Fireforming 6 Dasher: Bought the wrong expander arbor

[michaelnel]

Hi

I wanted to fireform some 6 dasher. Thinking I would go for the false shoulder method (I have one of the Hornady Hydro dies on order, but who knows when that will show up?), I bought a 21st Century expander mandrel. Problem is, I bought the .25 caliber one instead of the .257/6.5mm by mistake.

If I use the same procedure but with the .25 cal instead of .257 one, will the false shoulder be big enough to work, or should I see if 21st Century will swap the 25 for the .257? Not that big an expense really even if they won't, but if the .25 will work, I will go ahead and do it. I will be doing it in a fairly tight neck (.268).

 

[Keith Glasscock]

I've never seen a 25 cal bullet that wasn't .257 diameter. I would measure the expander you have - probably .256 - just right for a .257

 

[abishai]

false shoulders dont care as long as they are bigger than the actual shoulder

 

[dkhunt14]

You can use a .257 but you need to put the bullet in the rifling hard. I prefer to use the .257 caliber because I don't like overworking the brass. Once in a while a bullet will slip and you get a misfire. I just pull the bullet resize and fire again. Make sure you set the die up to just size enough of the neck that the bolt shuts with a bit of resistance with the fire control out. Matt

 

[Canadian bushman]

25 cal is .257
6.5mm is .264

 

[michaelnel]

Yep, sorry. I am old and feeble minded. The expander I got measures .256", so it will be fine.

 

[Jet]

.25 will work fine. Below is a link to read through.

http://wwaccuracy.com/showthread.php?365-Making-Match-Quality-6-Dasher-Brass

Good Shooting.

Rich

 

[michaelnel]

Given that my rifle has a .268" neck, I am tempted to try this method shown in a video by RidgewayBodies:

http://youtu.be/UuimMVJramo

 

[6mmcldasher]

I don't expand the necks anymore, turn the neck , load long same result. keep the brass and the chamber clean with alcohol or degreaser . I use 31g varget with 108 bergers