30-06 to 8mm trim and form

[mac1911]

I ended up buying factory brass after a while. Forming is pretty easy with 30-06 to 8mm and 7.7 jap. I have not tried 30-06 to 308 yet.
I do not shoot a lot of 8mm or jap to really need a faster way.

Anything to hold the case. I find a hole in a piece of hard wood does best. You can make the "jig" to suite your needs. This is a just a scrap piece I had kicking around and just happen to have the drill out.


Then you mark the 30-06 case to 2.25" at the case neck


Cut with your choice of cutter. I like the dremel tool with the thin kirf EZ lock , crank it up and it goes right through them with minimal deber/chamfer needed

| Dremel

www.dremel.com

Just enough lube to make your finger look wet/glossy this will do several cases. I clean the inside of the neck with a brush then run the my finger tips across the case mouth to get some lube on the inside of the neck.


I use the RCBS FL die to form. Just set the dies up as If FL sizing fired brass. I dont dillydally I use one firm quick stroke of the press handle mandrel and all. they go easy.
Left is Formed 06 ready for final trim right is PPU 8mm. Once the formed case is fired once it will form better to the chamber and its neck size from that point on.


If you can pre trim accurately and square you could go back to 2.24" or even less. I run 2.25" gives me some wiggle room. I trim to 2.24" Im only neck sizing for my mauser so The brass does not grow much.

 

[Queen Bee]

nothing like a little blood to go with some 8mm mauser.. as cool as that is .. i suggest the 2 in. Mini Bench Top Cut-Off Saw

save your time. you make a mark on the left side with a sharpie where you case end is supposed to go.. line up, and then run the saw and chop it off

 

[mac1911]

nothing like a little blood to go with some 8mm mauser.. as cool as that is .. i suggest the 2 in. Mini Bench Top Cut-Off Saw

save your time. you make a mark on the left side with a sharpie where you case end is supposed to go.. line up, and then run the saw and chop it off

View attachment 350277

I hated the Fn thing. Bought one for doing 300blk. Said screw it and bought rem 300blk that came with the BARNES brass. Then sold the 300 blk out upper the saw went with it.

Make sure your belt pulley set screws are snug snd maybe a touch of loctite to keep them from coming loose. I found the cut off wheel for soft metal to cut better than the toothed blade. ?
Mine would over heat leaving it on while trimming 300blk cases.

 

[jpm]

This is a great post @mac1911 ! Thank you!

I was wondering what is involved in doing this and it seems a lot simpler than I thought. I have a bunch of commercial 30-06 I've picked up at the range that I think I'll try this with instead of using my nice HXP brass.

 

[mac1911]

This is a great post @mac1911 ! Thank you!

I was wondering what is involved in doing this and it seems a lot simpler than I thought. I have a bunch of commercial 30-06 I've picked up at the range that I think I'll try this with instead of using my nice HXP brass.

As much as I would love to have a huge shop full of all sorts of fancy tools, I dont and space is very limited. I would like nothing more than post me trimming brass on a lathe!

 

[Deleted member 67409]

I gotta ask. Why bother trimming .30-06 down to .308? Its not like .308 is all that rare and expensive. I'm willing to bet that .308 brass, either the kind you make yourself by shooting ammo, or brand new brass, is cheaper and far less time consuming than trimming .30-06 down. How much .30-06 are you shooting versus how little .308?

 

[mac1911]

I gotta ask. Why bother trimming .30-06 down to .308? Its not like .308 is all that rare and expensive. I'm willing to bet that .308 brass, either the kind you make yourself by shooting ammo, or brand new brass, is cheaper and far less time consuming than trimming .30-06 down. How much .30-06 are you shooting versus how little .308?

its the "because you can" thing. I would do it just to see how it goes.

 

[jpm]

I want to see you convert 303 to 30-40 Krag!

 

[Queen Bee]

ordered the WFT 2 trimmer for 8mm mauser since the Giraud tri-trim does not come in 8mm mauser. Mac1911 when the covid is over if this thing works out well it may be an option for you

 

[mac1911]

I want to see you convert 303 to 30-40 Krag!

Just resize 303 with a 30-40 die. It will be a little short and the rim thickness on some 303 might not play well.
Right now theres 30-40 krag brass on sale at many places for .50 ea .

 

[mac1911]

ordered the WFT 2 trimmer for 8mm mauser since the Giraud tri-trim does not come in 8mm mauser. Mac1911 when the covid is over if this thing works out well it may be an option for you

I have enough trimming options. Between rcbs trim pro and all the lee trim/cutters i have accumulated i only need to set up a better power ed unit.
i was looking at this

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNrEf0PbiiQ


For 8mm its not worth it to me for a dedicated trimmer. i bought new brass years ago and only have one rifle. Neck size only so far and i have 50pcs of brass in rotation for cmp.

 

[jpm]

Just resize 303 with a 30-40 die. It will be a little short and the rim thickness on some 303 might not play well.
Right now theres 30-40 krag brass on sale at many places for .50 ea .

I have a ton of Krag brass right now. I collected it at any gun show I went to by looking thru those boxes and bags of misc ammo for a nickel a piece give or take. Some was loaded, some just brass but I grabbed whatever I found and now have a gallon ziplock bag stuffed with it. But I have a bunch of 303 I picked up at the range too and figured it might be a good use for it.

 

[Queen Bee]

I have enough trimming options. Between rcbs trim pro and all the lee trim/cutters i have accumulated i only need to set up a better power ed unit.
i was looking at this

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNrEf0PbiiQ


For 8mm its not worth it to me for a dedicated trimmer. i bought new brass years ago and only have one rifle. Neck size only so far and i have 50pcs of brass in rotation for cmp.

i thought about that as well but then i read this on amazon

"Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2019
Verified Purchase
First let me say this is surprisingly accurate with unexpectable repeatable results. Pretty quick n easy to setup as well.
The following is why its not a 5 star product and may not be worth buying.
1) Everything runs off the tools shaft, which has some runout. The case your sizing does have some wobble. Its not terrible but its noticeable.
2) The 2 bearings are garbage. With this tool you feel the cutting action, when its smooth the case is trimmed. Is my case done? Idk the bearings are notchy. Sealed Japanese Bearings are needed-$30-40 for the pair.
3) The cutting bit is just ok. After 500 rounds its getting dull and chattering on the case. RCBC sells a carbide cutter for $32, mine will be here today..hope it fits.
In closing, all in plan on having $150 in this thing. It should be a really good tool. If for some reason the carbide cutter wont fit due to thread differences I'm returning everything and buying the Dillon trimmer for my 750. My wallet will feel the pain, but my hands should be pain free after using tools like this."

 

[mac1911]

i thought about that as well but then i read this on amazon

"Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2019
Verified Purchase
First let me say this is surprisingly accurate with unexpectable repeatable results. Pretty quick n easy to setup as well.
The following is why its not a 5 star product and may not be worth buying.
1) Everything runs off the tools shaft, which has some runout. The case your sizing does have some wobble. Its not terrible but its noticeable.
2) The 2 bearings are garbage. With this tool you feel the cutting action, when its smooth the case is trimmed. Is my case done? Idk the bearings are notchy. Sealed Japanese Bearings are needed-$30-40 for the pair.
3) The cutting bit is just ok. After 500 rounds its getting dull and chattering on the case. RCBC sells a carbide cutter for $32, mine will be here today..hope it fits.
In closing, all in plan on having $150 in this thing. It should be a really good tool. If for some reason the carbide cutter wont fit due to thread differences I'm returning everything and buying the Dillon trimmer for my 750. My wallet will feel the pain, but my hands should be pain free after using tools like this."

i was thinking of the dillon also , or at least building something like it.

 

[mac1911]

I have a ton of Krag brass right now. I collected it at any gun show I went to by looking thru those boxes and bags of misc ammo for a nickel a piece give or take. Some was loaded, some just brass but I grabbed whatever I found and now have a gallon ziplock bag stuffed with it. But I have a bunch of 303 I picked up at the range too and figured it might be a good use for it.

I looked into the options when I had a Krag in my sights. I never picked one up so never got as far. I have a old timer who runs cast in everything, makes all sorts of brass conversions and has some fancy corbin swager for forming brass, bullets, jackets and such. Hes generally my go to guy for answers.

 

[55_grain]

I have a ton of Krag brass right now. I collected it at any gun show I went to by looking thru those boxes and bags of misc ammo for a nickel a piece give or take. Some was loaded, some just brass but I grabbed whatever I found and now have a gallon ziplock bag stuffed with it. But I have a bunch of 303 I picked up at the range too and figured it might be a good use for it.

All my .30-40 brass started out as .303 (Greek HXP), zero issues.

I used a pipecutter (for copper water pipes) to rough trim .3006 before sizing and then trimming to length for 8mm and 7.7. It's a little crude, but I don't have that spiffy cut off saw that Queen Bee posted.

I wouldn't ever have looked at a Krag or Arisaka if I couldn't reload them!

 

[jpm]

Oh that's interesting! I have a nice little pile of 303 brass so maybe I'll try it just for proof of concept.

I tried the 30-06 to 8mm conversion with some commercial brass I had handy and as long as the cases are well lubed, they resize very easily. Much easier than I thought it would be!

 

[Queen Bee]

Oh that's interesting! I have a nice little pile of 303 brass so maybe I'll try it just for proof of concept.

I tried the 30-06 to 8mm conversion with some commercial brass I had handy and as long as the cases are well lubed, they resize very easily. Much easier than I thought it would be!

yes and for a little bit of work, you get cheaper brass cases for 8mm.

 

[jpm]

yes and for a little bit of work, you get cheaper brass cases for 8mm.

Cheaper and a helluva lot easier to find!