If you had to make 6br brass what brass would you start with?

[ssv1761982]

I know we form wildcat brass from a parent case. What is the parent of the 6br?

 

[jds holler]

308 Win I believe.

I know a guy who used to make them from those with forming dies and such. jd

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Pbike forming dies you can make em from anything like a 270,25-06,30-06,243 whatever has that boltface and is long enough

 

[Iowa Fox]

Pbike forming dies you can make em from anything like a 270,25-06,30-06,243 whatever has that boltface and is long enough

Pbike form dies are the first thing that hit my mind when I saw the op. Lots of good brass out there these days with small primers, or use large if you like.

 

[wholman]

Why not buy it already made.

 

[thekriebles]

I know we form wildcat brass from a parent case. What is the parent of the 6br?

I believe the original 6mm Benchrest Remington wildcat was a necked-down .308 x 1.5″ Barnes cartridge. As many have mentioned above, it can be made from many other cases as long as you have forming dies and a good case cutter.

 

[hoz53]

I know we form wildcat brass from a parent case. What is the parent of the 6br?

i am working on being able to do this. ive used win 308 brass so far. i get them close by running them in a 7br sizing die then a redding 6br body die.
ill contact Pbike about his dies

 

[Dusty Stevens]

This would be a good time for shadetree engineering and accuracy to spring into action and dust off those prints for their top shelf case forming die @butchlambert

 

[ssv1761982]

Thanks everybody for the comments. With the current shortage of 6br I was just curious. You never know what the future will bring.

 

[hoz53]

Thanks everybody for the comments. With the current shortage of 6br I was just curious. You never know what the future will bring.

yeah i just want to be able to make them if i need to

 

[SteveOak]

I believe the original 6mm Benchrest Remington wildcat was a necked-down .308 x 1.5″ Barnes cartridge. As many have mentioned above, it can be made from many other cases as long as you have forming dies and a good case cutter.

This is correct. The 6BR is a 30BR (.308 X 1.5" Barnes) although somewhere along the way it was changed to a small primer.

If you were to make 6BR cases, most and 308 based case, 260 Rem, 243 Win, 308 Win could be used. You might want to find cases with a small primer like the Lapua 308 case.

 

[sdean]

Seams like a Norma 6 dasher case might be closest. Maybe not the cheapest.

 

[Will Henry]

The original 6 BR Remington followed the 22 BR. These cartridges were designed to compete with the 22 and 6mm PPC cartridge. The parent case was a 308 case with a small primer pocket. I still have a couple of original cases with no headstamp and some with the 22 BR headstamp. The original case, after forming, was 1.510" long and I have a 40X barrel so chambered. The original standard neck diameter was .266". I also have reamers for both cartridges in their original configuration. RCBS made a set of forming dies to form this brass. As I recall, there were four forming dies and a trim die. The parent brass was made from 300 Savage cups to reduce thickness somewhat but it was still pretty thick by the time it was done and annealing was a mandatory step before firing or the shoulder would never sharpen up. In addition, it was 6BR brass, so-formed, which really brought the dreaded donut to everyone's attention. Cindy Six, Lee's daughter, used to offer formed brass for 50 cents apiece iirc and I always thought it was well worth it; even in 1980. I truly believe, if Remington had produced factory-formed brass initially, the 6PPC might not have quite the monopoly in short range BR that it does. There was a period where 220 Russian brass was unavailable and the 6BR made some inroads but it was still necessary to form brass and this limited it's acceptance. When the 22BR was first introduced, Jim Stekl won the 2-gun aggregate at the Super Shoot. His 22 BR was a (somewhat) factory 40X while his 6BR was (I think) built by Fred Sinclair.
A friend and fellow gunsmith/ competitor, Nobby Uno, formed brass from 22/250 which worked fine but used a LR primer, of course. He fired two batches of brass, one with small pockets and one with large, all through one season and the season aggregates were virtually identical.
If I had to form brass today, I think I would be inclined to use 22-250 brass. WH

 

[Mozella]

If I absolutely had to have some 6mm BR brass and I couldn't buy it, I'd start with some 40 caliber pistol brass.





I'd buy the 40 caliber brass already loaded. Then I'd put the cartridges into two magazines. Then I'd put one magazine in my 40 caliber semi-automatic pistol and the other magazine in my pocket and go down the street to rob a guy who I know has a bunch of 6mm Br brass.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

If I absolutely had to have some 6mm BR brass and I couldn't buy it, I'd start with some 40 caliber pistol brass.





I'd buy the 40 caliber brass already loaded. Then I'd put the cartridges into two magazines. Then I'd put one magazine in my 40 caliber semi-automatic pistol and the other magazine in my pocket and go down the street to rob a guy who I know has a bunch of 6mm Br brass.

You got a ski mask?

 

[hoz53]

The original 6 BR Remington followed the 22 BR. These cartridges were designed to compete with the 22 and 6mm PPC cartridge. The parent case was a 308 case with a small primer pocket. I still have a couple of original cases with no headstamp and some with the 22 BR headstamp. The original case, after forming, was 1.510" long and I have a 40X barrel so chambered. The original standard neck diameter was .266". I also have reamers for both cartridges in their original configuration. RCBS made a set of forming dies to form this brass. As I recall, there were four forming dies and a trim die. The parent brass was made from 300 Savage cups to reduce thickness somewhat but it was still pretty thick by the time it was done and annealing was a mandatory step before firing or the shoulder would never sharpen up. In addition, it was 6BR brass, so-formed, which really brought the dreaded donut to everyone's attention. Cindy Six, Lee's daughter, used to offer formed brass for 50 cents apiece iirc and I always thought it was well worth it; even in 1980. I truly believe, if Remington had produced factory-formed brass initially, the 6PPC might not have quite the monopoly in short range BR that it does. There was a period where 220 Russian brass was unavailable and the 6BR made some inroads but it was still necessary to form brass and this limited it's acceptance. When the 22BR was first introduced, Jim Stekl won the 2-gun aggregate at the Super Shoot. His 22 BR was a (somewhat) factory 40X while his 6BR was (I think) built by Fred Sinclair.
A friend and fellow gunsmith/ competitor, Nobby Uno, formed brass from 22/250 which worked fine but used a LR primer, of course. He fired two batches of brass, one with small pockets and one with large, all through one season and the season aggregates were virtually identical.
If I had to form brass today, I think I would be inclined to use 22-250 brass. WH

alot of good info here. ill try 22-250. I am trying to use off the shelf dies instead of special forming dies. i have not been able to get the shoulder pushed back enough but i havent tried annealing before froming either. i will take some off a redding body die if i have to. also obviously the necks come out thick and have to be turned. Thanks Much

 

[hoz53]

If I absolutely had to have some 6mm BR brass and I couldn't buy it, I'd start with some 40 caliber pistol brass.





I'd buy the 40 caliber brass already loaded. Then I'd put the cartridges into two magazines. Then I'd put one magazine in my 40 caliber semi-automatic pistol and the other magazine in my pocket and go down the street to rob a guy who I know has a bunch of 6mm Br brass.

ha ha silly guy and after you got your 6br brass Bubba could help you load it while youre sitting(or in another position) in jail

 

[SteveOak]

.....I truly believe, if Remington had produced factory-formed brass initially, the 6PPC might not have quite the monopoly in short range BR that it does....
If I had to form brass today, I think I would be inclined to use 22-250 brass. WH

I am an absolute fan of the 6BR, just built one even though the 'commonly accepted wisdom' in the sport I shoot says that it is too small, the 6X47 or 260 Rem being much more common. That being said, if the 6BR could outshoot the 6PPC at 100 and 200 yards, that would be the most common cartridge. I know two benchrest shooters, both world record holders, that shoot 6BR but it is .100" short to give it a case capacity similar to the 6PPC.

The case capacity of the 6PPC for the sizes (weights) of bullets commonly used for benchrest and the resulting lower recoil just seems to be the combination capable of the smallest aggs at 100 and 200 yards. I suspect also that the 6PPC has the optimum case capacity for the bullets benchrest shooters use.

At longer distances, 400 yards and up, where the advantage of momentum and better BC makes up for dealing with a bit more recoil, the 6BR is clearly the better choice.

To your second point, I forgot about the 22-250 case. Probably a better place to start if you are ok with using a large primer.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Cant you still get small primer 308 palma brass? How bout 6.5x47?

 

[spclark]

Cant you still get small primer 308 palma brass? How bout 6.5x47?

For Palma brass, yes as far as I know. Lapua, Alpha Munitions and Peterson Cartridge Co. make and distribute it.

Same three offer small primer 6.5 Creedmoor cases (Alpha and Peterson apparently have 6 Creedmoor too; Lapua was rumored to be working on it but I haven’t heard anything about its being available yet) with small primer pockets too.

I’ve used Lapua’s to make 6XC (and their Palma brass too at the very beginning) and fully believe the Creedmoor easier to re-form than the 308. Both will produce exceptional cases that last far longer than anything in 6XC I’ve ever shot having a large primer pocket.

6.5x47 I don’t pay much attention to but don’t see any reason it wouldn’t work if you can find any.