Reforming 7x57

[LaDano]

I have a bunch of 270win brass. I'm trying to reform to 7x57 mauser. Using RCBS FL die I made 2 passes without the decapper. Trimmed close to lenght, deburred then ran through again with decapper. In loading for my 95mauser with a new Adams barrel. When I close the bolt it's pretty tight but I can close it. It's tight to open and ejects fine. What am I doing wrong? Hehe.  This is my 1st reforming.

Thanx

[Lloyd Smale]

got to ask why you just dont sell your 270 brass and buy some 757 or even 6mm, 257 roberts or 8x57 It sure would be easier to deal with.

[wncchester]

I have often reformed cases and find it a fun thing.  Anyone can do it the 'factory way' but that's really not what being a handloader is all about, is it?!  There are two common things that cause stiff chambering of reformed ammo. 
 
First, you may not be setting the new shoulders back quite far enough.  Try chambering a formed but empty and see if it chambers readily.  If not, turn your sizer down another 1/16th turn (about 4.5 thou), see if that doesn't fix it.
 
Or, your necks could be dangerously thick because your new necks include part of the original body and shoulder.  If you have a case fired in your chamber, carefully mike it and compare the diameter to the neck of a reloaded cartridge - you would do well to have at least 3 thou difference or you may have bullets pinched too tighly for safe firing!  If you don't have a fired empty you may "paint" a difficult cartridge neck with a dark color felt tip marker, chamber it and see if the dye has been rubbed off the neck.   If the necks are too thick all you can do is thin them by reaming or turning.  Turning is better because it actually improves necks and that improves accuracy.
 
It would be very good if you (properly) anneal your finished reformed necks, otherwise they will split after a very few firings; Google "annealing" and/or Youtube for help.  I'll just say NOT to heat the necks to a visible red glow, that will make them dead soft and have no real bullet grip.

[LaDano]

This is one of those things laying around i wanted to try since i had them one hand. I'm very new to reloading and I got to see what makes things "tick".  I'll swipe the brass and see wear it rubs and do some measuring. I'm off today with plenty if time to kill with all this rain. I have a Forester trimmer on the way, I'll order the neck turner along with the pilots from Midway. Gonna need one sooner or later anyway. Thanx for the tips.

[anweis]

wnchester beat me to it, excellent advise. Here is more: set a plumbing type propane torch on a flat solid surface (garage floor), adjust the flame to be about 1" long, and heat the cases by holding them by their case heads. Position your hand and case so that the flame is blown along the case shoulder and neck, away from the case body and your hand. Hold and turn until it feels too hot to the touch (about 10 seconds, but varies) and let the cases cool either in air or water. After about 10 tries you will get this done consistently. Combined with neck turning and proper forming of the shoulder (as described by chester), reaming of the primer pockets, deburring of flash homes, and weighing of the cases (keep the heaviest and lightest 10% for fouling shots and dummy rounds, etc), you should have pretty good cases.
Of course, you can do as i did: have fun while treating cabin fever and messing up 200 cases, after which you can purchase Lapua or Nosler custom brass, which are the best and last a very long time.   

[LaDano]

How important is it to team the primer pockets? I deburr the flash holes on the 1st load, should I do it every time? Thanx, I'm learning a lot

[roper]

This is one of those things laying around i wanted to try since i had them one hand. I'm very new to reloading and I got to see what makes things "tick".  I'll swipe the brass and see wear it rubs and do some measuring. I'm off today with plenty if time to kill with all this rain. I have a Forester trimmer on the way, I'll order the neck turner along with the pilots from Midway. Gonna need one sooner or later anyway. Thanx for the tips.

They been making form/trim dies lot of years.  http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=0007683138

Once you get them formed then you could mike neck see how thick sometimes you get lucky with new brass.  Once you get them formed than FL Size.  If you have some fired cases you could adjust die to bump shoulders back little also.

Forester also make inside neck reamers that works on their trimmers http://forsterproducts.com/store.asp?pid=26888 

I've been pretty lucky over the years on forming cases that I haven't had to anneal.  Well good luck

[LaDano]

My reformed necks are smaller than original Rem brass. I marked the cases and locked the bolt down. Looks like my problem is the shoulders, they are rubbing the chamber. My smith cut it short to keep head space to a minimum I guess. Can I file the bottom of my FL die to get the die closer to the shell holder? That would get my shoulder set back a couple thousands. Or is that bad JuJu? Headed to Bass Pro now to see if they restocked the shelves yet.

[anweis]

Haven't you heard yet? We are at the beginning of the great ammunition, black firearms, and reloading components shortage of 2013-2014. 
It is unwise to file the base of the die, because you can't do it right by hand, and because it will mess up your future re-forming. Plus, why would you do it? Just screw the die in a little at a time until you can camber the test case. You may ruin one or two cases, but after that, the die is set, and all cases should chamber.
I can tell that reaming the primer pockets uniformly is important, but i can't say to what extent. I can tell you that i had a batch of 15 Rem. brand cases in .308 which i re-formed to .338 Federal. I did everything described above, except annealing and reaming primer pockets. Everything was identical in first 3 reloadings, and i got 1.5" groupings. After annealing and reaming primer pockets, i got 0.3-0.5" groupings.

[LaDano]

My FL die is tight against the shell holder now. There's no more adjustment there to set the shoulder back. I'm going to talk to my smith that rebarelled my mauser this weekend. I remember him saying he cut the chamber tight. 
I made a trip to my reloading shop, picked up a "smart reloader" pocket uniformer. The owner said I could work a little off the bottom of my die to get the shoulder back. He also told me about neck thickness since my new neck is the old shoulder. He didn't recommend using 270 brass. I'll give it another try and anneal my necks.

[swifty22]

La Dano, I have made lots of them over the years, generally 25-06/270/280 cases using standard FL dies. Remove decapping asy., trim/shorten cases to a little longer than you want, Lube w/Imperial sizing die wax and go at it. When done put in a Wilson case trimmer w/ a 270 case neck reamer and ream all the way into the shoulder area to thin necks, them trim and champher. Put decapping asy. back in and again lube inside and out w/ imperial and FL size as much as possible. They will be heaver cases than factory but quite usable in the 95. Also the fired cases you use may be a little large at the pressure ring depending on what they were originally fired in. I don't use the longer ones any more but get new REM/Win 6mm Rem (a LOT cheaper than 7x57's) cases and simply lube w/a little Imperial inside and out  then run them into a Hornady 280 FL die w/ a tapered expander ball then into the Redding 7x57 FL die (w/it set 1/8" short of the shell holder so I don't touch the shoulder) wipe clean and load as norma. Using 6mm or 257's you don't have to worry about case neck thickness/length/headspace and it works every time. -Swifty

[LaDano]

Thanx Swifty, I'll give it a try. I believe Bass pro has 6mm rem in stock.

[LaDano]

Well I went back to the drawing board and started over. This time I snugged the FL die down a little tighter on the shell holder. This time I used Hornadys Unique lube instead of their spray lube. Ran a case through without the stem, trimmed a little long, deburred and I ran it back through with the stem. Chambered up just like my factory Rem brass. Did some measuring on the necks and it looks like they are good to go. Waiting on the trimmer to come in to trim to size and weight. Thanx for all the help, I do appreciate it. Oh, do I anneal now or after I trim to lenght? Guess it doesn't matter   Thanx again.

[Lloyd Smale]

I used to debur primer pockets on new brass and clean primer pockets after every loading. It bought me nothing. Unless your shooting benchrest comp where .001 of an inch is going to make a differnce its a waste of time.

How important is it to team the primer pockets? I deburr the flash holes on the 1st load, should I do it every time? Thanx, I'm learning a lot

[LaDano]

I'm only shooting for my benefit, on a bench rest. Hehehe. Thanx

[anweis]

This time I snugged the FL die down a little tighter on the shell holder.

That is what i meant. Screw the die in about 1/8-1/4 turn more after it touches the shellholder. 

[LaDano]

I'm a little slow, but I usually get there. Hehe
Thanx for the help, I'm going to trim and anneal this week. Hopefully go shoot a little Thur when the weather clears up.