Fire forming brass

[Rooster52]

Recently bought a rifle in 280 Remington and am going to try to form some brass for it from 30-06 and 270 Winchester. I think either will work.Going to load a reduced load of H4895 to form the brass to the rifle.I got lots of 30-06 and 270 brass but limited on the 280 .should work fine.

 

[tarheel]

I fireform 270 brass to .280 and it works better than the -06 which is shorter. The .270 and .280 are the same length and the -06 is .046 shorter. With the .270 you're mostly just moving the shoulder forward. The difference in diameter between the .270 and .280 is only 7 thousands where as the -06 is 24 thousands. I mike the neck thickness and they all run .011 to .012 after sizing. With resizing the -06 there's just too much monkey motion up in the neck and shoulder to suit me.
I would recommend annealing the .270 brass first even if it's once fired or you might get the odd longitudinal crease or crack right on the break of the shoulder.

 

[Rooster52]

Thanks !

 

[Bambistew]

It will work fine as you say, but dealing with multiple brass head stamps that don't match the rifle is a real PITA especially if you own a 270.

Can you find 280 brass? Iits been my experience , the amount of time, components and effort it takes far out weighs the few dollars you will save. The bullets and powder for fire forming alone will cost more than new brass. Toss in a couple hours of case prep and...

Skip the 30-06 brass for the reason Tarheel mentioned. It will still work, but the brass will eventually flow to fit the chamber dimensions. You may end up having to turn the necks as well to get them into spec.

 

[antlerradar]

I agree with Bambi. the last thing you want is for someone to stuff one off those 280 rounds into a 270.

 

[Rooster52]

Got a few 280 brass but thinking of future. Saving the 280 brass for hunting loads and the 270 brass for target practice. Going to a local gunshow this Sunday ,may find some more 280 brass there.

 

[VAspeedgoat]

Beware of switching brass. Depending on how picky you are, the brass you fire formed will most likely shoot differently than the factory brass. It may only be minimal or it may be a lot. Depends on what your gun decides.

Like Bambi said, the .280 and .270 cartridges could be mixed up if you aren't careful due to the stamp being the same. Bad things happen if you are in a hurry. Just sayin.

Ditto on the 06 brass.

 

[Okbow87]

I'm in the opposite camp... I would use the 06 brass. That way you can neck down to a false shoulder, which will create positive headspace and ensure you don't have case head separation issues later on down the road. Being a bit short isn't a big deal either. Just means you want have to trim anytime soon!

 

[danr55]

If you fire form 270 brass, try an old trick. Size up the neck of the case then use a LRM primer, about 4 to 5 grains of unique, fill the rest of the case with dry oatmeal, corn meal, or cream of wheat, and cap it with bar soap or bee's wax. Cheaper and cleans the throat of the rifle also.

 

[tarheel]

If you fire form 270 brass, try an old trick. Size up the neck of the case then use a LRM primer, about 4 to 5 grains of unique, fill the rest of the case with dry oatmeal, corn meal, or cream of wheat, and cap it with bar soap or bee's wax. Cheaper and cleans the throat of the rifle also.

Yep, that works well too. I had a box of old Herters match bullets I got off another forum for a song so just loaded up some light loads with those to do mine.

 

[Rooster52]

I got a bunch of odd and ends in bullets that I can use to form the brass.Had a friend tell me just use a reduced load of H4895 around 60-70 percent of a max load.