I just received some Mil spec 06 brass on a swap deal.I resized a couple to .280 Rem with my Lee hand press/Lee full length die.They came out with a slight "hump" about 1/8" in length from the end of the shoulder into the neck.Is this OK?They chamber and extract nice and smooth.No problem there.I think after I shoot them they will fire form and the hump will go away.Am I right on this-safe to go ahead and shoot them?

The base-to-shoulder length is greater on the .280 than on the "parent" .30-06. This was to keep .280's from chambering in .270 chambers with overly generous neck dimensions.

What you have created with your resizing is called a "false shoulder". You are correct that it will function just like the regular .280 shoulder as the headspacing point. Upon firing, the case will iron out to follow the contours of the chamber and the false shoulder will disappear (except for perhaps some slight variation in the color of the brass at that point.) Your cases are going to be a bit short in that the .30-06 nominal length is 2.495", while the .280 is something like a twentieth of an inch longer. This is not really a problem, just that the necks on the former '06 cases will be a bit shorter than the necks on factory .280s.

Make sure that your .280 FL die does not set the shoulders back too far, thus creating more headspace than necessary. Do this: Back your FL die off of the shell holder a turn or so. Run an '06 case into it, then try to chamber that case in your rifle. Screw the die down a fraction of a turn at a time, resize again, and repeat until the case chambers with just a barely discernable resistance felt in the bolt handle. Now you have cases perfectly headspace for your chamber which will remain that way so long as you do not set the shoudlers back in resizing.

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What you have created with your resizing is called a "false shoulder". You are correct that it will function just like the regular .280 shoulder as the headspacing point. Upon firing, the case will iron out to follow the contours of the chamber and the false shoulder will disappear (except for perhaps some slight variation in the color of the brass at that point.) Your cases are going to be a bit short in that the .30-06 nominal length is 2.495", while the .280 is something like a twentieth of an inch longer. This is not really a problem, just that the necks on the former '06 cases will be a bit shorter than the necks on factory .280s

Yep what Stonecreek said.

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Originally posted by ramrod340:
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Yep what Stonecreek said.

Stonecreek is among the very fine posters here.....he knows his stuff very well!

Anything dealing with hunting or shooting that can be done from an armchair, I'm your man!

Thanks all!!!!

I would seat a bullet shallow too, and set the seater down until you can just close the bolt. That is the safest way to utilize the pressure of firing.

Rich
Buff Killer