Converting Lake City 7.62 NATO to 6.5 Creed. Is it really this simple, or am I being careless?

[tonyben]

I have tons of 308 brass. Enough to last me a lifetime. I just got my first 6.5 Creed. I have a minimal supply of brass. Someone posted about converting the brass and I didn't think it was as simple as it sounded.

So I lubed up a LC LR case with Imperial sizing wax and ran it through my Hornady match grade bushing die with a small bushing and it was that simple! I trimmed the case to length and it fits just fine in my chamber.

The case weighs 25 grains more than the Hornady cases I have, but only 5 grains more than the Federal cases I have. The neck walls measure 0.017" while the Federal cases measure 0.016" and the Hornady cases measure 0.014".

Is that all there is to it?

I do know that internal capacity will most likely be much smaller than the Hornady cases, so I'll start low and chronograph the results.

This is for a M14 chambered in 6.5 Creed.

Tony.

 

[Doug Beach]

A SAAMI 6.5 Creedmoor chamber has a .296” neck. With a .017” neck thickness, your loaded round will be ~.298”.

 

[rwj]

I see a nice lathe behind the rifle…

 

[tonyben]

So maybe a little neck turning and that would be it?

 

[rwj]

So maybe a little neck turning and that would be it?

That would ensure chambering in a .296 neck diameter. I’ve never formed cases in the manner you’ve described and can not comment on whether there are other concerns/issues. Hopefully those that have will.

 

[tonyben]

A SAAMI 6.5 Creedmoor chamber has a .296” neck. With a .017” neck thickness, your loaded round will be ~.298”.

I just shoved a Nosler CC into it and it mic's out at 0.2975". Also just tried to chamber it and it won't go into the chamber. So yeah, I guess neck turning will be a thing...

 

[ronemus]

A full length non-bushing die would be better for the conversion. A bushing die doesn't size a portion of the neck near the shoulder, and unless you size the neck no more than 0.003" at a time you will induce runout. The "false shoulder" on the neck will likely prevent the brass from fully chambering.

After forming, the neck thickness will increase because the brass gas to go somewhere when you reduce the diameter - don't be surprised if it's now 0.020" or so.

Don't turn the brass you formed in the bushing die. The unsized portion at the base would lead to a thin spot when turned and neck separations would happen after a few firings, possibly the first. Run them through a non-bushing die first.

 

[ebb]

Cartridge OAL is also a thing, Learn from my mistakes, please.

 

[LVLAaron]

I converted some .308 and 22-250 brass to 6.5CM years ago when 6.5 stuff was impossible to find. I would plan on turning necks and annealing.

 

[XTR]

Anneal, FL die for first sizing, turn necks.

get a 21st Century turning lathe, die and correct mandrel to push everything outside.

once they are sized you can do about 100 in an hour on a 21st Century, it’s no more a bother than any other brass prep step.

 

[243winxb]

it won't go into the chamber.

This is for a M14 chambered in 6.5 Creed.

Sell the 308 brass & buy new 6.5 brass.

Is an out of battery firing possible in this model?

 

[6.5 forever]

Sell the 308 brass & buy new 6.5 brass.

Is an out of battery firing possible in this model?

There is a lot of 6.5 brass out there....

 

[tonyben]

Is an out of battery firing possible in this model?

It's possible, but unlikely. The receiver has as safety bridge that stops the firing pin travel until the bolt is over 75% locked. The hammer also has a wedge that is designed to rotate the bolt fully closed if it hits the back of the bolt and the bolt is not fully locked into battery.

 

[ebb]

As long as the neck has clearance in the throat (may need neck turned) and the OAL is not so long as to pinch the bullet as the chamber gets smaller at the lead all should be good.

 

[tonyben]

Thanks! Looks like the cheapest I can get into neck turning is an adapter for my classic Forster case trimmer. I'll get more gear as time and finances allow. I also ordered a RCBS 6,5 AR series die set as it's supposed to size the case smaller than SAAMI spec.

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Shopping for the Small Base Taper Crimp Die Set - AR Series - Learn more about the latest Rifle Dies and other hunting or shooting gear at RCBS.

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Tony.

 

[boltfluter]

Why buy a neck turner when you have a full size lathe in the background. Very easy to turn necks on it with fantastic results. Scrap metel is all you need to machine the required mandrel.
Paul

 

[dstoenner]

I used both 243 win and 260 rem as well as 6.5 CM to make 6x47 Lapua. Only problem i had is the deep change of the shoulder woul sometimes put folds in the brass. I yielded about 50% good cartridges. I used these for practice at 100 yards but they would have never been useful for 1000 fclass that i used my 6x47L for.

I also used a 2 step process. I took the bushing out which would neck it down a little but set the shoulder back. If the shoulder was good then i would put the bushing in and take the neck down

David

 

[tonyben]

Why buy a neck turner when you have a full size lathe in the background. Very easy to turn necks on it with fantastic results. Scrap metel is all you need to machine the required mandrel.
Paul

Never seen it done that way. Pics?

 

[rwj]

Never seen it done that way. Pics?

 

[GaryL1959]

It's possible, but unlikely. The receiver has as safety bridge that stops the firing pin travel until the bolt is over 75% locked. The hammer also has a wedge that is designed to rotate the bolt fully closed if it hits the back of the bolt and the bolt is not fully locked into battery.

The M1 / M1A/ M14 CAN and will sometimes fire out of battery, once. 75% out of full lockup is still out of battery. If it happens, it's usually a wrecked rifle and sometimes a wrecked shooter.
Like said above, sell some of the .308 brass and buy some proper brass for the rifle. It would take a lot of brass to offset the cost of a cracked receiver, or even worse.