New barrel, old brass?

[nosualc]

Just a quick question, might be a fun discussion...

I have a tight-necked 6BRX barrel with about 900 rounds through it. This barrel shoots really well, so I plan to "save" this barrel for match (F-Class) use only.

Over the winter I had 2 new barrels setup by the same gunsmith with the same reamer. They are as identical to the original barrel as he could make them. The headspace is within .001".

I have about 230 pieces of 4x fired brass from the original barrel. To make the BRX brass I have to turn it first (tight neck) with a false shoulder and then fire-form it. This is a bit time-consuming to say the least.

I'm of the belief that I should make new brass for the new barrels, and save the brass I made in the original barrel for matches as well.

Am I being overly cautious or judiciously prudent?

-nosualc

 

[jonbearman]

I will get slaughtered for this.I dont see why you cant because I reuse brass by fireforming in the new barrel and shoot for group anyways.Then I check a case against the original chambered barrel to see how close it is.You are using the original reamer so there fore it should be extremely close except for headspace which will be corrected when you squeeze the trigger in the new barrel.

 

[SmokinJoe]

I have done this numerous times with no perceivable ill effects. However, as Jon said, check a few fired cases to make sure that the headspace is as close as you think it is. Basically, if replacement barrels are chambered by the same smith with the same, unaltered reamer, and they come out within the bump back, you should be OK.

 

[BoydAllen]

I have several barrels for one of my 6PPCs that were all chambered by the same smith, with my reamer. Like yours, the headspace is within a range of .001. I have never seen a problem interchanging the brass. My smith does his chambering a little differently in that he pushes the reamer with a center that is mounted on the saddle, like a tool, and adjusted by dialing it in off of the headstock so that it is perfectly centered on the axis of rotation. The reason that I mention this is that I think one of the advantages of this approach is that the back ends of my chambers are of identical dimension, as near as I can tell. My FL die is one that is no longer available. It has interchangeable inserts that screw into its base, that come in .001 increments. I use the same insert for all of my barrels, and it only sized the back of the case about .0005. If the chambers were different in this area. I think that I would see it in the amount of reduction that I was getting (or not) in this area.

 

[effendude]

I really think that you should make all new brass for the new barrels. Then you can sell me the old brass for scrap prices so I don't have to make brass for Lisa's identical barrel when Stan finishes her rifle. Hey, I am even willing to pay a couple cents a pound more than market price for the brass. ;D
Scott

 

[mshelton]

Anneal your old brass if you can then have at it.

 

[nosualc]

Thanks guys, a few responses...

- I gave my smith (Stan Ware) a dozen or so loaded rounds from the old brass so he wouldn't need to work any brass to function test. He fired three of these rounds in each new barrel. The headspace on the fired brass was within .001" of the fired brass from the original barrel (measured from base to shoulder using a case comparator). I haven't measured the fired cases in any other spots, but I'm confident they'll be right on.

- I anneal my match brass after every firing. It might be overkill, but it's part of my routine and I'm confident that it makes many things more consistent.

My main question (that I failed to articulate) was not whether the old brass will work (I'm very confident it would), but whether I should use it with new barrels, or save it for use with the old barrel (matches).

-nosualc

ps - Scott; no, you'll have to make your own brass. I do have a turner that is set up -just right- for you to use. I'll even help.

 

[searcher]

I posed your question to my gunsmith when I had new barrels made for a PPC with a new reamer and had a few hundred 5-fired cases from my old barrel. My gunsmith (also a competitor) was not hot on the idea, yet he may have been less biased if he did not also sell brass. Nevertheless, I annealed the brass, loaded as a fireforming load with bullets jambed and got CONSIDERABLE additional life from them, along with much better groups than the prior barrel. Barring large chamber differences or many firings already on the brass, I would not hesitate to do this again - after annealing.