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How do I turn all this Lovely 30-06 brass into 308 brass??

Started by kool aid, October 16, 2007, 12:20:37 AM

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kool aid

Hi
I was just going through my hoard of brass, and remember reading that it is possible to make this conversion.

I would appreciate some guidance on this from the BTDT guys on here.

Thanks.
Kool Aid
Take a moment and remember the kind of man you chose to be when you got yourself out of that last scrape. Maybe you prayed that you would be different if he delivered you. Maybe you found hope here you thought unreachable. Do not concern yourself with anything 'els THAT. Make the mission first.

Old Dog

it's easy enough to do with the right press and the right amount of lube followed by some case length trimming and neck wall reduction (I prefer outside turning but some folks still ream it out).

One of the guys on the M14 Firing Line Public Forum has been working at this a while.  The first firing workds out great.  When reloading the brass a second time the group size deteriorates and he's still working on it to find out why.  Here's a couple links:

http://www.m-14forum.com/upload/showthread.php?t=45954

http://www.m-14forum.com/upload/showthread.php?t=45834

He has not yet posted back that he's found the solution so feel free to start your own experiment.  If you can't get on the M14 FLPF let me know and I'll copy the stuff and PM it to you.

Good luck.
"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."

—Jeff Cooper, The Art of the Rifle

smle

Why don't you just sell the 30.06 brass and buy some .308 brass? Later on that might be worth while, but right woudn't the forementioned be more prudent?
smle
If it's stupid and it works, it ain't stupid
If we forget what we did, we won't know who we are. Ronald Reagan
Courage is being scared to death - but saddleing up anyway. John Wayne

Francis Marion


risky buisness

Risky Buisness, Rifleman and worlds fastest single shot M1 Garand operator

kool aid

Take a moment and remember the kind of man you chose to be when you got yourself out of that last scrape. Maybe you prayed that you would be different if he delivered you. Maybe you found hope here you thought unreachable. Do not concern yourself with anything 'els THAT. Make the mission first.

kissell

Just fired 21 30.08 to 308 L.C. conversions. Did well with no pressure indications. Chrony reading was 2577 average with 150 FMJBT and 42.0 grs. IMR 4895. The cut down somewhat a pain in the butt, but end product was well worth it. Used L.C. blank cases, cut down to 2.012 and sized in Lee Full Length Die using a light coating of synthetic engine oil. Got them down just a tweek more than regular sizing lube. Next loadings are to acheive 2666fps. loads to make bullet drop caculations easier to do in my head. I'm starting on the new loads with 42.3grs Imr4895 and work up to find that chosen velocity. Will stop there and start loading quanities.

Oohrah

I think I tend to think along smle's train of thought.  Even though
it can be done, an awful large amount of brass being moved makes
me wonder what kind of interior ballistic changes happen.  Does the
case hold the same amount of water?

Buckshot

Quote from: Old Dog on October 16, 2007, 12:53:28 AM
it's easy enough to do with the right press and the right amount of lube followed by some case length trimming and neck wall reduction (I prefer outside turning but some folks still ream it out).

One of the guys on the M14 Firing Line Public Forum has been working at this a while.  The first firing workds out great.  When reloading the brass a second time the group size deteriorates and he's still working on it to find out why.  Here's a couple links:

http://www.m-14forum.com/upload/showthread.php?t=45954

http://www.m-14forum.com/upload/showthread.php?t=45834

He has not yet posted back that he's found the solution so feel free to start your own experiment.  If you can't get on the M14 FLPF let me know and I'll copy the stuff and PM it to you.

Good luck.

Old Dog,

I am not on that forum, so have not read all that is there.

Is the guy annealing the neck and the shoulder of the the reformed brass, so that it has the type of coloration on the neck and shoulder that GI factory brass has?

If not, the work hardening of the reforming the brass, and then firing that overly hard brass (screwing up the way the neck releases the bullet) is probably what is happening here.

Buckshot

Old Dog

Both those threads were never "completed".  Meaning that in both the original poster stated his next step was to anneal the cases and try again but there was never a final post stating that the cases had been annealed or what effect, if any, annealing had on the groups.  Bpth threads are over a year old and one is now locked for some reason.  I'll ask on the other one if there is a "final report".

Sorry.

"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."

—Jeff Cooper, The Art of the Rifle

kissell

Old Dog, to answer you question, I did not anneal this run of cases. Anneal lines run lower than normal on this batch of blanks, can't say typical but I seen no further need to anneal again on these test rounds, however I will try annealing the next batch and make shot comparision between the two. These rounds first fired were mainly for chrony purposes to get my velocities I want. I only fired 50-55 yds yet without any real effort to group these, only to miss my chrony wires, they were in a 3" circle between all the loads fired. I fired 4 different loadings.  Next effort is to bring scope into adjustment and get serious on grouping. Scope maynot make the rifle shoot better, but, lets me see better.

Old Dog

Kissell, the threads on the M14 Firing Line Public Forum were started by a guy who is both a match shooter and M14 match rifle armorer.  He stated that the first use of the .308 cases made from 30.06 cases yielded 5 shot groups of about 1.10" at 100 yds.  The second and all subsequent reloadings (same powder/primer/bullet/technique) saw the groups open up to greater than twice that size.  He had tried everything but annealing the cases and he never posted (on either thread) to say if he had annealed the cases or what effect it had on group size.

If you repeat his experiment, please let us know what you see.

Thanks.
"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."

—Jeff Cooper, The Art of the Rifle

kissell

Will do. Plan on shooting soon, weather permitting, some upgrade loads for velocity check and grouping without annealing, then with annealed cases first round and reloads of annealed cases. But have to say, the L.C. brass, un-annealed preformed very well in preliminary firings. Will also reload these un-annealed cases for another firing to see if this opening-up of groups does occur. Was told today that blank cartridges were not worth reloading but I have to disagree when it comes to the L.C. blanks. They preformed better than the factory Federal 7.62x51, so it is worth pursuing the final answer. Any reloadable brass is good brass, especially if you're short on brass.

KodyJaret

Really??? Just can't talk you into just selling or trading that '06 for some .308 brass ?  %)

kissell

Probably could if it be a fair trade, however, this brass is of little use in the 30.06, for it is blank brass with a full crimped end. So the fact I cut all this crimp away leaves me with good brass to work with for 7.62x51 application. Sorry.

KodyJaret

It's for things like this gunshops, gunshow's, and the internet were invented. It shouldn't be too difficult to divest and re-supply.