Many of you will know that the .44 Automag cartridge famously uses cut-down brass from .308 brass (anything with the 308 case-head size, really - .30-06, .243, .270, etc). Some of you may have done this already yourselves, but I figured it might be interesting to show the process:
1. Cut the 308 brass down, leaving a little extra length for trimming later - but you'll notice the brass is pretty thick compared to the finished case to the left. The inside of the case will need to be reamed-out so that it can accept a .44 bullet:
2. The reaming die and case in position, the reamer in my hand:
3. Reaming by hand. This can also be done with a drill, but low speed and cutting fluid should be used or the reamer will quickly become useless. I don't have a drill with a slow speed, so I do mine manually:
4. Reaming finished - it only takes a minute or so per case. A lot of brass comes out with the reamer and there's a lot more inside the case:
5. All done, ready to be trimmed-to-length - after which it's ready to be handloaded: