I don't have the Lot of Remington make 35 Whelan yet. I am having my 338/06 reamed to the Ackley Improved. Up until now, all my brass is necked up 30-06 brass. A Lapua case necked up and fired is .372", resized and loaded the neck OD measures .362", what is that, .005 "per side" Short of not chambering a made up round, how will I know if I need to Outside Neck Turn? How do I detect a donut forming? Never had a need in decades of necking down to smaller sizes. Not all those rifles were factory barrels either. Please enlighten this old Country Preacher please? Thanks!
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Necking 35 Whelan down in a 338/06 Sizing Die; Neck Turning Question?
- Thread starter RevJim
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You might have to wait and see how your build goes. I never had any issues with my .30 Gibbs using .35 Whelen brass.
From L-R.
1. .35 Whelen virgin brass.
2. After running through .30 Gibbs resizing die to establish a false shoulder.
3. After COW method.
4. After running through .30 Gibbs resizing die.
5. .30-06 Virgin brass.
Good luck!
I would neck up 30/06 brass, that is NEW.
Winchester will suffice, or New Match Grade Lake City if you could find any as it is really tough.
Necking up is less likely to create doughnuts than necking down, and I can not stress this enough.
To check for doughnuts forming at the shoulder neck junction, after firing, simply push a bullet down past the shoulder neck junction...easy peasy!
If you have already acquired dies, neck up some new 30/06 brass, measure the dia of the neck with the bullet seated. Now, get the reamer dimension on the neck from the gunsmith. If he does not have a print, he can do more than a WAG off of measuring the reamer flutes. By doing this, you know if you need to neck turn.
Necking up 30/06 brass will produce thinner necks than necking down 35 Whelen brass, and will possibly eliminate the neck turning, worth a shot?
If the gunsmith is still working on the chambering, they always have to cut off an inch of the muzzle. Have him run the reamer into the depth of the shoulder. If you have this simple tool, you can use it for several things, including checking if the necks are too thick by simply dropping the loaded round into the Piece of Muzzle Stubb, that we used to call, " neck Checkers".
I fire form my 280 AI cases with 15g of bullseye, then fill the case full of cream of wheat, put a piece of paper towel in the neck to hold it all in. My cases are formed 97% on the first firing with the cream of wheat, where they shoot exceptional groups. You could copy this if you are so inclined.
Winchester will suffice, or New Match Grade Lake City if you could find any as it is really tough.
Necking up is less likely to create doughnuts than necking down, and I can not stress this enough.
To check for doughnuts forming at the shoulder neck junction, after firing, simply push a bullet down past the shoulder neck junction...easy peasy!
If you have already acquired dies, neck up some new 30/06 brass, measure the dia of the neck with the bullet seated. Now, get the reamer dimension on the neck from the gunsmith. If he does not have a print, he can do more than a WAG off of measuring the reamer flutes. By doing this, you know if you need to neck turn.
Necking up 30/06 brass will produce thinner necks than necking down 35 Whelen brass, and will possibly eliminate the neck turning, worth a shot?
If the gunsmith is still working on the chambering, they always have to cut off an inch of the muzzle. Have him run the reamer into the depth of the shoulder. If you have this simple tool, you can use it for several things, including checking if the necks are too thick by simply dropping the loaded round into the Piece of Muzzle Stubb, that we used to call, " neck Checkers".
I fire form my 280 AI cases with 15g of bullseye, then fill the case full of cream of wheat, put a piece of paper towel in the neck to hold it all in. My cases are formed 97% on the first firing with the cream of wheat, where they shoot exceptional groups. You could copy this if you are so inclined.
Thank you Sir! All my 30-06 brass was new Lapua and Winchester. I have almost all them necked up/fire formed in working up loads in the A-Square and MT/waiting to load right now. I'm going to fireform them in the new Ackley Chamber as is. I haven't decided to use COW method or bullet just touching yet. I have to drive 60 miles round trip to the Range and least amount of trips is appealing. ha If I get a few case failures 'then" I will anneal. I thought I would try necking down some Whelan to FF in the Ackley, and learn more in the process, hopefully get to still use my LEE FCD. If not, say it takes too much trimming, or its too much of a hassle and too risky for donuts, no loss as I gave my Marine SIL a 35 Whelan AI back in 2004. he can use the brass. I can always have an extra Shell Holder milled down to "shorten" it for the shorter FF '06 loads Thanks again for the tip on checking for the donut! P.S. Ooops, can't shorten the SH to crimp shorter brass. Instead the bottom of the crimp die has to be milled off to reach the shorter brass. Sorry.
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Jim, I drilled a 3/4" hole in the bottom of a large plastic trash can, turned the trash can upside down, stuck the muzzle in the hole and fire formed in my garage. You will have to put a weight on the top of the trash can. If you put that foam bedding material in the trash can, stick the muzzle in it, there is no sound much at all.
Jim, I cool the barrel every 25 rounds, then push a couple of patches down the barrel to keep it relatively clean.
Jim, I cool the barrel every 25 rounds, then push a couple of patches down the barrel to keep it relatively clean.
