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243 sizer, form 243 from 308?
v35
Member Posts: 12,710 ✭✭✭
Anyone with spare 243 FL sizer. I have the rest.
Is there a problem forming 243 from 308?
Is there a problem forming 243 from 308?
Comments
I have done the brass in one step to 243 by doing such in about 3 steps with 243 die! (don't just jammer home) If you have a 264 or 260 sizer spud for the 243 die you can do in steps as mentioned above then to 243, but you can do to 243 in one shot by partically, then neck lube then , etc!!
I've also done the military 308 to 243 but the brass is thicker and harder and not as user friendly and some of the military requires neck turning!
June, 96 Cases - By Ken Howellquote:Neck annealing is often advisable, if not necessary, whenever you form a case neck to another caliber, as handloaders of most wildcat cartridges know. But we often form cases for one factory cartridge into the shape of another factory cartridge to make a custom case. This re-forming cold-works the brass, making it harder and more brittle. Annealing softens the neck, to offset the cold-working and to retain the resilience of softer brass. If the neck is to stay the same, but the body is to be blown out, annealing usually isn't necessary unless the expansion of the body is radical.http://www.gun-tests.com/performance/jun96cases.html
Also With This Article:
Click here to view "When To Anneal."
Click here to view "Safety Tip."
Click here to view "Quenching Tip."
Click here to view "Contacts."
Some times annealing before helps (esp when going up in diameter) and sometimes it hurts (you can be to soft and crush the shoulder. It's just one of those things you have to try and see which way works better for the conversion being made.
A good reference is Donnelly's book "Hand loaders guide to cartridge conversions"
Thanks for the reply. My concern was brittle brass from working it cold. I read, maybe on that site, that without annealing and necking down even one caliber you could split the neck with the first shot. Not something I would want to do if I could avoid it and save my brass for another shot. It also stressed the proper procedure to avoid over annealing and getting the brass to soft.
One of the reasons I asked was because a few years ago I found the site below which gave me instructions for turning my 86 pieces of .303 brass, another rifle I don't have, into .410 shells. Since I was casting some wheel weights at the time I annealed all the brass IAW his procedure. Unfortunately when I tried one in my old single shot .410 I couldn't close the bolt. I filed and sanded down the rim thickness until the bolt closed, primed it and loaded as per his instructions and fired. The case opened perfectly. It was a fun project but too much work without a belt sander or more correctly, time consuming, when I could purchase 25 pieces of factory brass for $14.00. I abandoned that project but with the knowledge that I can make some in a pinch. While I was at it I got 50 pieces for the .410 and 25 for 12, 16 and 20 gages just in case. You can get a special primer seat for a Mec Reloader and your good to go.
Anyway, I mention all this because the site gave another procedure, which was very easy, even for a novice, to anneal brass. Other than my two aforementioned projects I'm not experienced in making my own brass from a different caliber but it's a skill worth investigating. I was just wondering if anyone here has experienced shorter brass life that can actually be attributed to NOT annealing prior to resizing.
RELOADING .410 BORE SHOTSHELLS:
Updated August 6, 2005
This page has been updated again since I visited:
Source Page: Updated April 12, 2008
Reloading .410 Bore Shotshells
http://www.endtimesreport.com/410reloading.html
The book I mentioned gives step by step instructions, including when he recommends annealing (before or after) for each conversion.
IF your starting with "used" brass, that increases the chance of splitting (esp when necking up) due to previous cold working of the neck (another variable). A need to trim the neck is another variable, as trimming is easier with "hard necks" than it is with a "soft" one.
For your 303 Brit-410 conversion (or any other conversion that requires rim thinning), you should really remove brass from the front of the rim (requires a small lathe) to avoid causing the primer to stand proud of the case head (with the 410 you could cut the primer pocket deeper, but it's not something you want to do in a high pressure round).
From my own experience I've never had any problems with necks splitting or any problems at all if I used new or once fired brass such as Rem, Win, or Federal WHEN NECKING DOWN! If you attempt necking down with old brass that has been worn out from reloading you can have all kinds of problems! Winchester Brass in my exzperience seems to be the best for doing the process! Maybe it's a little softer or ????!
I do have some problems when necking up, like 243 to 308! This will have to be done in steps USUALLY and you will still collaspe some of the shoulder areas!