Resizing brass from 308 t0 260??

[RyanG]

I have some questions about how to resize brass from 308 to 260 Remington... but I guess it would be any caliber to another.... I have had some problems with Federal brass that I resized. So what I did so you can tell me what I did wrong....

I used Federa 308 brass from gold metal match ammo. I ran it through my Redding full length resizing die, then I trimmed them to length and then loaded them up with 125 accubond using 45.5 grains of RL19 with a Win primer. I set them at 2.780 (which was just touching the lands).

I took my son out to shoot his new rifle for his birthday and on the second round I had a primer blow out the back and break both the extractor and the ejector on his BRAND new Savage Model 11 260..... a week before elk season starts here for him.

I have ordered new parts and they will be here in just the nick of time.... I pulled all the other bullets because I am scared of shooting them... So my first question is what did I do wrong????

Do I have to ream the necks? At a total loss why I blew the primers out... The load I used was a middle of the road load and no where near max...

Thanks

Ryan

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Gee man I don't know I use lake city brass in my 260 neck it down in redding dies, never had an issue. Any change you double charged the case?

 

[RyanG]

I really dont think that I got one double charged.... I did think that I had transposed the numbers from 45.5 to 54.5.... but when i pulled all the other rounds they were all spot on at 45.5.... I did notice that two of the other federal brass that i pulled had pretty loose primer pockets... Could that have been it... with the bullet touching the lands?

Ryan

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

I really dont think that I got one double charged.... I did think that I had transposed the numbers from 45.5 to 54.5.... but when i pulled all the other rounds they were all spot on at 45.5.... I did notice that two of the other federal brass that i pulled had pretty loose primer pockets... Could that have been it... with the bullet touching the lands?

Ryan

I suppose a loose primer may have caused it but to be honest its hard to say. Maybe someone else reading it will be able to better tell what happened.

 

[barnesuser28]

Maybe the neck was so thick that there wasnt any clearance between the neck and bullet Compare the loaded round thickness at the neck vs a neck after firing. If that made any sense.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

Did you work up the load in this brass?? If you worked up the load in another brand with more volume and had a tight neck clearance like Riley suggests you could have easily gone up enough pressure wise to cause your trouble. You were right to pull the other rounds down; the load needs attention before someone gets hurt.
Good luck.

 

[RyanG]

So I am going to have to confess that I did not work up this load.... Like I said before it was the mid road load listed in the Nosler manual. I dont have any more of the fired brass as I tossed them all because I was worried that I would have the same problems if I tried again. But I did just look at the 260 new brass that came yesterday and the neck loaded is .290 and the Federal 308 brass resized is .292 loaded.... would .002 make that much difference?

Wow do I sound like a newbe here..... But when it comes to this I really am I guess.... So if its the necks that were too thick how do I correct that? What tools are needed? I have never messed with my neck thickness EVER....

Again thanks all!

 

[Mikecr]

Riley's concern seems the most probable culprit. When brass is downsized, it gets thicker. Your new necks as loaded could be too thick for the chamber neck, interfering with bullet release.
Maybe, maybe not, but:

That you didn't check this before letting your son fire the ammo, disqualifies you as a competent reloader, and certainly from father of the year in 2012..

Have a gunsmith look over your action ring and barrel/barrel nut for potential damage.
Buy 260 ammo, or at least use 260 reloading brass, until reviewing/understanding basic reloading.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

If you don't have at least a .001" clearance, the neck can't expand enough to let the bullet out easily; you were most likely at zero clearance here. That combined with an untested load NOT AT START OR 10% DOWN and the bullet resting on the lands caused your trouble. Get a little more fear of what you are doing or buy your rounds. BTW, have your gun re-built fully before you try to shoot it again.

 

[RyanG]

Thank you all so much for your input in my mistake here.... It is greatly appreciated!

Had the rifle checked out by a gunsmith before I posted on here last night. Everything is fine.

Ryan

As for fear.... I have a great respect and fear for what I am doing when weapons are concerned. I have carried and used weapons my whole professional life.

 

[HTSmith]

I do agree that thick necks could well be part of this. The other thing is according to the Nosler manual you were .5 Gr below max except you used a Win primer instead of the Remington that is recommended. In my experience with two different 260's that can make a big difference. The Remington tends to be a milder primer, while the winchester is hotter.

So far as necking down calibers your process is fine-- you just have to monitor neck thickness. Winchester 7/08 used to be my go to case for 260. Now I just pay the price for the Lapuas. They do last a long time.

Good hunting.