Where is the .243 Win brass
- Thread starter JWFilips
- Start date
JWFilips
Well-Known Member
Yes; a few of the folks in the "web neighborhood" have convinced me to reform from 308 . I'm sitting on a bunch of 1x fired .308 brass So I think I'm going to give that a try. I reform my 8mm from 30-06 so I figure It shouldn't be all that hard to do 308 to .243. Maybe I will document it & post to the site.
Ian
Notorious member
Resizing .308 (use a .260 die for an intermediate) to .243 has some advantages in the neck thickness department. If you purchase a neck bushing sizer die for .243 you can size the ID just enough to fit a turning mandrel and simply outside neck turn your brass for a perfect fit. If you need .308 brass, Monmouth has plenty of good military brass.
45 2.1
Active Member
Basic rules on reforming: Don't reduce neck diameter and push back a shoulder in one pass. Lubricate case where it needs and don't use too much.... folds, dents and other various things happen. Any brass that has inclusions or cracks will destroy itself. Don't do too much at once and make sure the neck is round before you try to size it down (no dents or creases). Anneal case neck if necessary. Yours is about as simple as it gets except for the neck reduction amount. An intermediate die (neck sizer, seater or sizer) will help a lot (about half the reduction).
JWFilips
Well-Known Member
Last night I sat down and reformed a bunch of .308 RP brass ( annealed it first) Actually I found it easer then re-forming 30-06 into 8 mm Mauser (I hate the trimming step in that!...) The resize went smoothly because My FL .243 die has been honed out to accept a .246" boolit ( That is what I shoot cast in my .243 rifle) So I didn't have to bring the neck down to j-boolit spec. Now Granted the 308 resized cases are shorter then minimum trim but that is ok since I will keep those together as one lot & I don't crimp any of those rounds. The real down side is I have to turn the case necks because they are thick...would I rather turn case necks or trim case necks ....well turning is fun; trimming is not! So hands down making .243 brass from 308 brass for me is easier then 8 mm from 30-06.
Next step is to fire-form the cases to the chamber. They fit the rifle easily but there are a few bumps in the beck to blow out. I'm thinking after blowing them out They will look like normal .243 cases... if that goes well ...it was a piece of cake! Thanks for all your input!
Jim
Next step is to fire-form the cases to the chamber. They fit the rifle easily but there are a few bumps in the beck to blow out. I'm thinking after blowing them out They will look like normal .243 cases... if that goes well ...it was a piece of cake! Thanks for all your input!
Jim
KHornet
Well-Known Member
JW, I have had good luck getting brass from "Ken's Brass". Got to thinking About my supply of 243, and for feeding two rifles, and found myself a bit on the low side myself. He is usually around $10.50 for twenty once fired, all same mfg. I ordered 60 cases yesterday. He has always been prompt in shipping and good to deal with.
Texas Hillbilly
Active Member
JWI I'm sitting on a few hundred factory 243 case's how many do you need? I've not cleaned it but it's mostly once fired,
I've not read the whole thread yet if you want some shoot me a pm with address
I've not read the whole thread yet if you want some shoot me a pm with address
yodogsandman
Well-Known Member
Texas Hillbilly
Active Member
Yep, it's here if you need it,how did the reforming cases preform? Have you used them yet?
JWFilips
Well-Known Member
Texas:
I reformed a number of Military 308 to .243 but unfortunately I turned the case necks because they were thicker then factory ( Wish I hadn't done that now Probably would have benchrest quality cases if I didn't) Don't get me wrong They shoot great but it would be nice having that extra tightness! This is one of the targets when I blew out the cases for the first time....Don't think I messed up too bad
I reformed a number of Military 308 to .243 but unfortunately I turned the case necks because they were thicker then factory ( Wish I hadn't done that now Probably would have benchrest quality cases if I didn't) Don't get me wrong They shoot great but it would be nice having that extra tightness! This is one of the targets when I blew out the cases for the first time....Don't think I messed up too bad
Texas Hillbilly
Active Member
Looks great I'm not sure I won't just copy what you did,so you'll have another batch ready to go,I've got a few thousand 308's set back to form myself,guess I'll try making some 7mm-08 first seeing how I need them more,just picked up a new encore barrel in 7mm-08 and only got a handful of brass. What HS did you use??