Armory Sponsor
Posted: 9/2/2012 4:41:50 PM EDT
| Hey guys, just getting into reloading. I have a heavy barrel .243 that I am quite fond of for varmints. I want to reload for this rifle, as well as my AR's. The main question that I have, is it possible to neck down 7.62 mil-surp brass, for my 243? Thanks for the help! L2B |
|
Yes, but it is alot of work. I would recommend buying some rem or win .243 brass and starting reloading with that. The neck thickens to the inside when you neck down from the .308 or 7mm-08 or rem .260 case. .243 is, of course, just a 6mm-08. Anyway, the neck on reduced cases, usually has to be reamed out to get back to a useable thickness for the .243 bullet. The neck, by that time has been severely cold worked so case life will not be so good.
I made about 100 7mm-08 cases from .308 just to see that I could do it. After that, considering all the work required, I went out and bought some Win 7m-08 cases. 
|
|
Okay, I get it! LOL! Possible, but not a good option. I really appreciate it guys!
As for loads, what are you guys using of varms? What kind of velocities can be expected out of stuff like 75 gr. V-max's, and Nosler ballistics? Also, what kind of case life can be expected out of a bolt gun? L2B |
|
New, never fired, .243 cases are about $40/100 ct., so about 0.40 ea. But, if you learn the case life extending secrets of reloading, those same cases can be used 5 to 10 times without buying another. The 95 or 100 gr bullets for hunting is what I have been using. The bullet/case dia. aspect ratio puts it in the "magnum" class, so Hodgdon H100V makes a good high energy double base powder for the .243.
I used 43 gr H100V pushing a 95 gr Nosler CT Ballistic Silver Tip for avg 2940 fps muzzle velocity out of a 19 inch barrel. |
|
My Rem 700 Varmint rifle loves the lighter bullets from 55 to 75 grains. My favorite load is the 55 gr. Nosler BT with 41.5 gr. IMR 4320. Very accurate, good case life, and very explosive on vermin. I expect 5 to 10 reloads from brass. The hotter you load it, the sooner it dies.
|
|
If you're a regular at your local gun club you may find all the cases you want as deer hunters sight in their rifles this time of year. Most do not reload. It's not uncommon to find a box of new once fired empties in the brass bucket or still laying on the ground. Granted you don't know the history but a new box and as new shiny brass and you can get a good notion.
I did experiment last year doing this with .308's to .260 (6.5-08). You will need to ream or turn necks and anneal. For me a much better solution is to use RP .260 cases or Winchester 7mm-08's that all I have do do is run through my die and trim. I still can justify the $1.10 Lapua .260 brass. It's cheaper for me to load the RP and toss after the pockets start to loosen up and then buy a second batch of RP. |
|
Quoted:
Okay, I get it! LOL! Possible, but not a good option. I really appreciate it guys! As for loads, what are you guys using of arms? What kind of velocities can be expected out of stuff like 75 gr. Vmax, and Nosler ballistics? Also, what kind of case life can be expected out of a bolt gun? L2B For your bolt action varmint rifle I highly recommend that you "neck only" size your brass after the first firing. You will get better accuracy and much better case life. As far as velocity goes, I get 3500 from a 6mm Rem with the 75gr V-Max. You should be able to get within 200 f/s of that maybe closer. The 75gr V-Max is an awesomely explosive varmint bullet. I could post photos of groundhogs hit with them but they were even too graphic for me so I deleted them. Neck shots leave headless corpse. You could imagine what other hits looks like. |
|
As noted above:
1) Military brass in 7.62mm NATO (unlike 5.56mm NATO) is thicker walled than commercial .308 brass, so you need to reduce the powder charge. 2) You'll need to anneal the necks to reduce the amount of cases that split and it works best if you neck them down in multiple steps. .308 > 7mm-08 > .243 helps and only adds one additional sizing die. 3) The neck will get too thick, so you'll need to turn the neck and an inside/outside neck turner will give better results by helping keep the case concentric. Which is to say more time and more expense. 4) Once you are done, I'm a big fan of neck sizing the case for longer life and generally better accuracy. Personally, I don't think it's worth it. Start with decent quality .243 brass and then neck size the cases for maximum life. ––––- 87 gr boat tail bullets are a bit of a sweet spot for the .243 and they'll retain velocity better, shoot flatter and retain more energy past 350 yards than a 100 gr bullet. |
|
back in the early 70's I shot quite a bit of necked down mil surplus 7.62x51 brass in the .243
2 loadings was about the limit then just about every problem ..... case separation, split necks & shoulders ....... just go down the list and pick any of them Serria #1530 85 gr HPBT pushed around 2900 to 3000 fps (used to load WW785 but thats been gone for years) it would cut a slightly ragged hole w/ 5 shots @100 yards (notes are in the basement, but using Varget now) great load for groundhogs out to about 600 yds, don't use it on anything with a thicker hide than a coyote |
Armory Sponsor