Forming 6XC Brass - Picture

[Ledd Slinger]

Picture is of my forming method. I shortened a 7mm-08 'body' sizing die to knock the shoulder back to 6XC specs before running it in my 6XC FL sizing die. Using a 7mm-08 instead of a 308 sizing die allows you to step the neck down where you can finish the process by simply running it in your 6XC die. Turns it into a 2 step sizing process. Brass comes out perfect.

I shortened the 7mm-08 body die on my bench grinder, then beveled the bottom back out with a dremel type tool.

The two cases in the picture on the left show a 308 win case in its normal state, then the same case after it has been sized with the shortened 7mm-08 body die.

Next two cases in the middle are an example of using 243 Win brass with the same 7mm-08 body die. Before and after.



Finally on the right side of the picture is the resulting extra long neck 6XC case after either the 308 or 243 case has been run in the 6XC FL sizing die. Next is the properly trimmed and fully finished 6XC case. Third is modified case I made to check headspacing.

*Notice I removed my decapping stem and expander ball from the 6XC die. You don't want to try and pull a ball through the long neck after forming. Just insert a standard no turn neck bushing in your die (or whatever is the largest you have). When using a non-bushing die just remove stem and run it through. Once case has been trimmed and annealed, that's when it is best to size the neck. I personally will be opening them up with an expander mandrel to turn the necks down after annealing.

Really nothing to it and well worth the extra effort if you have some good 308, 7mm-08, 260, or 243 brass lying around..

 

[jonbearman]

Thanks for the nice article on case forming it appears to make it easy.

 

[Phil]

How much did you shorten the 7-08 die???

 

[Ledd Slinger]

How much did you shorten the 7-08 die???

Can't remember exactly. It was about 0.120" I believe. I took case dimension measurrment from base to shoulder on the 6XC and subtracted it from the same case dimensions of the 7mm-08 and then went roughly .010" more so I wasn't bottoming the die out on the shell holder. Anyhow, the Redding 7mm-08 Body die now measures 2.375"

 

[Phil]

Thanks, i`ll do the same and compare the length.

Thanks for posting your procedure and the pictures.

I believe i see a XC with Palma brass in my future.

Phil.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Thanks, i`ll do the same and compare the length.

Thanks for posting your procedure and the pictures.

I believe i see a XC with Palma brass in my future.

Phil.

I'm just using Black Hills Match 308 brass, which is actually made by Winchester. Very good quality though. My 6XC is only a hunting/varmint rifle with a 22" #4 contour barrel. If it were a competition rifle, I would definitely go with the Lapua 308 Palma brass for the small primer pocket.

 

[Phil]

Yeah, me too....

I don`t shoot paper, unless i have to, i`d rather shoot at reactive targets... ;D

What bullet and velocity are you putting through your barrel???

Phil.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Yeah, me too....

I don`t shoot paper, unless i have to, i`d rather shoot at reactive targets... ;D

What bullet and velocity are you putting through your barrel???

Phil.

Haven't even shot it yet. Just had it built. Still making all my brass. Take a little while to make a few hundred cases. I have Berger 105gr Hybrids and VLDs and 108gr I plan to test for hunting. Probably use either the 70gr Speer TNT or Sierra 75gr HP for varminting.

 

[mysticplayer]

7BR sizer to bump the shoulder.

Fireform with COW

And away you go... PRVI 22-250 brass.

So much easier.

Jerry

PS I am sure you are aware but Mr Tubbs started with 22-250 brass that is what the original base diameter is sized for. There is now a "6XC II" sized to work better with the 308 family of cases.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Good call on the 7 BR to avoid bulging the shoulder on 22-250 brass Just not crazy about the fireforming. That step in your process makes it 'not so much easier'. But whatever works for you, more power to you. As long as you get a 6XC case in the end, that's all that really matters.

The only reason I went with 308 family cases is because the base of the body and the shoulder diameter on the 308 is a lot closer to my 6XC reamer than the 22-250 and there is NO FIRE FORMING needed.

Read a lot about the base of 'non-Lapua' 22-250 brass being too skinny and never really fitting the chamber correctly even after fire forming. I know 22-250 brass can work as well, but you can never get a completely formed shoulder with any method of forming it until it has been fired in the gun. Even if you used my method on 22-250 brass, the shoulder diameter would still be way skinnier than a true 6XC and would not match up until fired. Can you tell yet that the fire-forming part is what I really don't like? Done that before with other Ackley type rounds and it's a pain IMO. Still have to do the 'false shoulder' fire-forming method with one of my Ackley rifles.

Using a 308 family case gives you an 'exact' dimension completely formed 6XC case ready to rock. You can even set up your dies off newly formed cases. When forming the case in the 6XC die, leave the shoulder a little long to where it chambers really hard. Then just gradually adjust your 6XC die down until you get the headspacing you desire and easy chambering. Done. Die set.

Much of my method was of course derived from reading other folks ideas and ventures into forming 6XC cases. But most of what I read talked about making these pain in the butt modified shell holder adapters with exact size washers to push the case up in a 308 sizing die too far then having to knock it out with a rod and hammer. Then you had to form the neck down from 308 before running it in your 6XC die. Yadda, yadda, yadda...

If you try to run a 308 case shortened by a 308 sizing die into a 6XC die, it crushes the neck down in the shoulder completely. But going from 308 to 7mm to start with sets the stage so the neck can be knocked down to 6mm with no trouble.

Just my opinion on the best way to do it. Not knocking other methods because they DO work. This is just what I found to work best for me.

 

[Fire306]

I have so far made my 6XC cases from Lapua 22-250 cases, but am interested in this process.
If I'm reading correctly, any 308 based case should work. (243, 260, 7mm08)??

Has anyone experimented with 308 Palma yet to have the small primer pocket??

 

[Phil]

Has anyone experimented with 308 Palma yet to have the small primer pocket??

My thoughts exactly.....

Phil.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I have so far made my 6XC cases from Lapua 22-250 cases, but am interested in this process.
If I'm reading correctly, any 308 based case should work. (243, 260, 7mm08)??

Has anyone experimented with 308 Palma yet to have the small primer pocket??

Yes sir. Any 308 family case will work exactly the same so it leaves a lot of options out there for commonly available brass from all different manufacturers. The 2 pieces of brass on the left side of my picture are BHA Match 308 Win cases. The 2 pieces in the middle are Federal 243 Win cases

Hornady 6.5 Creedmoor brass would also work for this process. Probably even other potential parent cases out there that I haven't identified yet...

Phil plans on utilizing the Lapua 308 Palma brass to get the consistent ignition advantage of the small primer pocket. Of course the primer pocket has nothing to do with the forming process. A 308 case is a 308 case and will form exactly the same as my Black Hills Match cases in the picture. Good luck.

Don't forget to anneal and turn necks when done

 

[Phil]

I shoot varmints....

That means i like flat trajectories and lightning fast boolitz.

Therefore, i lean on my brass and think that the small primer pockets will be a strength bonus.

Phil.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I shoot varmints....

That means i like flat trajectories and lightning fast boolitz.

Therefore, i lean on my brass and think that the small primer pockets will be a strength bonus.

Phil.

Thats right. More meat around the pocket = more strength

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I haven't looked into it yet, but one thing to watch out for would be what size flash hole the Lapua 308 Palma brass uses. It may be the smaller PPC style, not sure. If so, have to get proper decapping pin for sizing die or decapping die, whichever you use for that step in the process.

 

[Fire306]

Just looked it up on the Lapua site, and yes the 308 Palma uses a small flash hole like 6PPC and 6BR
I am going to try to track some Palma brass down here in Canada and give it a try.

 

[JohnD]

I have been watching this thread with great interest as I have recently formed some
WW 22-250 cases to the 6XC. Fireformed with the COW method and now have fired
full powered rounds in them. Seem to work really well, however…After some measurements just in front of the extractor groove, they are somewhat smaller
than the Norma 6XC brass I have and don't equal the 6XC in size until about .200
in front of the extractor groove. Not sure if this is going to be a problem but I'm thinking the primer pockets may loosen prematurely especially since these pockets didn't feel all that tight even when new. Any 6XC experts care to comment?
Sure would like to hear some thoughts on this.

Regards, John.

 

[Catfur]

7BR sizer to bump the shoulder.

Fireform with COW

And away you go... PRVI 22-250 brass.

So much easier.

Jerry

PS I am sure you are aware but Mr Tubbs started with 22-250 brass that is what the original base diameter is sized for. There is now a "6XC II" sized to work better with the 308 family of cases.

I have found that by running my 22-250 brass into my Forester full length (6XC) sizer, with the sizing button removed, I eliminate most of the mushroom head effect, and get full length necks.

 

[mysticplayer]

No problem on different methods to form the case. More the merrier.

Fireforming is a must do regardless.... unless you go with the hydroforming and even then, the brass is unlikely to take a set until that first gunpowder bang.

A few things to consider... I really don't want to form my necks from the shoulder or case body of a longer case. That is usually the really thick stuff and has to be fully and properly annealed to work like the factory case necks. I see that you have a Bench Source annealer so you have a superb annealing tool to handle this task but others may not. Trying to anneal manually can be inconsistent.

Taking care of that really thick neck and/or donuts may be a pain too.

Regardless, I consider it a good value to do my own brass prep using a less expensive and readily available case. I have found that the fireforming is still plenty accurate for club matches so it really doesn't eat up any more components or waste precious bore life. The COW forming has not caused any added wear on a barrel and very fast and simple to do.

have fun with the end result... It is a very fun cartridge and enjoying my time so far with it.

Jerry