Cant find any 35 whelen brass but have a ton of WW '06 brass. Would it be best to first open up the necks to .338 first? Then go to .358 in the last step? I know a tapered expander ball would be best. Thanks Rob
- Thread starter skytrooper67
- Start date
Some die manufacturers offer a tapered neck expander to neck up. I use one in the 338/06 to expand 30/06 cases to 338". I use another one in my 358 Winchester dies to go from 308 win. cases to 358 cases. They both work well, but you need to use a good lube inside of the case necks.
Both of my die sets are RCBS. If you have RCBS dies, you could buy both the 30-338 and the 30-358 tapered neck expander.
It wouldn't hurt to anneal the case necks before expanding.
Both of my die sets are RCBS. If you have RCBS dies, you could buy both the 30-338 and the 30-358 tapered neck expander.
It wouldn't hurt to anneal the case necks before expanding.
Had no issues with expanding the .30-06 necks up to .25. Makes good Whelen brass. Go for it, just make sure you use a good lube.
Down through the years, making wildcat cases from .30-06 has been the way to go. While technically no longer a wildcat when I purchased my first .25-06 in the very early 1970’s, getting factory brass was all but impossible. So, got a .25-06 trim die (easier to get then the darned brass at that time) and made cases for years. Never had an issue. When we built my first .35 Whelen during the height (or depth) of the obama years, Whelen brass was unobtainium. Actually finding 06 brass of any size or caliber was difficult. Finally found a good sized batch of .30-06 brass and went to work. As I said, no issues, brass shot great.
Down through the years, making wildcat cases from .30-06 has been the way to go. While technically no longer a wildcat when I purchased my first .25-06 in the very early 1970’s, getting factory brass was all but impossible. So, got a .25-06 trim die (easier to get then the darned brass at that time) and made cases for years. Never had an issue. When we built my first .35 Whelen during the height (or depth) of the obama years, Whelen brass was unobtainium. Actually finding 06 brass of any size or caliber was difficult. Finally found a good sized batch of .30-06 brass and went to work. As I said, no issues, brass shot great.
I use 308 win brass by the hundreds for 358 win...similar deal. I made a bump up mandrel in the lathe, for the Wilson neck expanding die, that has a taper up to .338" area and another bump up to .358" one stroke of the handle, then run through the factory 358 Win die and done...I do not anneal, much of this is cheap or free brass...works great, necks do not split.
