6.5 brass from 308 followup?

[Break Bad]

A recently resurrected 2010 post got me curious what successes anyone has had making 6.5 creed from 308? Safety issues, accuracy, # of reloads?

The post: url

I have about 300 rounds of twice fired 308 lapua that I just annealed and wouldn't mind trying this with a few cases if I move to a 6.5 setup.

 

[killerwaffles]

Re: 6.5 brass from 308 followup?

I have a friend who tried to do that and he told me it was too difficult. Not to say it can't be done but it was more work than it was worth. He did however resize 22-250 brass to 6.5 with good results.

 

[texasleftychef]

Re: 6.5 brass from 308 followup?

I have done this successfully with regular Lapua .308 and .308 Palma. I use the Redding body die and just lube up the case and run it through. The neck will be really long and you might get a bump high up on the neck but it will trim off. Then you will have to expand the neck so that it will fit on the trimmer. Then preferably with a power trimmer cut the neck to the length that you want. I think I did mine to 1.910. The necks will be super thick and probably won't chamber unless you turn them. I turned the necks to 3-4 thousandths under the chamber dimensions. Chamfer, deburr and you should be good to go.

The only problem with doing this is that you end up with really heavy cases. Approximately 20 grains heavier in my case. I haven't done extensive load development with these rounds yet as I am experimenting with several different batches of brass. 22/250 Lapua, Hornady, and the .308's. I do know that with 40 grains of H4350 and F210M primers, I was getting some mild cratering. I need to run all the numbers on Quickload and see what it says and chrony the rounds but I haven't gotten that far yet. All seem to shoot accurately but the jury is still out...

The biggest advantage that I have seen thus far by using the .308 is that you can control the neck thickness. With the Hornady and 22/250 brass the necks can be a little thin and you will have to end up either resizing in two passes or run the risk of messing with the concentricy of the cases.

So if you have the tools and desire to experiment it can be done. Whether or not you think it's worth the time is personal. I like to tinker...

 

[selfbowhunter]

Re: 6.5 brass from 308 followup?

my buddy makes his creedmoor brass from once fire winchester or federal 308 brass. just runs it through the size die, trims, neck turns, and shoots.

chuck

 

[BCP]

Re: 6.5 brass from 308 followup?

I seem to remember a guy saying he ran it through a 7mm die then a full length 6.5 die.

 

[George Mac]

Re: 6.5 brass from 308 followup?

Thanks for brining this up again. I have about 1K of .308 FGMM brass but I find I just enjoy shooting the 6.5 CM more and more these days.

Looks like I need to invest in a neck turner.

So do I leave the decapping pin and expander ball in the RCBS 6.5CM die when I run the 308 brass through it? Also, which mandrel do I use (order) in the neck turner the 308 or 6.5?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Charles00]

Re: 6.5 brass from 308 followup?

I have done this successfully with regular Lapua .308 and .308 Palma. I use the Redding body die and just lube up the case and run it through. The neck will be really long and you might get a bump high up on the neck but it will trim off. Then you will have to expand the neck so that it will fit on the trimmer. Then preferably with a power trimmer cut the neck to the length that you want. I think I did mine to 1.910. The necks will be super thick and probably won't chamber unless you turn them. I turned the necks to 3-4 thousandths under the chamber dimensions. Chamfer, deburr and you should be good to go.

 

[Ring]

Re: 6.5 brass from 308 followup?

6.2cm or 260?...

260 is easy as shit.. FL and done...

CM?... no idea.. not sure u can...

 

[texasleftychef]

Re: 6.5 brass from 308 followup?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: George Mac</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thanks for brining this up again. I have about 1K of .308 FGMM brass but I find I just enjoy shooting the 6.5 CM more and more these days.

Looks like I need to invest in a neck turner.

So do I leave the decapping pin and expander ball in the RCBS 6.5CM die when I run the 308 brass through it? Also, which mandrel do I use (order) in the neck turner the 308 or 6.5?

I've never tried it with a regular FL die. I'd be hesitant to use the expander ball though because the neck will be super long and thick and it might get the case stuck.

Could be wrong on this though

Thanks for the help.</div></div>

 

[texasleftychef]

Re: 6.5 brass from 308 followup?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: George Mac</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thanks for brining this up again. I have about 1K of .308 FGMM brass but I find I just enjoy shooting the 6.5 CM more and more these days.

Looks like I need to invest in a neck turner.

So do I leave the decapping pin and expander ball in the RCBS 6.5CM die when I run the 308 brass through it? Also, which mandrel do I use (order) in the neck turner the 308 or 6.5?

Thanks for the help.</div></div>

I've never tried it with a regular FL die. I'd be hesitant to use the expander ball though because the neck will be super long and thick and it might get the case stuck. Could be wrong on this though...

As for the mandrel you will use the 6.5.

 

[George Mac]

Re: 6.5 brass from 308 followup?

TLC,

Thanks for pointing out the difference in the body die vs the FL die. You mention that you have to expand the neck for the trimmer, How do you do this? I was planning on using my Giraud which is set up for the 6.5 CM.

Forgive my paraphrasing but this is how I understand it:

1. I run the 308 in the 6.5 body die
2. Open up the neck?
3. Trim the case in the Giraud set for 6.5 CM
4. Then turn the neck down on the 6.5 CM mandrel to 3-4 thou under
5. Do I still need to debur and chamfer after using the Giraud?

Thank you for the help.

 

[texasleftychef]

Re: 6.5 brass from 308 followup?

I use a Forster trimmer that has to fit on a pilot, so I have to expand it or it won't fit after necking down. I'm not sure exactly how the Giraud trimmer works. I do hear it's nice though. If it works off the shoulder, you should be able to trim w/o expanding. It may be a superior method.

Whether or not you expand the brass before or after you trim it, it will have to be done eventually so that you can fit it on the turning mandrel when you turn the brass. I've used the K&M expander and it works but I prefer the Sinclair model. I think it's the gen 2 model. It really works well and has a floating mandrel. Some people recommend that you use the same brand of expander die as your turning tool so that the expander and turning mandrel are close in dimensions. If I were you I'd get the kit that Sinclair offers that comes with the expander die and the NT4000 turner and call it a day.

Lube is your friend when sizing down and using the expander die.

Concerning #4, remember when you are turning this much brass off, you probably want to it in several passes so that it ends up more uniform. We can discuss this further when you get closer to this procedure if you want.

As for #5, I think the Giraud does that for you so probably not.

You will probably need to wash your cases after all this is done to get rid of the lube as well.

 

[George Mac]

Re: 6.5 brass from 308 followup?

TLC,

Thank you for your time and advice. I found the parts I need at Sinclair and will put in an order next week. I'll take photos and update the thread as I go. This way someone can ID problems I may be creating and others can learn from it as well.

Cheers.

 

[TRAAV]

Re: 6.5 brass from 308 followup?

I use to do this for my creedmoor and it was a ton of work. I didn't have any power tools do it made it that much harder. It can be done.

 

[Ledzep]

Re: 6.5 brass from 308 followup?

I've done a few with LC surplus brass. I crushed and cracked 1 neck but I'm not sure the exact cause. This is likely MG brass so I'm not expecting anything super as far as quality. All the others (50) went fine.

I also sized up some 243 brass and that was super easy, however, I suffered a 2% loss rate over 200 cases from the mouth catching the expander ball going into the die and grossly deforming. Perhaps more care should be taken. I was in a bit of a hurry before catching a ride.

 

[texasleftychef]

Re: 6.5 brass from 308 followup?

George Mac -

Make sure you order the drill attachment from Sinclair too unless you have a stand alone machine for spinning the brass. I started off with the K&M holder and the brass always came loose. Upgraded to the Sinclair tool referenced below (put links to both because I can't remember which I got) and was very happy with it. It locks up nice and tight and centers with this thing fitting up the primer pocket. Good tool.

I have since purchased a Paul Becigneul rotory motor system that chucks up the case in an adapted Forster attachment. It's a little nicer since you can use two hands.

The drill/screw driver method is fine for starting out though.

Good luck

http://www.sinclairintl.com/.aspx/pid=45124/Product/Sinclair-Driver-Caseholder-Set

http://www.sinclairintl.com/.aspx/pid=33962/Product/Sinclair-Driver-and-Caseholders