fire forming to straighten case necks

[babyrou]

Shooting 300 Ultra mag + am very limited to available brass. All to soft except for Remington. After full brass prep runout @ case necks average.007-.028, seated bullets the same. [Due to crooked shoulders]. After one firing in match chamber runout @ neck + with seated bullet less than .001. Problem is after 2- maybe 3 firings primer pockets dangerously loose. If I back loads off 350 fps, might get 1 more firing from each case. I am considering fire forming with cream off wheat, maybe just a primer with cotton ball stuffed into case, maybe a cork with a little bit of pistol powder, maybe just load 350 rounds @ 50,000 psi with a cheap bullet + add that much wear to barrel simply to get 350 rounds of straight brass. Lots of guys use the cream of wheat to form improved cases. Anyone have any experiance doing it to just straighten out shoulders? Probable don't need as much pressure as if one were to fire form an ackley style case. If I can due this with as little pressure as possible. I will get maximum case + barrel life. Any input greatly appreciated.

 

[mikehenniger]

babyrou,

I have not fire formed to straighten case necks, but your own experience shows it works. I have just finished fire forming 500 cases for a short fat .30 cal that started life as a .404 Jeffrey. I used 14 grains of red dot, cream of wheat to the case mouth and a ¼ sheet of toilet paper as a wad crushed very firmly over the cream of wheat. Some insights:

1.In my case, the shoulder is 18 to 20 thou. thick while the neck is 11-12 thick,,due to using the 404 case). The angles are not really sharp until the case has been fired full bore a few times.

2.Cram of wheat cleans out of the barrel OK, but it is difficult to get the particles out of the rails, bolt stop, magazine etc. so don’t spill it in the first place.

3.If you anneal the necks, they will form better.

4.Red Dot is what I had, most people use Bullseye. I even used Herco in 23 cases just a tad more & I saw no difference.

Good luck on ya.

Mike Henniger