.243 Win sized to .358 Win?

[Dinny]

Can .243 Win brass be sized up to 35cal for loading the 358 Win? Too much, too far? Will it be too short afterwards? Inquiring minds wanna know.

Thanks, Dinny

[McDerry]

It will be long but you can trim it afterwords.   Will want to lube the cases and the inside of the necks real well prior to sizing them that much.  You can also use .308 and 7m-08 cases. 

[Dinny]

It will be long but you can trim it afterwords.   Will want to lube the cases and the inside of the necks real well prior to sizing them that much.  You can also use .308 and 7m-08 cases. 

Thanks for the advice. I have 243 brass on hand. I hope to have some 308 soon though.

Thanks, Dinny

[AtlLaw]

It will be long but you can trim it afterwords.

 

I've necked a bunch of 308/30-06 brass up to .358 in one trip over a tapered expander.  But I never tried going all the way up from .243.  I use my 243 brass to make my .260 and 7/08 fodder.

But then, Whelen opened up '06 brass to what .400-.405 something like that?     That's almost the same amount...   What the heck, give it a try and let us know!   

[cwlongshot]

No problem at all Dinny. You just need to watch the thicknesses when sizing up or down.

Personally I would use '06 then trim and turn to fit.

CK your PMs. 

CW

[wncchester]

"Personally I would use '06 then trim and turn to fit."

Ditto.  If you gotta reform to get some .358 stuff that's the better way to go. 

Reforming .30-06 would certainly end up with thick necks which would have to be turned but that's easy and you would end up with some very good cases.

Case necks are typically about 13 thou. Going up from .243 to .358 should leave you with necks just under 9 thou, pretty thin.  And that wouldn't be consistant all the way around so your loaded ammo runout would probably be pretty high; not good for accuracy. 

[Dinny]

"Personally I would use '06 then trim and turn to fit."

Ditto.  If you gotta reform to get some .358 stuff that's the better way to go. 

Reforming .30-06 would certainly end up with thick necks which would have to be turned but that's easy and you would end up with some very good cases.

Case necks are typically about 13 thou. Going up from .243 to .358 should leave you with necks just under 9 thou, pretty thin.  And that wouldn't be consistant all the way around so your loaded ammo runout would probably be pretty high; not good for accuracy. 

I tried both today, sizing up from 243 and 30-06 brass using my brand-new Hornady Dimension dies.  The 243 case neck now looks like the end of a blunderbuss or maybe the tip of a powder funnel. The 30-06 case neck did size up to 35 cal but it didn't change the body shape, it's now a 35 Whelen. I'm thinking that some adjustments might be in order for my dies.

I did find 2 pieces of 308 brass in my stash, they sized up perfectly.

Thanks, Dinny

[cwlongshot]

Dinny,
Push harder on the ram handle! I take for granted everyone has good strong presses. This kinda case forming isn't  gonna work on crappy pot metal presses. But with a good cast press, just lube and size as if the case was correct for caliber. You will pull out a long necked 358!
If you really want to go from 308's I could probably dig up a hundred or so for ya.

Heck, if I still have the 358 dies I can just size 'em '06's for ya too!!
CW

[Dinny]

Dinny,
Push harder on the ram handle! I take for granted everyone has good strong presses. This kinda case forming isn't  gonna work on crappy pot metal presses. But with a good cast press, just lube and size as if the case was correct for caliber. You will pull out a long necked 358!
If you really want to go from 308's I could probably dig up a hundred or so for ya.

Heck, if I still have the 358 dies I can just size 'em '06's for ya too!!
CW

CW,
  My press is a RCBS RS-3, I think it's pretty strong, but have nothing to compare it to. I put some muscle into the ram handle until I didn't feel comfortable pushing more. I think I actually was lifting my workbench. I will soon have some 308 brass to load myself. Thanks for the offer!

Are there any issues with neck thickness when using the 308?

Thanks,Dinny

[cwlongshot]

Dinny,
 Your press will work OK. At least its a "O" frame, the ram is a bit small for serious forming duties. But it will work. Now, your bench may need to gain some weight! LOL    Lube that case up and push it in, it will go, it dosen't come out hard, just going is difficult. 

ANY case that is reformed will result in and out of spec. neck thickness.

Roger that on the brass. Just let me know if I can help brother!!

CW

PS Good luck hunting with Lonny!!!

[wncchester]

"The 30-06 case neck did size up to 35 cal but it didn't change the body shape, it's now a 35 Whelen."

Yep, that's sorta the first step.  Your press is plenty strong, I used to do it on a Lyman Spar-T and it's not as strong as yours but the old single toggle presses do put a LOT of stress on the bench.

Now remove the decapping rod, screw the .358 die down to the shell holder, lube the .35 Whelen good and push it fully into the die.  Cut off the extra neck, trim it square and run it back over the expander.  Then turn the neck until it's a thin as you want it to be.  Anneal the neck and you will be ready to load some .358 stuff.

[Dinny]

Thanks, guys for the advice.  Being new to this reshaping, I just don't know what right feels/looks like. I'll be back in a few weeks and then I'll put some oomph into it.

Lonny's doing much better than I, I didn't see a single deer this morning.

Thanks, Dinny