forming and neck turning 6.5-284.

[RTiltonHilton]

I have a bunch of questions as I am ready to start loading for my 6.5-284.

I have new winchester 284 brass. I was instructed by the guy I got the barrel from "use the Win brass". I now need to size down the necks. I have been studying archived articles and have some basic ideas now. I have a no neck turn chamber and I will use this cartridge for LR. My intention is to clean up the necks and attempt to gain concentricity and some uniformity with respect to the neck tension of these cases.

Is it advised to size,Fl or neck) then expand, turn, and then neck size again before firing -OR- should I size down, shoot em then expand and turn the neck? I also wonder if I should attempt to anneal as I have read some about this.

I have 200 cases to work with but have not sorted by weight so I don't know exactly what I will end up with yet. I wonder if annealing is worth the effort? I understand I may not accomplish much as I am a neophyte at this.

How many loadings out of a Win case might I expect?

I understand I may only see 700-1200 rounds out of this barrel. I may attempt to shoot out to @ 600 rounds then possibly set it back for additional life. With barrel life in mind what is the best way to get from 284 brass to match ready 6.5-284 brass?

Another goal for this round is to get my load work and case prep done this year. I am shooting a Palma gun and I will shoot that rifle exclusively this year at mid range and long range in competition. I want to learn to shoot the 155's first. So long story short I am not in a rush to get the 6.5 up and running. It is most likely next years LR gun for me. That said I will invest the extra time and effort in prep if it will make a difference. Thank you, Rich

 

[2644ever]

A no neck turn chamber? I wouldn't turn the neck at all, I would just clean the oxide on 270°,3/4 turn of the necks)and I would do it only after the first forming shot. I wouldn't anneal as I always got mixed results,to say the least) with this procedure and I would coat my bullets from the very start including the ones I would use for the barrel break in /case forming procedure.
Barrel life should bee longer than you think if you stay away from rapid fire, max loads, very slow spherical powders, too much cleaning and... not enough cleaning!

 

[BillK]

I have had good luck with the Winchester brass when doing brass for my 6.5-284. I like to anneal right after necking down the brass. I like it this way for neck turning ease/good finish. Even though it is a no turn neck I would verify loaded round size before trying to shoot it. It probably wouldn't hurt to just clean up the necks with a turner for concentricity reasons. Usually brass that is necked down is not very concentric in the neck.

 

[RTiltonHilton]

Thanks guys. That Hoover article was just what I was looking for. I had read that a while back but did not have the 6.5-284 barrel at that time so I did not read it on the same level.
Thanks again, Rich