Your help and that of others is appreciated.

Al

[abunaitoo]

"Some have referenced the Lee 310, but I am not sure what that refers to."
It's the Lee C430-310-RF bullet.
It's a good bullet, but I've had problems with it not feeding into the chamber. Seems the flat top is to wide and hangs up.
A Seaco #433 would be a good off the shelf mould to use. I don't have on, but I've tried some bullets. They feed well and can be seated out far enough to function in the mag.

[smokemjoe]

Using 348 brass, cut to lenght + and run into Lee die, 8 MM Lebel you have neck expand in steps or itll split. Alway anneal brass. I leave the brass about 25 thousnads longer then I want. When you fire form it will shrink back. Then I retrime to make all the same lenght I want . I use a std. load to fire form, I like that Lee 310 gr. bullet and 13 grs. unique or 14 Gr. of Grafts- REX - 2 , If your bore is .437 why you may want a bigger size bullet then the Lee, But I have lapped the mold bigger also, I like the the brass longer as it holds the bullet better and also works in feeding if you adjust it to the lifter. If it shoots to high , make a wide 1/8 blade front sight and JB weld it to the front sight. Your have alot of fun with your Vetterli. A big Thanks to LEE for making 41 Swiss dies,

[abunaitoo]

I've been using 8mm Lebel brass from Graf. So far they work great.
The way I do it is:
1) I use Lee 41 Swiss dies set.
2) Remove the decaping rod, and nut, from the sizing die.
3) Anneal the Lebel brass. If not annealed, they will split.
4) Lube the brass and run it through the die.
5) Fireform. I use rifle primers, 12gr Reddot, fill with cream of wheat, seal with white glue. Let it dry over night.
6) After fireforming, trim to length. I made mines as long as would chamber in the rifle.
I've tried the Lee 310, Seaco 433, and a custom mould from a friend. Seaco worked the best through the tube magazine. Don't have a Seaco mould, so I'm using friends mould. Sized to 330di, 320gr, GC, Lar45 carnuba red.
Powder I tried are Unique, 2400, SR7625, 700x. 700x works best for me.
I've tried different ways to neck size only. 44mag, 7.62x39, 7.7 Arisaka, and some others. Not much luck. Sometimes they just won't chamber and neck is to big to hold bullet for mag use.
Thinking of having Lee make a collet die.
Fun rifle to shoot. Really accurate too.