I missed out on an auction for 99 new/old stock cases (guess someone decided to keep one for their collection) on GunBroker and have been having no luck finding brass anywhere else.

There's no unsold Remington ammunition anywhere (except the 30+ year old stuff available on GunBroker) and Nosler has discontinued their custom loaded 6.5mm Rem Mag ammunition that used to be available through Midway USA.

Quality Cartridge lists the 6.5mm Rem Mag @ $38.97/20 but availability is only listed as "2014". I haven't contacted them directly yet, since I'd like to pay less than $2/case if possible.

Buffalo Arms Co. also lists the 6.5mm Rem Mag @ $2.15/case, but availability is listed as "Temporarily unavailable, Back-orders OK". I haven't contacted them directly yet either. I don't know what the quality of their brass is like.

I'd rather go with Qual-Cart or Nosler or even Remington, if I can find it. Any suggestions?

"The 6.5mm Remington Magnum was formed by necking down the .350 Rem. Magnum belted case. (Actually, any standard belted magnum case can be used as the basis for forming 6.5mm Rem. Mag. brass.) It uses a standard belted case with a .532" rim diameter and .513" head diameter. The case length is 2.170", the shoulder angle is 25 degrees and the cartridge overall length (COL) is 2.800". The 6.5mm Mag. was standardized by Remington to SAAMI specifications with a MAP of 53,000 cup."

You might just be better off making your own brass from a more common parent case.
I have several calibers where I have to form the brass because it is no longer made and it is not hard to do.
Just trying to help.

7mm rem mag is easy to get....

I owned a Ruger 77 in 6.5 RM quite a number of years ago. I had plenty of .264 Magnum brass bought at close-out when Herter's was winding down, so I simply ran that into a .264 Magnum die which I had sawed a half-inch off of the bottom. The reformed and shortened brass worked fine, and I killed a coyote and a whitetail with the rifle before foolishly selling it to someone who offered me $50 more than I had paid for it.

I never owned any "factory" 6.5 RM brass, but still have a box or so of the 6.5 RM ammunition I cobbled together for it. It shot quite accurately (particularly for a Ruger) and the reformed brass gave me no problems.

http://www.midwayusa.com/produ...cm_vc=ProductFinding
http://www.midwayusa.com/produ...cm_vc=ProductFinding
opular-case-forming-dies" target="_blank">http://www.redding-reloading.c...ar-case-forming-dies


I still have plenty but if I run out plan on getting some dies and making some out of good quality 7 mag brass like Norma and making some

My favorite caliber right now. 130 gr Scirrocco II at 3175 fps is the real deal

Thanks for the suggestions.

I've never manufactured brass for one cartridge from another before, so I was looking for "out of the box" with the proper head stamp. After investigating the links that woods supplied, it doesn't appear to be that difficult. I'll give it a shot. LOL.

I ordered the Redding case forming die and the trim die because that's what their web site said I needed, but I also ordered the Lee trimmer cutter and lock stud and Lee case length gauge and shell holder which Midway USA said I needed, so I think I doubled up somehow.

I ordered 100 Norma 7mm Rem Mag cases, so we'll see how this goes.

Thanks again!

You will kill some of the cases learning.
I recommend that you scrounge up 15 or 20 fired cases to sacrifice while learning. Then you will not lose your new brass.

quote:

Originally posted by jlabreck7316:
Thanks for the suggestions.

I've never manufactured brass for one cartridge from another before, so I was looking for "out of the box" with the proper head stamp. After investigating the links that woods supplied, it doesn't appear to be that difficult. I'll give it a shot. LOL.

I ordered the Redding case forming die and the trim die because that's what their web site said I needed, but I also ordered the Lee trimmer cutter and lock stud and Lee case length gauge and shell holder which Midway USA said I needed, so I think I doubled up somehow.

I ordered 100 Norma 7mm Rem Mag cases, so we'll see how this goes.

Thanks again!

Just FYI, I received the first Redding dies, and from the instructions, you need three separate dies to avoid overworking the brass, and you'll still likely need to neck ream the cases before firing.

DIES REQUIRED:

#83266 - 350 Rem Mag Form & Trim Die
#90231 - 6.5mm Rem Mag Form #1 Die
#83231 - 6.5mm Rem Mag Form & Trim Die

#83266 isn't required if you're starting with 350 Rem Mag brass, obviously.

SEQUENCE:

1. 350 Rem Mag Form & Trim die functions as Form #1. Cut and file off any excess and debur.
2. 6.5mm Rem Mag Form #1 die functions as Form #2.
3. 6.5mm Rem Mag Form & Trim die functions as Form #3.
4. Inside neck ream or outside neck turn cases if necessary.
5. Final size using standard 6.5mm Rem Mag full length dies.

I guess I have one more die to buy (Form #1, 350 Rem Mag Form & Trim) and then I'll be ready to start mangling brass.

My, my, my, how the equipment suppliers can invent a "need" for every item they sell! Forming in so many steps might result in fewer ruined cases, but you won't end up with brass which is one bit better than simply running a 7mm RM case through your regular 6.5 RM FLS die.

DO NOT inside neck ream until and unless you prove that your brass is too thick in the neck for your chamber. Factory chambers tend to be overly generous in neck dimensions and the thicker necks of formed brass sometimes fit the chamber better than brass with "standard" thickness necks. If your loaded cartridge chambers without resistance, then your necks are fine. So, reverse steps 4 & 5.

I built my 6.5RM AI when the brass was on sale at Midway.
I'm glad I bought a big box when I did.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
My, my, my, how the equipment suppliers can invent a "need" for every item they sell! Forming in so many steps might result in fewer ruined cases, but you won't end up with brass which is one bit better than simply running a 7mm RM case through your regular 6.5 RM FLS die.

Even pushing the shoulder back 0.3" and changing the shoulder angle subtantially? It's faster, obviously, but I'd also assume it would ruin more brass?

I've already bought all of the "recommended" forming dies, unfortunately, so we'll see how it goes. Maybe I'll run a few 7mm cases through the FL die and see what happens, since I have another 100 on the way just to ensure I end up with an ample supply of 6.5 brass.

quote:

DO NOT inside neck ream until and unless you prove that your brass is too thick in the neck for your chamber. Factory chambers tend to be overly generous in neck dimensions and the thicker necks of formed brass sometimes fit the chamber better than brass with "standard" thickness necks. If your loaded cartridge chambers without resistance, then your necks are fine. So, reverse steps 4 & 5.

Thanks for the advice. I had planned on measuring the thickness of the factory necks on my .350 Rem Mag brass and then turning the necks of the manufactured 6.5 Rem Mag brass to match.

OK, time for stupid questions...

Instructions?
There were no instructions included with the dies. No instructions that I could find on the various die maker's sites. No instructions anywhere. This was as close as I could come to good advice...

http://www.saubier.com/smallcaliber/caseforming.html

Die Setup
Obviously the dies will generally stop (one would hope) at the band on the case, but there is no indication of where I'm supposed to set the depth on the dies in the press. Is the press supposed to cam over with the shell holder touching the die and then a partial turn farther? Am I just supposed to pull until the case stops itself in the die?

I assume I'm making this harder that it has to be, but before I run a 7mm case into the first die and turn it into garbage, I figured I'd do a little research to improve my yield of good cases. The problem is that research hasn't turned up much.

Annealing
Should the cases be annealed first to improve the yield? On the site above, they referenced a specialized torch tip for even heating of the cases, but I'm assuming most people dispense with the fancy tip and just hit them as evenly as they can before tipping them over into the water. Is there any need to buy the fancy annealing tip?

Thanks!