A little help , please

[tcjones]

This could turn to a long story but I'm sure someone will point me to the right direction.
I have a rifle in 6br, no dies, no brass. Here we go. If I was to buy a box of Lapua brass
would it have enough neck tension with out sizing to fire form the brass so I could send off
the three pieces to the Harrell Co. to purchase a a FL die?
Thanks

 

[AndyTaber]

Out of the box 6mmBR brass has so much neck tension I use an expander to open it up enough to load it.

 

[alinwa]

You can make the cases for Harrell's by fireforming using shotgun or pistol powder.

You will wreck some cases.

You start with half a case of powder, no bullet.


I say again, NO BULLET!!!!!!!


If you use a bullet you might die. I know of one shooter who did die from this so NO BULLET!


You fill the case about halfway with any shotgun or pistol powder, weigh the charge, dump it back in, walk outside and carefully fire it into the air.


I don't recommend any sort of "filler" nor wad nor wax plug nor NUTTIN, cuz I'm a Safety Geek and THIS IS SAFE. Just point the gun skyward, thumb the shell in carefully and pull the trigger, "FOOoom"

Not a whole bunch will happen, but the case will blow out just a little.

That shell is wrecked..... write the charge on it and set it aside.

Now go up 5gr and do it again.

And again, until you get the look you want.

It looks like this



NOW..... you can punch the primers with a chainsaw file or the primer punch from another set of reloading dies... (remember, SMALL flashhole!)...and do what you want to fire the cases until they're perfect. You can continue with the shottygun powder or change over to your regular powder, start dropping some bullets in and firing for effect. (When I say "dropping some bullets in" of course, I mean setting the bullet on top of a normal powder charge.... if the charge is low enough that the bullet literally "drops in" then something's wrong!)

Ask some more questions if I haven't been clear...

hth


al

 

[tcjones]

Very clear. In the picture you show progression , are the lower charged shells worthless for a second try?

 

[alinwa]

Very clear. In the picture you show progression , are the lower charged shells worthless for a second try?

Basically, yes.

They're not destroyed, they _can_ be used for fouling shots, varmints or whatever but brass is funny stuff. You hit it once and it gets substantially harder and much less malleable. JUST hard wouldn't be a problem, but the "less malleable" means that it'll move differently from here on out. I picture a nice fresh case as being similar to potter's clay......easy to work and tractable.

A once-fired case is like clay that's been partially fired. It's hardened and "shelled over" and will never again be truly tractable without re-annealing. And re-annealing isn't something I just recommend willy-nilly. Nor will this really bring it into line. So I consider these to be setup cases, to be set aside and used for random experimentation or kept as a record of what went on. Or used in pressure testing, finding max velocity and what have you.

al

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Just order a set of dies from whidden. Their dies work well with every 6br reamer ive seen from major gunsmiths. Next best thing to getting a resize reamer matched to your chamber reamer which without getting a new barrel done is too late in your case.

 

[Dick Grosbier]

Next best thing to getting a resize reamer matched to your chamber reamer which without getting a new barrel done is too late in your case.

TC,
Ok I hate to say malarky and start an argument, but you were on the right track in the first place. Harrels makes a fine die at an extremely reasonable price.
Dick

 

[Dusty Stevens]

opinions vary. I hate to disagree and argue with anybody and respect your opinion. a harrels die is not made to fit your chamber. they have a few different sizes and they pick one that matches. sometimes it works. I have a large box of them that dont.

 

[Boyd Allen]

One little thing that is good to know about Harrell's Precision is that if you don't like your die for some reason, just call them up, tell them what it is that you want changed, and send it back. They are all about customer service. I would do this reasonably soon after receiving it.

 

[alinwa]

Here's how I believe the Harrell's operate..... you send in the brass and they measure it up. Then, IF they have one on the shelf that fits, they send it out. With instructions that "if this doesn't work we'll trade it out FOR FREE.

If they do not have one, they run some. If they don't have your size they write a program and make one. And of course, once written it's pretty straight forward to make more.

How do I know this? Because I've got 5 different sizes of 6BR reamer and the one I use now ("Fat Butt") isn't like ANYONE else's. No-one else is stupid enough to use this thing, it's pure one-off...... I doubt Kiff even sends the print to others if they ask but Harrell's made a die for it.

And IMO the Harrell's dies are adequate. Not "best," I can't get as many loads out of a Harrell's as a Jones..... but adequate to be called truly "fitted," and for the price just an unbeatable value.

If you shoot BR/PPC

al

 

[tcjones]

All you fellows had some good ideas, thanks. I was thinking if I fire formed and had a die sent out from the few I would still have a good box of brass that might need expanding.
Does any one here see fault in buying an expander die with a mandrel in 6mm from Sinclair then shoot some .243 (Less priced) Remington coreloct? I have about 900 of them and
thought I could get the brass punched out with them , enough to get a set of dies made up? Thanks,

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Thatll be fine. Any projectile will work

 

[Dick Grosbier]

and for the price just an unbeatable value.

If you shoot BR/PPC

al

Another little known fact is that in addition to BR and PPC they do Variants of the 6.5x47 Lapua I have a 30x47 die they did for me, they do not seem to advertise this at all.

 

[alinwa]

Another little known fact is that in addition to BR and PPC they do Variants of the 6.5x47 Lapua I have a 30x47 die they did for me, they do not seem to advertise this at all.

Which really is a .308 variant...... some of the Hunter Class will use 300Sav/6.5X47L/308...... but with HBR killed off by the 30BR, and Harrell's being covered up with orders, nope they ain't advertising that they've got some other programs in their files

 

[tcjones]

All you fellows had some good ideas, thanks. I was thinking if I fire formed and had a die sent out from the few I would still have a good box of brass that might need expanding.
Does any one here see fault in buying an expander die with a mandrel in 6mm from Sinclair then shoot some .243 (Less priced) Remington coreloct? I have about 900 of them and
thought I could get the brass punched out with them , enough to get a set of dies made up? Thanks,[/QUOTE ] Dusty , thanks for sticking with the topic. Will I be pissing away my money buying an expander die for the next 95 rounds?
I don't know and would like to hear. I don't have dies and in need of a path to get there, not so much what Harrells sells. There is a good chance of using a Harrell die but I'm just looking for a way to get some formed brass.
Thanks, Tom

 

[alinwa]

All you fellows had some good ideas, thanks. I was thinking if I fire formed and had a die sent out from the few I would still have a good box of brass that might need expanding.
Does any one here see fault in buying an expander die with a mandrel in 6mm from Sinclair then shoot some .243 (Less priced) Remington coreloct? I have about 900 of them and
thought I could get the brass punched out with them , enough to get a set of dies made up? Thanks,[/QUOTE ] Dusty , thanks for sticking with the topic. Will I be pissing away my money buying an expander die for the next 95 rounds?
I don't know and would like to hear. I don't have dies and in need of a path to get there, not so much what Harrells sells. There is a good chance of using a Harrell die but I'm just looking for a way to get some formed brass.
Thanks, Tom

You can do all of those things.... I, having done all of those things, am recommending a different way.

Because I think it's better.

Whatever you do, it will be fun, you will learn, and the sun will shine just a liddle brighter when you arise each morn....

Because you'll have a project.

Enjoy The Journey

al

 

[Dusty Stevens]

For a 6br, me personally id call whidden and get a set off their shelf. They make real nice dies and of all the 6br customers ive sent ive never seen it not right the first time. Im not saying its the uber fancy $500+ way to go to be perfect but ill make you this promise- if they dont work perfect send them to me with an invoice or they have great customer service and will make you happy. Either way.

 

[tcjones]

You can do all of those things.... I, having done all of those things, am recommending a different way.

Because I think it's better.

Whatever you do, it will be fun, you will learn, and the sun will shine just a liddle brighter when you arise each morn....

Because you'll have a project.

Enjoy The Journey

al

Thanks Al, The sun is shining a bit brighter on this project with the help from you guys here and a few private emails from folks here. There was a post here about newbie over load, count me in. I had time to
put in an order for a few things this morning and with luck I'll be doing a test shoot next week. I've been doing reload for some time but I had no idea. Thanks again guys.

 

[skeetlee]

My whidden 6mm dasher FL die, sizes my brass way to much. The die looks to be well made, but my brass isn't going to last as long as I would like. Fortunately I only shoot my dasher about two times a year, so I am not overly concerned. I just have to make sure I have plenty of case lube on my brass.
I have a drawer full of 6ppc dies of all makes, and my favorite is the harrels 2.5. Seems to work perfectly for my chambers. Lee