.308 brass from 30-06 brass

[amlevin]

For some reason I have a whole bunch of 30-06 brass, more than I need for my old 03/A3.

Have considered making a bunch of it into .308 brass.

What are the pro's and cons? Is the 06 brass thicker? Will I loose significant case capacity?

Will I need to ream necks as well as turn them?

I'm partly looking for a bit of a project as well as some good brass for my .308 so time and effort is no big deal.

For those that have done this I'm looking for guidance.

Best way to form, trim, etc.

 

[jr600yd]

Well I guess you could but with all the brands of 308 out there why? Lot of work for nothing in return. Sell your /06 excess and just buy some 308 brass.

 

[Keith Glasscock]

I've done it as an experiment. I took a Winchester '06 case and made a 308.

Resultant case capacity is close to Federal 308 - quite a bit less than Lapua and Winchester.
The case neck was very thick. I was able to fire it in a SAAMI chamber, but ended up turning it down a touch.
Annealing is mandatory - The brass needed annealing mid-forming. I had to form in multiple passes and cut the excess neck off as I went.

It was a fun experiment. I would do it if I needed brass and couldn't find any.

 

[Brians356]

I believe Ken Howell stipulates neck reaming is required, and that makes sense. I'll look it up in his book when I get home tonight.

Unless the 30-06 brass is in exceptional condition, it makes little sense, and even then. Unless you just love that kind of work, and your time is worth little.

 

[Keith Glasscock]

Forgot, I formed by taking the decapping stem out of my FL 308 sizer. If I had it to do again, I'd use a Redding body die to do the initial forming.

 

[fguffey]

Have considered making a bunch of it into .308 brass.

My favorite forming die is the 308 Winchester forming die, next? The 243 Winchester forming die. A builder of bench rest type rifles called and informed me he had a problem, someone purchased one of his 308 W type rifles and declared the neck in the chamber was too large. I ask about accuracy, the rifle shoots better than the shooter.

The problem, loose necks, I boxed up a few dies and went for a visit. The builder had no fewer than 10,000 30/06 once fired cases. I choose Match cases with dates and started forming. the 30/06 cases formed to 308 w tightened the necks up from .336" to .342". The necks I formed had .003" clearance between the neck and chamber, then there was annealing.

Still, tightening the case necks did not improve accuracy, nor did it hurt accuracy.

F. Guffey

 

[dalej]

RCBS used to supply many cartridge form dies. Have a 308 from 30-06, 250 Savage from 308/30-06, and a 35/416 Rigby from 416 Rigby. RCBS trim dies are handy for conversions.

 

[Brians356]

Ken Howell advised:

Anneal neck and shoulder. Trim to 2.1 inches. Form in 308 Win FL sizer die. Ream inside neck if needed. Trim to final length.

 

[CJ6]

Run the 30-06 through a 308 file/trim die,cut off excess (hack saw or dremel), file flush, anneal, turn necks, F/L size. It may take a few firings for the body-shoulder angles to sharpen up as the brass (now) there is thicker.

 

[amlevin]

Unless the 30-06 brass is in exceptional condition, it makes little sense, and even then. Unless you just love that kind of work, and your time is worth little.

First, the brass is in like new condition, only 1x fired in bolt action rifles.

I do love that kind of work and I'm retired. Have plenty of time for stuff like this as I don't garden, fish, and my wife keeps a close watch on me so I can't chase wild women or drink a lot 8) 8)

If I recall correctly someone wrote an article (but I can't find it) that mentioned 06 brass formed into .308 W is extremely durable. If it's thicker it might make sense.

 

[fguffey]

Ken Howell advised:

Anneal neck and shoulder. Trim to 2.1 inches. Form in 308 Win FL sizer die. Ream inside neck if needed. Trim to final length.

Brians356, always omitted: Case manufacturers do not sell cases for reloaders that know what they are doing. POINT!: All reloaders are fire formers, they fire a case to form to the chamber. When they have the opportunity to form a 30/06 case to 308 Winchester they go straight to full length size, they just can not help it.

The shoulder on the 30/06 is ahead of the 308 W shoulder by 1.387". When forming 30/06 cases to 308 W cases I use the length of the case from the shoulder to the case head to off set the length of the chamber form the shoulder to the bolt face.

No one ever ask but I use 280 Remington cases to off set the length of long 30/06 chambers, I would ask: "How can a reloader miss?" The 280 Remington case is .051" longer from the shoulder to the case head than the 30/06 case. All that is required when forming is to adjust the die off the shell holder.

Then there are those that choose to put a lot of money into gages, like go, no and beyond. A reloader that can measure the length of a case from the shoulder to the case head can form cases to check the length of the chamber in thousandths.

Case forming and case length to off set the length of the chamber. The 30/06 case can be used when forming 7.7 Japanese, 8mm57, 7mm57, 308 W, 243 W, 257 Roberts etc., etc..

F. Guffey

 

[Brians356]

The 30/06 case can be used when forming 7.7 Japanese, 8mm57, 7mm57, 308 W, 243 W, 257 Roberts etc., etc..

And the 308 Win can be formed from 7x57mm and 8x57mm Mauser, as well as from any of the full-length cases based on 30-06.

 

[wapiti25]

I have made brass for 7mm BR from 308, 7X57 from 06 and a lot of others just to see what it take's. Annealing is very important. Going down in small stages helps to keep the neck concentric with the body. If I would want to make 308 out of 06 I would order a die for the 358 win or the 338 Fed to use as an intermediate step, when I was making 7mm BR out of 308 I made my own dies in steps, I did not try to push all the brass thru with a 30* shoulder which I feel is too sharp. I might try using an 06 neck sizing die (17* shoulder) that has been cut off for forming before using the 308 FL die. I would anneal after almost every step. I made some decent 7mm BR brass for my XP 100 pistol and won some matches with it. I could not buy the Rem BR brass, so I would ream the inside of the 308 before forming and lots of neck turn and boring to make good brass. I'm currently making brass for a 22 plinker I came up with that is smaller than a fireball and bigger than a Hornet out of 223 brass.

 

[Brians356]

I'm currently making brass for a 22 plinker I came up with that is smaller than a fireball and bigger than a Hornet out of 223 brass.

How does your 22 plinker case compare to the 5.7x28mm we now see shelves full of?