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Transition from 6.5 CM to 6 CM ?

CaptNemo

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  • Apr 8, 2009
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    I just purchased a couple of Take off 6mm Creedmoor barrel that are threaded for a Tikka action.
    I have a bunch of brass and dies for the 6.5 ( and I'm not completely abandoning 6.5 )
    The sizing die is a Redding Full length die with a neck bushing:
    Can I swap the bushing for a smaller ID and get away with it ?

    The seating Die I have is a Redding Competition Seating Die,
    Am I buying a new seating die for this one ?
     
    The issue with a bushing die is that it leaves the bottom bit of the case neck unsized. So that unsized portion could make chambering them tough. Not necessarily impossible but it could make it a pain in the ass. Its basically creating a false shoulder like they do for making dasher etc.
    Unless you are starting with 6 brass and only want to use it for subsequent sizings and not necking down the 6.5 brass. In that case you wont have that unsized bit of 6.5 neck to worry about.

    You could try a bushing and see if it works out for you.

    Personally I would just get a dedicated die for 40 bucks from forster or something rather than spending 25 bucks on a bushing. Then you can set each of them and not worry about having to swap and reset up when you switch between 6.5 and 6. Same with a seater, I would try it with the 6.5 stem but maybe it doesnt work great and switching stems is just more of a hassle than spending the 80 bucks on a microtop seater.
     
    Last edited:
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    I just purchased a couple of Take off 6mm Creedmoor barrel that are threaded for a Tikka action.
    I have a bunch of brass and dies for the 6.5 ( and I'm not completely abandoning 6.5 )
    The sizing die is a Redding Full length die with a neck bushing:
    Can I swap the bushing for a smaller ID and get away with it ?

    The seating Die I have is a Redding Competition Seating Die,
    Am I buying a new seating die for this one ?
    You’re buying a new die, the body part of the 6.5 die will leave .5mm not touching the shoulder. I’ve honestly gone away from bushing dies sold all my Whidden’s for Redding regular dies. I take the expander button out and then Mandrel expand after. I do all this on a progressive, it’s super fast and since I’ve done this I have a 6.5creed load that will do ten shot strings with Sd’s in the 3-4 range repeatedly. Now I know 6.5 creed is super easy to tune but I’m super proud of that. Buy a Sinclair mandrel set up (they’re cheap) and give it a whirl I bet you’ll see improvements
     
    You’re buying a new die, the body part of the 6.5 die will leave .5mm not touching the shoulder. I’ve honestly gone away from bushing dies sold all my Whidden’s for Redding regular dies. I take the expander button out and then Mandrel expand after. I do all this on a progressive, it’s super fast and since I’ve done this I have a 6.5creed load that will do ten shot strings with Sd’s in the 3-4 range repeatedly. Now I know 6.5 creed is super easy to tune but I’m super proud of that. Buy a Sinclair mandrel set up (they’re cheap) and give it a whirl I bet you’ll see improvements
    That's how I'm sizing for 6.5cm too, also on a progressive LNL AP.

    -Decap with universal decapper
    -Clean brass
    -Run through decapper again to ensure flash hole is clear
    -Full-length size with Forster FL sizer with expander ball removed
    -Expand mouth with Sinclair mandrel die w/ .002" carbide mandrel
    -Trim to 1.912" on Giraud

    I've gotten SD to 5.8 w/ 41.3gr of H4350, Fed210M, and a 139gr Scenar.
     
    I just purchased a couple of Take off 6mm Creedmoor barrel that are threaded for a Tikka action.
    I have a bunch of brass and dies for the 6.5 ( and I'm not completely abandoning 6.5 )
    The sizing die is a Redding Full length die with a neck bushing:
    Can I swap the bushing for a smaller ID and get away with it ?

    The seating Die I have is a Redding Competition Seating Die,
    Am I buying a new seating die for this one ?

    Yes you can just swap the bushing and use it on the 6mm Creed. I do it with a spare 6.5 Creed FL bushing die. Just dropped my .270 bushing in there and it sizes the neck fine and bumps the shoulder without issue. Brass runs great in the rifle.

    You will need a new seating die though.

    ETA, that is with dedicated 6 Creed brass. I read it as you were keeping your 6.5 brass and assumed you were buying 6 Creed brass.
     
    Lol test results? I size them and have checked them on a run out gauge and they are less than .001. They also load very accurate ammo. You can believe what you want to think but I will believe what I know from sizing a lot of brass. Lol
     
    I’ll anneal some of my Hornady 6.5 brass and see what it looks like after running it thru a 0.270” bushing. If I lose some of that brass, I won’t be heartbroken.
     
    I would not just try and stick fired 6.5 brass through a .270 bushing. The fired is around .295 depending on the chamber and trying to go from that to .270 will not be good. Most companies recommend no more than a .005 size with the bushing die to keep concentricity. I have found you can go a little more but not .025". You would need to step down if forming brass and in that case I would get a designated 6mm Creed die. My comments above were about using 6mm Creed brass in a 6.5 bushing die. Not about forming one to the other.

    Honestly it would be more cost effective and easier all around to just buy some 6mm Creedmoor brass and load it. You can get 250 pieces for $125 at Midway and might find cheaper if you shop around. For the price of bushings and new die etc plus the work involved it wouldn't be worth it to size down some 6.5 to 6mm IMHO.

     
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    I would buy new dies. i had alot of 6.5 cm brass. moved to 6 cm. bought new 6 cm hornady match dies and resized it with .269 bushing. no issues.
     
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    Lol test results? I size them and have checked them on a run out gauge and they are less than .001. They also load very accurate ammo. You can believe what you want to think but I will believe what I know from sizing a lot of brass. Lol
    Like I said I would love to see you results. I seriously doubt you have brass that’s been processed like that with LESS THAN .001 across a whole lot of brass. That’s very uncommon even with the best of the best dies/presses. Even if you neck turn, which you didn’t mention
     
    Sorry to disappoint but I am a shooter and not a scientist who writes up tests. Gave you my info from my experience. Believe it or not as that's up to you. If you don't it doesn't hurt my feelings as I know what I am getting.
     
    You didn’t give info. You laughed at me for making points and then shrugged me off. this a forum to help each other? You’re a moderator? You made an outlandish claim. Which I guess you are above being questioned about. Gimme a break dude.
     
    You didn’t give info. You laughed at me for making points and then shrugged me off. this a forum to help each other? You’re a moderator? You made an outlandish claim. Which I guess you are above being questioned about. Gimme a break dude.


    Outlandish claim? Necking a 6.5 creed to a 6 creed via a bushing die is outlandish? Relax man. Before 6 creed was widely available, this is what you had to do, and everyone did it without issue.
     
    You didn’t give info. You laughed at me for making points and then shrugged me off. this a forum to help each other? You’re a moderator? You made an outlandish claim. Which I guess you are above being questioned about. Gimme a break dude.

    I did give info. Told you what I get. You don't believe me. So here we are. As I said believe what you want. I can't change your mind. And again when sizing getting .001 concentricity is not outlandish.