This is my first post so don't be cruel if I'm too ignorant. I'm wanting to form some better quality 25/06 cases than that offered by Winchester or Remington. I can neck down 30/06 brass to 25/06 in my full length sizer no problem. I've tried a couple of Remington cases. I tried 270 Winchester cases but they required a lot of neck trimming. What am I going to run into trying a quality brass 30/06 such as Lapua or Norma? I don't want to ruin a bunch of cases. Will I lose a lot of uniformity in the necks? I realize that the brass will be slightly thicker and thus bigger in neck diameter using a standard full length sizer die and this is probably a plus with my factory 25/06 chamber as long as I'm careful. Will case necks possibly need to be turned? Is it worth doing to obtain better brass or is it going to just be a headache with no real benefit over factory brass? Maybe someone out there does this.
Making 25-06 Cases from 30-06?
- Thread starter WhelenMan
- Start date
That is how they used to be made!!!!......and ....some of us "idiots" use 30-06 brass,Lapua if u like ...or just plain ole W-W) for everything ...270-280,,ooo yea I know they are a lil short))...25-06 etc....usually the chamber neck is large enough that the 30-06 brass works great....a coupa of us have .280 auto loaders for deer huntin here in the big woods and once they are fire formed they function perfectly and shoot as good as anything ....Roger
Preacher
Gold $$ Contributor
You would be better served if you could take the neck diameter down in steps, and be sure to grease em up good.....
You will be able to see if they need the necks turned as soon as you check the first one fired out of your chamber. A bullet should make a nice pop sound when you pull it out of a fired case. If they go in tight, they need turned till they don't.
You will be able to see if they need the necks turned as soon as you check the first one fired out of your chamber. A bullet should make a nice pop sound when you pull it out of a fired case. If they go in tight, they need turned till they don't.
Some things to consider:
If you do have a factory 25-06 chamber,Rem Win Browning Ruger etc.) you definitely need to trim the case length to the recommended size in your loading book. This is regardless of what brass you start with.
If you use a full length sizing die with a button expander, the thicker neck will most likely not cause you a problem.
Lapua makes 30-06 brass and Nosler makes 270 Win brass. Either would be an improvement over the bulk Rem or Win product.
If you are working with a factory hunting rifle, you most likely will not see a dramatic improvement in accuracy. How many firings do you normally expect out of your brass?
If you do have a factory 25-06 chamber,Rem Win Browning Ruger etc.) you definitely need to trim the case length to the recommended size in your loading book. This is regardless of what brass you start with.
If you use a full length sizing die with a button expander, the thicker neck will most likely not cause you a problem.
Lapua makes 30-06 brass and Nosler makes 270 Win brass. Either would be an improvement over the bulk Rem or Win product.
If you are working with a factory hunting rifle, you most likely will not see a dramatic improvement in accuracy. How many firings do you normally expect out of your brass?
Thanks for all the info so far. The tip about using a fired case to check for fit of a new bullet is a new one for me. I learned one more thing today. I will be happy to get five or six firings out a prepared brass. I've loaded 35 Whelens extensively and usually don't push the brass beyond that just for safety considerations. I always size my brass to the factory trim length after each firing for consistancy and have been looking at the neck length gauges to determine the actual neck length I can get by with in my rifle. Like I said I'm just getting started in the precision game and am still learning for an old guy. Thanks and keep 'em coming.
I just made a couple of homemade bullet seating depth tools for small and large calibers yesterday and today. I think they're going to be a lot more accurate than the one's Stoney Point and Hornady sell. So far they look good and seem to be repeatable measurements. We'll see with time and use.
I just made a couple of homemade bullet seating depth tools for small and large calibers yesterday and today. I think they're going to be a lot more accurate than the one's Stoney Point and Hornady sell. So far they look good and seem to be repeatable measurements. We'll see with time and use.
WhelenMan, I understand you do not intend to use factory ammo or regular 25-06 brass, so my friendly advice,that is:if I were you)would be to bring my rifle to a competent gunsmith and ask him to lengthen the neck of its chamber so a dummy cartridge made out of an untrimmed and necked down .270 or .280 would fit without problem. This way, you should be able to use some outstanding brass from Sweden or Finland and skip the chore of turning or reaming necks... Of course, you would end up with a 25-270 but I guess you wouln't mind at all.
I've used the 30-06 to make 25-06 brass. I wanted thicker necks to fit the chamber better and for that purpose I found Federal brass, at roughly 202 gr per shell, heavier.
If the 30-06 had been fired once, I cleaned, lubed and fl sized it as a 30-06 and then went to a 25-06 fl die. Two presses side by side made it easy. Then tumbled to further polish it. I found that the finished product needed to be trimmed about 8 thousandths. I still kept the finished length the same as a new 25-06 shell. The neck gained close to 4 thousandths in width with the bullets loaded, and that fit the chamber much better. I was able to squeek out a little more accuracy with the same load. With 25-06 brass, I could group at between .6 and .8 with 5 at 100. With the thicker 30-06, I went down to a tick under
.5 to .7. ,Not much . . . but a slight improvement). I think the thicker neck accounted for the slight improvement. This is obviously not a benchrest gun. I thought of going to the Lupua to see if I could wring out another tenth. This rig will never shoot 2's or 3's so it is probably at its best.
If the 30-06 had been fired once, I cleaned, lubed and fl sized it as a 30-06 and then went to a 25-06 fl die. Two presses side by side made it easy. Then tumbled to further polish it. I found that the finished product needed to be trimmed about 8 thousandths. I still kept the finished length the same as a new 25-06 shell. The neck gained close to 4 thousandths in width with the bullets loaded, and that fit the chamber much better. I was able to squeek out a little more accuracy with the same load. With 25-06 brass, I could group at between .6 and .8 with 5 at 100. With the thicker 30-06, I went down to a tick under
.5 to .7. ,Not much . . . but a slight improvement). I think the thicker neck accounted for the slight improvement. This is obviously not a benchrest gun. I thought of going to the Lupua to see if I could wring out another tenth. This rig will never shoot 2's or 3's so it is probably at its best.
richard295 that is exactly the info I was looking for. The Remington 30-06 and 270 brass I tried both gained between 2 and 3 thousandths on the neck diameter. I've got some once fired Federal around in both 30-06 and 270 and I'll give them a go also. If I can get any gain I'll be happy. My main purpose was to see if I could come up with the best brass possible for a 25-06 since match quality isn't available to my knowledge. With factory brass I'm consistantly staying in the half to three quarter MOA mark at 200 and would like to improve this factory rifle to think about shooting for the first time with a factory rifle. I know I won't be able to run with the big dogs, but I can be an also ran. Maybe in the next year or two I'll go with a full custom bench quality rifle. This will get me in the game and learning. Thanks
Preacher
Gold $$ Contributor
Whelen man-
Another real slick way to find the trim length if you have access to a Hawkeye bore scope is to ream a hole in the primer pocket large enough to insert the borescope and you will see where the case neck should end when you insert the case into the chamber. Usually the manual settings are off a lot and allow a place for residue to build up.
Those leaded plugs from Sinclair also do the job....
Another real slick way to find the trim length if you have access to a Hawkeye bore scope is to ream a hole in the primer pocket large enough to insert the borescope and you will see where the case neck should end when you insert the case into the chamber. Usually the manual settings are off a lot and allow a place for residue to build up.
Those leaded plugs from Sinclair also do the job....
Interesting preacher...but unfortunately I don't have a borescope or know anyone at this time who does. Maybe when I get into the game a little more I'll find someone who does. For now I need to spend the extra 6-800 dollars on my rifle, scope, and gear. I think that before next year my boat may be becoming a new rifle. I think it would be used more and take up less space for storage. Those chamber length gauges are what I've been looking at. One day when I've got a little time on my hands I'll make a reasonable facsimile for my calibers. Tinkering's fun anyway.
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