XP-100 in 7mm BR

[DW44VH]

When I was a young lad of 14 I had an XP in 7mm BR, it was stolen in a burglary not to long after we got it and my dreams of IHMSA glory faded away. My father and I have often spoken of purchasing another but various obstacles have stood in the way. Until yesterday, an oppurtunity arose and we grabbed a good example at an exceptional price (over 30 years later). We still have a box or two of the .308 brass for forming into 7mm br and still have the dies. (My Dad keeps everything) Its my understanding that some simpler methods have evolved for making the cases then were the case back when I was reloading for my old XP. I'd appreciate any suggestions from members with more experience with this process and its evolution.
Thanks

 

[JRS]

Remington produces seasonal runs of 7BR brass. A bit of searching might also uncover some

 

[butchlambert]

I have 2 cases of 6BR Remington brass. It did come without flash holes.

 

[justpassinthru]

I use Lapua 6 BR and fire form it.

 

[tmwinds]

I have 2 cases of 6BR Remington brass. It did come without flash holes.

I remember back in the day about the brass without flash holes. What was the purpose of that? Were they large or small primer pockets? Just curious.

 

[ridgeway]

I use Lapua 6 BR and fire form it.

The problem with Lapua, the base might be too large for the old chamber. I had an old 6BR chamber in an XP. I used Lapua brass, but had to turn down the base diameter of the cases. It wasn't much, but worked great.

 

[butchlambert]

It is small primer. Back in the day they experimented with flash hole size. I got mine from Red Cornelison.

 

[justpassinthru]

I use Lapua 6 BR and fire form it.

The problem with Lapua, the base might be too large for the old chamber. I had an old 6BR chamber in an XP. I used Lapua brass, but had to turn down the base diameter of the cases. It wasn't much, but worked great.

My gun is a factory built, unmodified XP100 in 7BR.
The fire formed 6BR Lapua brass works great.

 

[DW44VH]

I apologize for my ignorance, but could you walk me through the reloading steps when using the Lapua 6mm BR brass? I can pick up 100 of the Lapua cases up here for $96.00 Canadian. It seems like a good way to go.

 

[justpassinthru]

I made all my 7BR brass a few years ago and given the cost and availability of powder and bullets now, I might just open up my next batch with a expanding mandrel instead of fireforming.
This is done by lubing inside the neck and passing the case over a tool to stretch it. It would be OK I think to go directly to 7mm but because I have both a 6.5 and a 7mm mandrel, I would probably do it in two steps. Regardless which method you choose, what used to be the shoulder will now be formed into the neck, and may create a thick spot or what is known as a "donut". If you are using very short bullets and not seating into this area of the neck, it will likely never be a problem, but I recommend turning the necks on this newly formed brass anyway, to avoid a potential problem later on.
I would turn the necks after the 1st firing, to allow the brass to naturally form to the chamber.
That's about all I can think of at the moment and I'm sure some more knowledgeable members will be along shortly to add more to this simplified version of the process. Hope it helps some.

 

[butchlambert]

I do it a little different. I fill the case to the bottom of the neck with Bullseye and use a paraffin plug to seal it, NO Bullet.

 

[spencerhenry]

buying brass is pretty easy

i have used my 7br xp-100 to take 4 elk and 3 deer.

mine is totally stock, but shoots very well. i load 115gr hp for rodents and such and 130gr specialty pistol bullets for deer and elk.

 

[william5409]

i use desert eagle

 

[Dan Hall]

I've killed 6 deer with my bone stock XP-100 in 7 BR and love the gun. It has put all the deer down with one 140 gr bullet.

 

[DaveC]

Lots of folks still shoot 7BR but it doesn't appear that Remington make any kind of brass much less 7BR anymore. Visit http://specialtypistols.infopop.cc/eve/forums and I'm sure you can find some fired 7BR brass. I make mine from 6BR using a Sinclair 7mm mandrel then FL size. http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/reloading/expander-mandrels-and-neck-tension/

The old XP factory chamber was cut to use the Remington factory brass which is generally thicker than the Lapua brass but that never been a problem in my pistols.