Hi there,
I assume that im probably not the only person having problems acquiring brass for this calibre.
I have read somewhere that it is possible to size down from a bigger cartridge which is more readily available.
Anyone willing to pass on some advice on this matter and the correct method on doing it?
Thanks in advance
A beginner

Welcome newbee
you can use 257 or 7mm mauser. with the 257 just run it through the 6mm die the necks will be a lot thicker you may need to turn them. Use a good amount of lube or imperial wax on the necks

Cheers for the reply, will be sure to give this a go.
Can't bring myself to give in and buy factory ammo

I have had good luck with the prvi brass .
hornady brass should be pretty good

https://www.midsouthshooterssu...rimed-cases-50-count

How many loads do you get usually manage to get?
Was under the impression that brass didn't last very long although i have no personal experience with and options are very limited now so will be worth a go!
Cheers

quote:

How many loads do you get usually manage to get

Welcome
That answer is it depends. If you load it to the max pressure 3-4 or maybe less. Max for the 6mm is listed at 65,000psi. However a 243 max is 60,000 Take a nice moderate load and you might lose it before you wear it out. Anneal the neck after 5-6 and keep going. I have some brass for my 6mm that I know has passed 10 loading.

You should obtain a couple reloading manuals, If you have not done so. Iam assuming you have not reloaded ? read through the reloading steps. You can ask questions about each step.
If you full length resize the brass after each firing life for the brass is short. maybe 3-4 time firings. If you just neck size depending how hot the loads are you may get a few more. If you neck size and anneil the necks after 3-4 firings you can stretch the brass life out to 15- maybe 20 firings. you will always loose a few along the way.

Ha, What ramrod said

Graf's has both Hornady and Privi.

quote:

Originally posted by Greg w:
How many loads do you get usually manage to get?
Was under the impression that brass didn't last very long although i have no personal experience with and options are very limited now so will be worth a go!
Cheers

This all depends on the chamber, the brass and how hot it is loaded.

We have found that some factory rifles destroy cases rather quickly, especially some European made rifles, and those from some customs hops in Europe are the worst.

Our own custom built rifles seems to make brass last almost forever.

But, these rifles have customs chambers, and customs dies cut specifically for them.

I have two rifles for our own 375/404, we have been using some brass in them for our African hunts for reloaded at least 17 times.

The loads we use are relatively mild, at around 2700-2800 fps, using 85 grains of powder.

Maximum for these is around 100 grains, so this might give you an idea of the loads.

Sadly, most factory chambers are cut relatively large, which plays havoc with brass.

I had a 6mm that I recently sold. Some of my brass had a dozen reloads and seemingly would last another dozen. I doubt I FL sized any of those cases more than once. The rest of the time I neck sized them.

Perhaps I got such longevity because of what Saeed suggested: it had a very nice Schneider barrel.

I Perhaps worded that last comment a bit poorly,
Meant to say was under the impression that particular brand of brass Didn't last as long as others.
Still in the learning process although getting there! Was directed to this forum by the Barnes number 4 manual. Cheers for the help guys.

quote:

I Perhaps worded that last comment a bit poorly,

We also tend to read it the way we think.

I've use most of the brands in various cartridges. While there are some that are more uniform and ready to go out of the box I can't put my finger on one brand lasting longer.

But if a brand cost 1/2 as much then it only needs to last half as long.

All that said if Midsouth has 6mm Hornady brass in stock I would buy enough to last me the life of my rifle and not look back.

I haven't had any problems buying 6mm Hornady brass lately at Cabela's. I assume that you've checked out all of the usual online outlets?

Fair point ramrod

I'm based in Scotland so American brass for 6mm in even shorter supply than I imagine it is in the US, going to contact a few sellers up here to see if anyone has hornady brass and if no luck there going to try sizing down from 257 Norma brass like earlier suggested

I do not anneal cases. Reason being is I hope a split neck is the first sign of a problem and I discard that case. You never know it when a neck splits, but a case head separation is another story. I have 30-06 cases that have been loaded many times.

quote:

Originally posted by hivelosity:
Welcome newbee
you can use 257 or 7mm mauser. with the 257 just run it through the 6mm die the necks will be a lot thicker you may need to turn them. Use a good amount of lube or imperial wax on the necks

+1

or neck down 8x57 and trim, or make from any of the 30-06 family --

quote:

Originally posted by hivelosity:
Welcome newbee
you can use 257 or 7mm mauser. with the 257 just run it through the 6mm die the necks will be a lot thicker you may need to turn them. Use a good amount of lube or imperial wax on the necks

This is the basic process, though after necking down 98 Hornady .275 Rigby cases as the initial step to make .257 AI cases I couldn't imagine wanting to do this if these were available. https://www.midsouthshooterssu...rimed-cases-50-count

As a matter of fact had I been able to locate 6mm Remington cases sooner, I would have been necking these up before fireforming. No need to turn necks.

The neck area on factory chambers is usually rather generous, so it is not typically necessary to thin the necks of something like 7x57 when necking down only 1mm. I've necked .308 down to .243 and rarely needed to thin the necks.

Tip: If you are using .257 or 7x57 brass to make 6mm (.244) Remington cases, the shoulder angle on the 6mm is slightly steeper. This isn't a problem -- simply screw the sizing die into the press only far enough that the resized case goes into your 6mm chamber without undue resistance. The "false" shoulder you leave on the brass will then headspace your resized brass perfectly.

quote:

Originally posted by B L O'Connor:
I had a 6mm that I recently sold. Some of my brass had a dozen reloads and seemingly would last another dozen. I doubt I FL sized any of those cases more than once. The rest of the time I neck sized them.

Perhaps I got such longevity because of what Saeed suggested: it had a very nice Schneider barrel.

Agree. I use LEE collet dies to neck size and a factory crimp die. I've gone over 10 reloads with no adverse signs.

Midway has some listed but d not hesitate even for a second !

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:


Tip: If you are using .257 or 7x57 brass to make 6mm (.244) Remington cases, the shoulder angle on the 6mm is slightly steeper. This isn't a problem -- simply screw the sizing die into the press only far enough that the resized case goes into your 6mm chamber without undue resistance. The "false" shoulder you leave on the brass will then headspace your resized brass perfectly.

As I recall, I am pretty sure that the datum line for 6mm is actually shorter than its parent case. So FL sizing should get the job done, and anything less may make rounds that wont chamber. I could be mistaken about that though. ??

quote:

Originally posted by Greg w:
Was directed to this forum by the Barnes number 4 manual. Cheers for the help guys.

Barnes mentions AcuurateReloading.com? I have that manual at home but all I've read is the reloading data. Where does it mention AR?

Apologies
I am mistaken
It was infact the Berger reloading manual, 1st edition
Currently working my way through the manuals
Lol

I built a 6mm Rem back in the late 60-early 70's, not sure when...It had an overly large neck and the NECK sizing portion of the die was undersized according to drawing specs on a sized case. Even with about a 0.0150" neck and 0.005-6" base sizing cycle I got 20-30 firings per case...take a look at what YOU'RE measurements really are.

I whined about it one day to my mentor and he basically said pull your head aoutta your azzz and think about it.

I thought about it for a while and after a few more questions he took pity and showed me what to do, which I've been doing ever since...

FIT THE SIZER TO THE CHAMBER/FIRED CASE by honing the inside and do the same with the neck OR, in todays world, use BUSHING DIES...and try for <0.001" base and 0.002-0.003" neck squeeze...100 cases will out last the barrel. a GUNSMITH can do it also, or have custom dies made.

I also used/tried just about every case I could find with ~0.470-0.473 rimless base,(and some semi rimmed) and a length longer than the 2.25" 6mm Rem with equal success. Variations in OAL are nothing to worry about as most chambers have a longer neck sections just for safety...a chamber cast will tell you tons of "stuff".

I think we overthink brass life as there are many ways to extend it if you want to...and you only have to do the solution steps once.

I've tested 223, 22-250, 250 Sav Imp and 308 a couple of times with cycles of 30 to 50 times each and they were still going strong when I just got tired of the load, fire, reload, fire, reload, ad infinitum...some of those brass lots have been reloaded at least 30 times or more especially the 223 stuff.

You're basically bench prepping your brass and sizing dies...you only have to do it once initially then touch-up the brass maybe again at 50 cycles or so...a quick measurement will tell you. Turning the necks will help also but case necks will many time uniformly iron out evenly after 3-5 firings, depending.

ALL this information has been posted on several forum related to individual case/calibers but the actions are uniform to ALL brass cases/calibers...I do this process to ALL my rifles and pistol reloading dies...the only rifle that is interesting is an accurate rifles no matter how "ugly" it is on the outside.

If you want accurate rifles you HAVE to have accurate ammo otherwise just buy factory ammo...its WAY cheaper.

LUCK

Your options are 30-06, 270, 280, 7x57, 8x57, 257 Robts, to name a few..requires necking down, and trimming in some cases..perhaps fireforming..In some cases it might require a set f case forming dies, so I would opt for PPU 7x57 brass and neck it down in your 6mm Rem. reloading die. and you "may or may not" have to inside or outside ream the case to .243..