30-06 brass to 25-06

[tome]

can i take new 30-06 brass and resize to 25-06 in a 25-06 full length die in one step? i dodn't want to get a case stuck to find out. thanks

 

[dlebeck]

I routinely make 7/08 brass out of 308 lapua brass with one step. But, that's only one size change / .308-.284. If you go from 30/06 to 25/06 that's a couple of size's down .308/.284/.277/.264 then .257. Might be better to make that in two steps or so?

Doug

 

[KevinThomas]

I'm with Doug here; 30 down to 25 is a pretty big jump to do in one step. I'd seriously suggest at least one intermediate die, and preferably more. 30-06 cases to 280 Rem, to 270 Win and finally to 25-06, that sort of thing. Next question is, why? The 25-06 was originally a wildcat, at a time when the standard US military cartridge was the 30-06, making dirt cheap cases readily available, and well worth the trouble to neck down. There's plenty of good factory 25-06 brass out there today, and it'd save you some time and trouble.

Kevin Thomas
Lapua USA

 

[z]

I routinely neck 30-06 to 25-06 in one step. You may need to trim to length and measure neck thickness closely as they tend to run a bit thick. If you have any .270 brass on hand it tends to work better.
~z

 

[jo191145]

I've sized 308 Win down to 243 Win in a standard (non bushing) FL die. Had no problems doing it with Imperial sizing wax.
I did'nt measure for runout. Might be better to do it in steps. Still it formed just fine and shot pretty well. It needs to be fireformed anyway so I was'nt to worried about concentricity.

This was once fired brass. If your brass has been fired numerous times you may want to anneal it first.

 

[1000yardstare]

For my first .25-06 back in the 1980`s I couldn`t find commercial .25-06 brass so necked down .270 brass which was readily available. One pass in a .25-06 F/L die. Had to trim to length afterwards.

Was equal in accuracy to commercial .25-06 brass in my second .25-06 20 years later.

 

[tome]

thanks for the replies..why..i stopped shooting 30-06 & have brass left

 

[tuck2]

Some years ago I was given a bunch of 06 national match brass. I first seperated it by year,and cleaned it. I had a RCBS 270 trim die but I used it only to reduce the neck diameter. A FL 270 die with the expander removed would also work. Then the brass was full sized resized in a 25-06 die. The cases were then trimmed, followed by my regular prep for new cases. There were no problems sizing 06 cases to 25-06 .

 

[elkhunter1983]

I know this is old but I have a couple 25-06's and they only seem to shoot well running warm. I havent found a 25 brass that will run half as long as lapua before the primer pockets are toast. looking at getting some lapua 30-06 brass and sizing down to run in my 25's. So all i need is a 270 die to run in between?

 

[JRS]

I know this is old but I have a couple 25-06's and they only seem to shoot well running warm. I havent found a 25 brass that will run half as long as lapua before the primer pockets are toast. looking at getting some lapua 30-06 brass and sizing down to run in my 25's. So all i need is a 270 die to run in between?

Don't waste your money and time. Use 25-06 brass. Like powder, primers and bullets, brass is a consumable. Nothing wrong with trying to make things last, but, at what cost?

 

[spclark]

So all i need is a 270 die to run in between?

Maybe.... Major potential pitfall is the thicker neck brass when you move a larger diameter bullet neck down to fit a smaller bullet. Brass thickens, maybe more than your rifle’s chamber can tolerate, unless you can skim off a few thousandths of an inch to give you more (safer) neck clearance.

I’d do one or two cases first, then load your choice of bullet into them then measure neck diameter, compare to what you’ve been shooting, whether factory-loaded or your reloads.

 

[nmkid]

Shooting factory barrels I used to take 30-06 cases down with a .270 die and then a 25.06 die. Worked every time and no problems.

 

[people]

One step. My Grandpa had one since way back when it was a wild cat. Most of his brass over the years was standard mil casings. He stated he did trim after ward and did turn necks. As both where all over the place using mil casings. His rifle was set up for the thicker necks being a wild cat. When he finally shot it out and went to a new commercial reamer none of his old brass fit as the necks were too thick.

He did say something about annealing the brass but I do not remember what he said about that. My take away is yes it can be done but just watch the thickness.

 

[timeout]

I know this is old but I have a couple 25-06's and they only seem to shoot well running warm. I havent found a 25 brass that will run half as long as lapua before the primer pockets are toast. looking at getting some lapua 30-06 brass and sizing down to run in my 25's. So all i need is a 270 die to run in between?

I run 30-06 Lapua through a 270 die first, then to 25-06. You will need to turn the necks. I tried some once fired Rem brass and collapsed the shoulder going into a 270 die. Only had a few a guy gave me so after collapsing two, i just chucked them. The Lapuas worked great.

 

[Brians356]

FWIW Ken Howell wrote (in his encyclopedic tome on case designing and forming) of the 25-06:

"... resize 270 Winchester brass full-length in 25-06 sizer die, trim to length and deburr. Or form from 280 Remington or 30-06 Springfield brass, in RCBS form die."

I assume by "form die" he meant "form and trim die" as RCBS does not sell separate dies for those two functions, except in sets requiring more than one forming step. I believe just using a 25-06 FL die will work fine, but I prefer a form and trim die, as I can file trim each case as accurately as possible while it is still captured in the die that formed it.

WRT neck turning, Howell did not mention it even from 30-06 parent case, so he must have felt it was not required unless the chamber had a tighter neck than industry standard. (He does stipulate turning for more radical forming operations, where shoulder or even body walls become neck walls.)
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[timeout]

FWIW Ken Howell wrote (in his encyclopedic tome on case designing and forming) of 25-06:

"

WRT neck turning, Howell did not mention it even from 30-06 parent case, so he must have felt it was not required unless the chamber had a tighter neck than industry standard. (He does stipulate turning for more radical forming operations.)
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WRT neck turning, the OP better check it. I definitely had to on Lapua 30-06 necks that I sized down to 25-06.

 

[Brians356]

WRT neck turning, the OP better check it. I definitely had to on Lapua 30-06 necks that I sized down to 25-06.

I figured checking was a given, in this context.
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[elkhunter1983]

I took a piece of hornady 3006 brass and took it down to 2506 in 2 steps. It worked much easier than I thought. I have no problem turning necks if my brass has double the life if not more. I turn necks quite often anyway.

 

[Brians356]

I took a piece of hornady 3006 brass and took it down to 2506 in 2 steps. It worked much easier than I thought. I have no problem turning necks if my brass has double the life if not more. I turn necks quite often anyway.

How does forming 25-06 from 30-06 double the brass life?
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[Bbear]

You might also try a different brand other than Lapua. Though it is the best, or one of the best, sources of brass out there, you're asking for quite a bit more work. I've very good luck with Nosler brass as well as Norma in both 25-06 and other calibers. YMMV though.