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Thread: 8mm Mauser brass formed from 30-06

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
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    8mm Mauser brass formed from 30-06

    I picked up a nice M48 Mauser in 8x57 , I had no brass for it, so I ran some Hornady once fired 30-06 brass through the 8x57 full length die.
    After I resized the 30-06 brass I trimmed the extra long neck with a tube cutter and finished the brass off with the 8x57 case length gauge.
    I tried all of the reformed brass in the rifle and they fit perfectly, I loaded them with 195 Hornady Interlocks, a range trip is needed now.
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  2. #2
    Boolit Buddy
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    It should work just fine. Sometimes you may see a little extra expansion on the fired case in front of the head reinforced area, approx. 1/4 to 1/2" from the extractor groove depending on the condition of the rifle chamber.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master Moleman-'s Avatar
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    Works fine, did the same thing last summer after shooting up all my berdan primed 8mm turkish ammo I'd bought 20 years ago. Didn't want to pay "once fired" 8mm brass prices when I had 06 cases that would work.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 8mmstrippers.JPG  

  4. #4
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    Back in the day I formed a lot of 8x57 the same way out of milsurp 30-06 cases. Somewhere along the way I picked up an 8x57 form die which I used to initially form 8x57, 7.65 Argentine, 7x57 and 6.5x55. The formed cases in that die (necks cut off with fine hack saw) were then perfect for FL sizing with case headspace adjusted for a slight crush fit in the intended rifle. A chamber cast to get the actual neck length and a final trim always produced excellent cases. I found if i annealed the shoulder necks of the harder milsurp '06 cases after the initial form they didn't need another annealing and formed with less wrinkles in the shoulder neck area. I'm still using many of them formed years ago today.
    Larry Gibson

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  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    I too have mada a Habit of turning Military '06 into 8mm and 7mm.. If I find brass with bad necks etc...it may even become 300Savage!!! The tubing cutter, followed by the Lee case trimmer with my drill...good to go..
    But, I like to have a False shoulder (like Larry is talking, I believe) or seat long bullets touching the lands, to ensure I get properly Fitted brass to the Rifle I'm going to use that lot of Brass with.. Pain to keep brass sorted, but... I never worry about Headspace nor stretched Brass!!!
    Real X57 brass, gets used in the couple of Rifles that I set up to minimum headspace... so it is only Neck sized as well!!!!

  6. #6
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    I cut them off just a bit long and finish the job in an RCBS trim die with a mill file. Chamfer the mouths inside and out, and they're good to go.

    DG

  7. #7
    Boolit Bub
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    I made some using 30-06 brass to try using a Lee FL sizing die then trimmed. End result wouldn't chamber. The shoulder needs to be set back. Should I try a different die for reforming? Grind off some of the base of the size die or maybe grind down the shell holder? Thanks for any help offered.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by SNDBGGR1484 View Post
    I made some using 30-06 brass to try using a Lee FL sizing die then trimmed. End result wouldn't chamber. The shoulder needs to be set back. Should I try a different die for reforming? Grind off some of the base of the size die or maybe grind down the shell holder? Thanks for any help offered.
    Are you sure it is the shoulder??
    Sometimes, especially with converted military brass, and Tight chambers (prolly Not a Mauser...huh) it is the Necks that are thick. Resize without the expander.. just to ensure the neck is Not the problem.. Then... if it is determined to be certainly the shoulder... a thinner Shell holder (cheap) or yea... maybe as a Last resort, shorten the Die..
    Brings up a Point that makes me Crazy... adjust die to touch shell holder then Crank 'er down some more!!!! Kinda universal... matters Not if using a Stout Single station, or an old worn out Spartan Turret..... I refuse to Spring my Press...any of them... so, I need to adjust Much more Carefully!!!!
    Yea... I might be Anal about some things!!!!

  9. #9
    Boolit Buddy

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    Do you have to anneal the necks before squeezing the 30-06 in an 8mm die? I am running out of 8mm surplus ammo for my old WW I Maxim. Have alot of old ammo that has dead primers but the boolit is good and the square flake powder is ok May have to resort to your process of forming the 06 into 7.92x57mm. have an abundant supply of commercial-sporting 06 brass.Click image for larger version. 

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  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rockindaddy View Post
    Do you have to anneal the necks before squeezing the 30-06 in an 8mm die? I am running out of 8mm surplus ammo for my old WW I Maxim. Have alot of old ammo that has dead primers but the boolit is good and the square flake powder is ok May have to resort to your process of forming the 06 into 7.92x57mm. have an abundant supply of commercial-sporting 06 brass.Click image for larger version. 

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    I anneal, but because the Neck will be Stretched to 8mm while the shoulder will be Pushed Back and squeezed... I anneal After Transformation.. Unless the new Shoulder collapses/folds... if that happens, I will anneal the Shoulder of brass to be "transformed"
    Am I doin it Right???? I dunno... works for me.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master Moleman-'s Avatar
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    I anneal before modifying any case as I get fewer split cases and it's generally easier to form the new case when it's softer than when harder. Try both ways and one will work better for you and your setup.

  12. #12
    Boolit Bub
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    I have tried my formed brass in 3 different chambers and the result is basically the same. 2 are rebuilt/reworked rifles and the other a Vet bring back. the Vet bring back is tight but able to close bolt on formed brass/ no bullet. The other 2 are very tight not allowing bolt to close. The bottom of the shoulder shows a ring after trying in chamber. Anyone have problems with Lee dies? This is the first time I have tried Lee. Also, It fits in a Wilson case gauge. I used Greek HXP 30 06 brass. Maybe I should try another brand. This is my first try forming 8mm brass from 30 06 but I have been loading since the 70's. Anyone sell reformed 8mm brass? Would like it to be made out of Military or similar bass without a caliber marking. I'm trying to put this together for my grandson and wouldn't want him getting calibers mixed up. Thanks for all the help.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master
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    When surplus '06 once-fired brass was 6 cents a pound, weighed out of a 55 gallon drum(late 1960's), I used for everything I had with an '06 head - 8x57(4 different rifles), 7.65 Argentine, 7x57, even 300 Savage (2 rifles, reamed necks), all worked OK. I got an RCBS small-base sizer I used on the '06 brass before starting the reforming, solved the tight chambering issues I sometimes got with some brass fired in sloppy chambers and/or automatic weapons.

  14. #14
    Boolit Master 15meter's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SNDBGGR1484 View Post
    I made some using 30-06 brass to try using a Lee FL sizing die then trimmed. End result wouldn't chamber. The shoulder needs to be set back. Should I try a different die for reforming? Grind off some of the base of the size die or maybe grind down the shell holder? Thanks for any help offered.
    Shellholders are considerably cheaper than dies.

    I've ground down shellholders to do a number of case conversions. Have not yet had to modify a die.

    And the 8mm is one of the easier case conversions.

    And I anneal after setting the shoulder back. When I annealed before, I was much more prone to collapsing the shoulder then annealing after.

    Good luck.
    Last edited by 15meter; 03-04-2023 at 12:07 AM.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master
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    annealing is always a good thing when forming new brass from a parent case.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master 15meter's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SNDBGGR1484 View Post
    The bottom of the shoulder shows a ring after trying in chamber. Anyone have problems with Lee dies?
    My Lee dies did the same thing, plus left a not so nice scratch on the case where the vent hole is.

    I ground a shellholder down to push the shoulder back for initial chambering. Once they were fired, I could use an unmodified shellholder.

    To get rid of the scratch, I borrowed a buddy's RCBS 8mm dies.

    Brass has some spring back and I think that's what you are fighting.

  17. #17
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    I’m using Lee dies to form WW2 era military 30-06 brass to 8x57mm brass. Run them into the FL die, then trim and chamfer. They fit perfectly in my only 8mm- a Polish 98 Mauser.
    I would trim the top of a shell holder before trimming the die. Modify the cheap part.


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  18. #18
    Boolit Master Rapier's Avatar
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    If you are forming brass for one rifle, once it is fore formed, just neck size only, until the bolt closure gets tight, then bump the case shoulder back 1/16 of a turn a full length resize. Just make sure you clean the barrel and chamber well, to prevent a false bolt closure problem by fouling. I have made 8mm and 7.7 brass out of 30-06 brass for many decades.
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  19. #19
    Boolit Master WRideout's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rockindaddy View Post
    Do you have to anneal the necks before squeezing the 30-06 in an 8mm die? I am running out of 8mm surplus ammo for my old WW I Maxim. Have alot of old ammo that has dead primers but the boolit is good and the square flake powder is ok May have to resort to your process of forming the 06 into 7.92x57mm. have an abundant supply of commercial-sporting 06 brass.Click image for larger version. 

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    Are those vehicles downrange targets? When my 8" battery went to the range at Camp Roberts, they always had dead vehicles sitting in the impact area to shoot at. BTW: That Maxim is not old, it's "classic."

    Wayne
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  20. #20
    Boolit Master
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    I made some using 30-06 brass to try using a Lee FL sizing die then trimmed. End result wouldn't chamber. The shoulder needs to be set back. Should I try a different die for reforming? Grind off some of the base of the size die or maybe grind down the shell holder? Thanks for any help offered.
    SNDBGGR1484, I had that experience with an M48 some years back also. Maybe the chambers in them run a bit short? The Lee FL die I was using worked perfectly for another guy's M98. It appears the Lee FL die cavity was a few thousandths on the deep side and cases fired in some other 8x57 or converted cases couldn't be made to chamber in the M48. I screwed a bolt into the top of the die, chucked the bolt in the mill and used a 4.5" grinder with a metal grinding disc to take about .008 off the bottom of the die that I had. This allows me to set shoulder back .002 or so when they eventually exhibit some resistance to bolt closure.
    Last edited by yeahbub; 03-10-2023 at 01:21 PM.

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