Guys,
Have a few hundred 458WM cases at home, and with a new 350RemMag in the gunstore, I'm considering making rather than buying cases. Is it just a case of running the 458WM into the FL 350RemMag die without the expander fitted, and then trimming to length? Would the necks thicken any? Not sure...
Cheers...
Con

G'day Con, Yes the necks will thicken a bit, so it will probably pay to neck turn them as well. it might also pay to nech them down in steps, try a 416 die as the first step, then go to 37 or 35. I used this method and it worked fine.
Or you could just buy the factory brass, now that it is available.

Cheers, Dave.

Hey Sambar,
Local dealer quoted me $95 per 100 on cases... and almost $70 per 20 factory loads. That's why I usually dont buy from there!
Cheers...
Con

quote:

Originally posted by Con:
Hey Sambar,
Local dealer quoted me $95 per 100 on cases... and almost $70 per 20 factory loads. That's why I usually dont buy from there!
Cheers...
Con

You gotta be kidding!

How about $17 for 20 or $162 for 500? (But that is U.S. dollars.)

I have not used .458 brass, but I have made .350 Rem brass from other belted magnum cases from .264 Win. to .300 Wby. I started making them with a regular set of RCBS FL dies. Take out the depriming stem and run the cases into the die in about 3 steps, adding a little case lube each time. Then cut them to the approximate length with a hacksaw and finish trimming in a case trimmer. Annealing the brass before reforming and again before the first loading seems to help.

The easiest way I found to form the cases is to buy a file/trim die (I think mine is from CH - the markings on the die just say .350 Rem F/T). Trim them to the approximate length with a hacksaw, then run them into the die and cut it off with a hacksaw. Do the final trimming in a case trimmer, and then fireform.

I do not have to turn or ream the case necks with either method for my rifle, which is a Rem. 700 Classic I have had for about 20 years. That probably depends on your individual rifle chamber.

I formed 10 cases each way, and then annealed 5 of each batch. One of the un-annealed cases had a neck split on the 11th firing. All of the others are still in good shape after 12 loadings.

Now that cases are readily available here in the U.S., I don't bother forming them. At the prices you would have to pay, fireforming is definitely worthwhile. Can you order brass from the U.S. and have it shipped to Australia? I was in Australia last summer for a buffalo hunt and noticed prices were much higher in Darwin than we pay her.

Dale,
Thanks for that. Ordering brass from the States is a technical no-no but achievable. Regular pricing on brass here seems to be around the AUD$70 per 100. And lets be honest, x100 pieces of brass will last me a long time.
Cheers...
Con

Hey Con, I've done very similar to what Dale is doing. And I've not tried 458Win cases either. Check to see which "Belted Case" is the cheapest and use them.

I used Imperial Sizing Die Wax for my reforming and can recommend it highly.

Completely agree with Dale about the initial Hacksaw trimming and Annealing. I drilled a hole in two pieces of the same width plate at the same time so they were aligned. Then I spaced them slightly apart in a Vise, stuck the l-o-n-g necked case in and used a fine tooth hacksaw to do the initial Trim.

I've not had good luck doing the reforming with Nickle Plated cases.

Best of luck to you.

Hot Core:

I quit buying Nickle plated brass because I can't seem to get them to fit in my Rem 300 Win mag even though they were new unprimed and full length resized using Redding Dies. Maybe I will have to try some factory nickle loaded shells.

I have reformed brass using a RCBS forming die set for .243 & 22-250 it is fun, time consuming and they need to be neck reamed using the reamer provided. I suspect that neck truning would be better for concentricity (sp).

For a while I too made 350 and 6.5 Rem Mag brass. I think you would be better served by purchasing a Redding form and trim die set which can be easily sent to the land of OZZ and then you can convert all the magnum brass you want to the 350 Rem Mag. I also found a lot of inconsistancies in Remington brass hardness as well as deminsionally inconsistant. I had better luck converting 7mm Rem Mag brass by Winchester to 350 . The brass was stronger and had better case capacity. It tended to last forever.