Reducing a .30-06 case so that I can reload and shoot them in my .25-06?

It can't be so simple as running them through my .25-06 sizing die, can it?

Yes. And No.
You will create thick necks that probably won't chamber. Need to ream or turn them. Maybe, depending on your brass and chamber neck OD. Try it. Carefully size the brass down, not too much lube. Best to use a 270 die in between. Work the brass in and out; don't try to horse it in all at one shove. trim.

quote:

It can't be so simple as running them through my .25-06 sizing die, can it?

Yes sort of. When you take 06 down to 25-06 the neck will get longer. So it will need to be trimmed. Other thing is the neck will be thicker. So it will depend on your chamber if you have to turn the necks.

quote:

Originally posted by Shof:

It can't be so simple as running them through my .25-06 sizing die, can it?

Well, yes and no. Just lube them up, including the inside of the necks, and run them through the die. You'll want to check outside neck diameter of loaded rounds to see if you might have to turn the necks. As with all rifle rounds, check the case length. You can also make them using 270 brass, but have to trim the length.

Hope this helps, neighbor,
Nashcat

I typed too slow!

Nashcat

FWIW, I took seven boxes of once fired Remington '06 brass and FL sized them in an RCBS 25-'06 sizer. I had to trim for length but didn't have to ream or trim the necks at all.

Pretty simple, really.

I have never found necks thicken when necking down but total brass length will be a little longer.

Actually the neck is shortened when you neck down....think about it

quote:

Actually the neck is shortened when you neck down....think about it

Now that is a fact. Just worry about the OAL.

I've also "feel" that how far you are necking down, the brass hardness and your die and expander play a role in your resulting neck wall thickness.

I've run some 30-06 through the 25-06 die and get the dreaded neck-roll.
Had some folks at the range shooting their rifles and asked if they wanted the brass. Ended up with 50 1x fired 270 cases (Rem). All of those sized just fine. OAL was in spec except for a few of them. Trim to length and shot on

I would also recommend you remove the expander ball and stem.

I reduce 30.06 brass straight down to 6.5-06, no neck reaming required, just use good Imperial Wax lube and the normal graphite for inside the necks.

I have also sized 25-06 up to 6.5-06 or if using boat-tail bullets just seat them straight into 25-06 cases. Very little difference between 25-06 and 6.5-06 so can't see why 30.06 wouldn't size straight down to 25-06 using a good lube like Imp Wax.

Never done that, but have sized .303 Brit down to .25-303 wildcat in two steps by using an intermediate .270-303 die without expander.

Used the standard Lee sizing lube - the one that looks like toothpaste. I have used Imperial Lubes and waxes as well, but prefer the Lee.

You could just check out one of the bigger auction sites. There seems to be quite a lot of 25-06 brass available.

Of course if you have a ton of 30-06 brass it would make sense to use it though it may require a a 270 step in between and neck turning depending on your chamber.

I recently did a bunch of 6.5x53 Rimmed from 303 Brit. I had to start with a 308 to set the shoulder back, then 7mm-08 to take the neck down a step, then finally a run through the 65x53 die.

quote:

Originally posted by Bbear:
I've run some 30-06 through the 25-06 die and get the dreaded neck-roll.

I tried to size some and yeah, I got the "dreaded neck roll" too!

Would removing the expander ball and stem eliminate this? I'm in new territory here having never attempted anything like this before...

quote:

I got the "dreaded neck roll" too!

Is it a donut or are you simply seeing the line of the old shoulder/neck junction?

"Normally" you get a donut when you neck up not down. When you neck up the neck portion actually gets longer so the old neck/shoulder point is now part of the neck.

When you neck down the neck actually gets shorter so the old junction is in the shoulder area not the neck.

You can sometimes get a donut if the expander pulls brass into the neck. So remove the expander and see what happens.

If you have a set of .270 or .280 dies you can do a 2 step process. Another trick which has worked for me is to use the bullet seating die first and then finish with the sizing die. I have turned some surplus '06 cases into .25-06 without any problems. You will have to trim.
C.G.B.

After I picked up a 25-06, but before I got proper brass, I took some 30-06 down to 25-06 with one pass in the die, trimmed it and shot it without further ado.

YMMV.

OK, so I lightly lubed my case prep pad with RCBS case lube, ran the cases over and ran them through my RCBS .25-06 sizing die.

This is the result!



Now what?

Bet you a that will go away after you fire it. New 06 brass or was it fired?

That ring shouldn't cause you an issue. The "donut" that can cause problems is out on the neck. In a tight neck can cause chambering issues or if the ring is on the inside I've seen flat based buts being hard to seat.

It's all once-fired brass....

If you had resized it in your 30-06 die first I would say it the shoulder was pushed back or the datum on the 06 and 25-06 were not the same.

Either way you have a false shoulder from your 25-06 die. It should headspace on that then reform the shoulder. Load them and go shooting.

Trim, Load, Shoot done deal.

quote:

Originally posted by Shof:
OK, so I lightly lubed my case prep pad with RCBS case lube, ran the cases over and ran them through my RCBS .25-06 sizing die.

This is the result!



Now what?

Assuming that the case you're holding chambers easily in your .25-06, check it for length and trim + chamfer (if necessary), then simply load it with your favorite .25-06 load. Assuming it still chambers properly (if not, then the neck walls are probably too thick), then shoot it.

I use only reformed .30-06 brass in both my .25-06 and .280 Rem and each shoots just as accurately with the formed cases as with once-fired cases. The shoulder bump will iron out upon firing and may or may not leave a slight and meaningless discoloration on the case.

Here is a sample of both my .25-06 and my .280 loaded in reformed but unfired .30-06 cases. As I say, the first firing is just as accurate as the subsequent firings -- and that happens to be very accurate with these two rifles.

Thank all of you for your assistance. I've got a couple things I'm going to try now. I'll let you know how things work....