Need second-fired case for Harrel's die ...

[GentleBen]

Just spoke with Lynwood at Harrel's Brothers -- they are are going to prepare a 6mmBR FL sizing die for me,when they get back from turkey hunting) ...

I told him I had three once-fired, fire-formed pieces of Lapua brass to send him. They were commercial-loaded Lapua 90gr rounds. He asked that I fire them again so that he'd have some twice-fired rounds to work with.

Question is, any particular load I should use for the second firing? I have several bullets, ranging from 68, 75, 80, 87 and 105 to choose from and a Redding Competition seater die. I also have a decapping base and punch pin,glad I bought them) to get the fired primer out. Is there any special powder load or bullet weight, seating depth I should use -- I am probably just going to be firing the reloads into a bullet catcher.,Powder on hand is plenty and varied, as are primers. I have a little bit of Varget in my dispenser right now.) Do I need a full charge?)

I just want to make sure the Harrels will be getting properly fired and formed cases. Any opinions?

By the way, will send photos of rifle, it is a beauty and looks great with one of Larry's SIII 8-32s atop it.

 

[StevenDzupin]

Why not just take apart 3 more loaded rounds and transfer the new components to the fired cases after neck sizing?

Fire away and your ready to send those twice fired cases to Harrel's.

Regards,

Steve

 

[scout1]

GB, I'd run a 105 in the lands and 29 grns of Varget.
That should be enough pressure, approx 50K ) to get good expantion with a good seal while keeping the primer pockets safe. This should give them a good chamber size while acounting for the brass springback.

 

[RJinTexas]

The std load of 30.0gr Varget/95gr Berger or SMK, or you could use 29.0gr H3222/75gr Vmax both work well in my 6br's. Being your using cases that have already been fired in your chamber I believe it is not important that the bullet be jammed if you only neck size.
RJ

 

[GentleBen]

I don't have a neck sizer die. I am counting on the Harrels to be my only die,per the advice on this board). So I have no way of controlling neck tension except perhaps for the seater die -- unless of course I put some vise-grips to them. :crazy:

 

[GentleBen]

Of course, I do have .267 and .268 bushings available. How about I just slip that on top of the neck and give it a light rap with a small brass mallet before I load a bullet. After all, it only has to shoot 18 inches.

Or, do the once-fired cases still have enough neck tension for what I am doing.

 

[GentleBen]

I hand-pushed a .268 bushing over the neck mouth to tighten it up as much as I could then yanked it off,not easy with bare hands), loaded those three once-fired Lapua cases with 85gr Sierras with 29.0gr Varget, used CCI-BR4 primers, and then proceeded to shoot a one-hole ragged group ... into a gunsmith can 18 inches away. :thumb:

Felt good, sounded good, no extraction or ejection problems, and cases and primers looked good. Mission accomplished, cases in the mail to Harrell's Precision now for a near-custom fit FL die.

Thanks for the all the tips.

Here's an observation some of you already know, but want to share it. When I first tried to fit a bullet into the once-fired cases they were pretty tight and almost snug enough. But when I tapped out to the primers using a Wilson 6mmBR punch and base, the punch slipped into the case mouth and widened it up a bit. Bullets then dropped right into the casing. So if you remove primers manually, be sure to run them through at least a neck sizing die to make sure you've got good neck tension.