Problem necking down 6.5x47 lapua brass

[weejohn]

Hi folks.
As the title says i am having a problem trying to neck down the 6.5x47lapua to 6x47.

Now the problem is both the forster full length and bushing bump die is leaving a small portion of around 20thou at the base of the neck unsized.

I am having a .269 tight neck chamber so i need to fully
re-size the case necks before neck turning otherwise i am stuffed.

Does anyone know why this may be happening and is this common for the 6x47lapua dies as i have heard of redding dies also having this problem.

Any suggestions will be most welcome.

 

[1000yardstare]

I went through similar neck problems in forming 6mm Super LR from .243 brass. Bought a Sinclair 6XC non-bushing F/L sizing die. Pushes the shoulder from factory 20 degrees to 6SLR 30 degrees and sizes the whole neck. I believe the 6x47 also has a 30 degree shoulder.

A side effect is creating a visible donut at the base of the neck but that is a whole other story.

 

[mikecr]

You could turn at 26cal, then size down for reloading..
Just a few culled cases for a little trial & error.

 

[Preacher]

I always turn my.284 cases before necking them to .257.........
Actually I turn everything before necking down or up..
No problems at all with doing that to my 6x47 Lapua with Forster dies...
The bushing needs a ledge to set on or they would fall through the die, thats why there is a area on the neck that is untouched..

 

[camac]

As Preacher pointed out the bushing dies won't get to the very bottom, but your FL die should. If not it might need a little shaving off the bottom of the die. Sometimes this is a shellholder fault holding it up too high, so beg, borrow steal another shellholder to try first.
Cam

 

[weejohn]

Thanks for all the replies,at first i thought it may have been the shellholder so bought another 2 just in case but it didnt solve the problem.

The full length sizing die is also not fully sizing the necks.

 

[kiwial]

Thanks for all the replies,at first i thought it may have been the shellholder so bought another 2 just in case but it didnt solve the problem.

The full length sizing die is also not sizing the necks.

first up my forster fl die sizers my brass right down. i use a hornady shell holder.

have you allready turned your brass? for a forster fl die to size the neck down enought the loaded neck thickness needs to be .268 or more.

 

[weejohn]

I have tried hornady, rcbs and redding shellholders and they are
all the exact same.
I havnt managed to turn the necks, i wanted to neck down the cases first to save me buying another expander mandrel and neck turning pilot in 6.5.

 

[camac]

If you have tried the shell holder now you have to look at the FL die and adjust it for your headspace. Forster themselves may be helpful (not sure but worth asking) if you send back a few shells with the die but it is best to send them some fireformed ones. They can also hone out the neck for you to your required neck tension at the same time.

I noticed you said you had the 6mm turning gear - Do you have a 6mmBR die? The top end is basically the same so can use it to bump them back in the meantime. 20 thou seems like an awful lot for a FL die to be short though and you may have to watch headspace issues by bumping back too far. I have seen a few dies pull up short but it is normally on chambers that have minimal headspacing and it is only a few thou out. If you can get a few cases made and turned with a BR die then Fireform with jammed projectile and check fireformed vs your cases for headspace. I would recommend buying a go gauge and headspace gauge to check.

 

[6mmHot]

Have you actually got the rifle yet?
If you have do the cases fit as is?
Fireforming before turning the last 20 thou may solve the problem.
Cheers
Dave

 

[mattdienes]

6x47 LAP BRASS PREP-This is what I do when prepping 6-47lap brass
1-turn necks when at 6.5 x 47 state
2-trim to length
3-start necking down the brass-I use a Forester die that was change to a bushing die by Jim Carstensen and start with a .290 bushing then a 280,270 and finally a 265 .I still think it leaves a little bit of the neck not sized but I always fireformed before going to match.(this area will"blow out" and give you a nice shoulder .
4- after firing once I'll clean-up the necks again
and check length
My neck is a .269 also and really isn't a tite neck.

 

[mikecr]

Matt's got a good plan there. There is another factor in trying to turn sized-down necks; They become abnormally thick, and so springback is not normal, and proper turning mandrel fit can be very difficult to get from 'standard' expander mandrels.

I have actually had to size up thick necks(wssm) just so that I could get good turning mandrel fit. Then size back down & fireform..

 

[weejohn]

camac,
i emailed forsters 3 weeks ago and have been useless.
I also dont have any other 6mm sizing dies.

6mmhot,
no rifle as yet, maybe another month (ish).

mattdienes,
really good info there, thanks.
Turning at 6.5 seems to be my easiest option at the moment.

 

[Kodiak99317]

weeJohn, try using a 6BR FL die (also a 30 degree shoulder) held way off the shell holder. Any 30 degree FL die that has the same shoulder angle should work as long as you hold it short and it has enough diameter at the body/shoulder area so you are not sizing that area down too much. Part of the problems necking down is the case walls may not be supported and you can get a bulge in the body just below the shoulder, like making 6XC from a 22-250. One trick I have used for years for FL die setting up is to dip the case in graphite and then you see were the die is touching and how much of the neck you are sizing, and better yet, when to stop screwing the die down so you do not touch the shoulder area (unless you are bumping). Hope this helps ya'.

 

[weejohn]

Thanks kodiak.

 

[steadyrest1]

I realize this problem has probably been long since fixed but couldn'd help but give my solution to your problem.I build 22-47's ,6mm-47's and of cours 6.5-47's and if you want to use bushing style dies the problem will not go away as they are all designed with a shelf if you will, directly under the bushing,this "shelf" is what determines the ammount of the neck left unsized by the bushing.What i do is run the 6mm-47's through my full length bushing die and size to proper neck tension or a little over then run them into an L.E. Wilson neck sizer that i've run my chamber reamer into (this eliminated the shelf)with the final bushing.This eliminates the difficult bolt close due to unsized neck.If you remove material from the die base you will creat excessive headspace before the bolt closes easily as the case is actually headspacing on the unsized neck.

 

[jonbearman]

I have to confess,I have never had this problem as I anneal before I size anything down one caliber size.I make .260 out of .308 lapua brass and just size it in my lee(oh God the dreaded lee) die and it comes out perfect.I also size ackley cases and believe me they are fussy.I would buy a single sizing die from redding or the like and send your other die back.It sounds like they machined it wrong.This is my .02 cents.If you need your cases annealed,send them to me and I will do them for free as long as you pay the postage.

 

[weejohn]

The rifle is being collected on the 14th feb so will soon find out if the brass chambers ok.
In the end i have done a few cases by just turning down to the false shoulder to see how it goes.

 

[weejohn]

Well folks all this worrying for nothing, as mattdienes says
the small unsized portion just blows out to form a nice sharp shoulder.