Is there any problem that I don't see in necking up some 243 brass to use in my newly acquired 7mm-08?

Thanks

Most people neck down from .308 so the neck is thicker. Necking up is possible, but the neck will be thinner and may have shorter life.

Well, I can try it both ways. I just had some 243 brass, and no 243 rifle to shoot it in. If the brass lasts two or three reloads, I'll consider that good. I was a little worried about necked down 308 having too thick neck.

Best thing obviously is to buy some 7mm-08 brass, which I'll do. I just want to get shooting.

KB

I would be surprised if necking down .308 brass to 7-08 would cause you any thick wall neck problems. It is possible but unlikely.Jmho roger

i wound up with a couple hundred pieces of speer/RWS 243 brass (which is very consistent) - one pass through my 708 dies, it is VERY nice for my 708 .

You should have no probs at all. To make sure, I honed a little extra bevel in the nose of my resizing ball but that was it. Didn't lose a case and I was able to load full house loads from the start with the resized brass. And I didn't find it any more tender than the resized .308 stuff.
In a factory rifle, you shouldn't have a neck problem when you neck down .308 brass. I had a custom 7-08 that when I necked down .308 brass, I had to neck turn; when I resized .243 brass, I didn't.
One thing,if you own a .243, I don't know if you'd want to have 7-08 ammo around with a .243 head stamp. I don't know if it would fit or not. 'Course once you find out how superior the 7-08 is over the .243, you'll be selling off or rebarreling your .243s.

SHould work fine. I routinely neck up 243 for my 260ai. Necking down match 308 is also possible, but in my 260ai, the necks were far too thick.

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
i wound up with a couple hundred pieces of speer/RWS 243 brass (which is very consistent) - one pass through my 708 dies, it is VERY nice for my 708 .

Do you remember how thick the necks were after necking up?

TIA,
Don

KB...

I neck down 308 brass to 260 all the time.. never a problem chambering..

so going to 7/08 should not present a problem..

I occasionally neck up 243 Nickle brass to the 260 also... and never any problems.. and get a lot more than 3 shots out of it..

annealing it every 4th time, and it will last just as long as any 260 brass.

for what it is worth, I picked up some used Lapua brass for free that the previous owner said had been reloaded in excess of 30 times..

I've reloaded it 10 more times.. in a 7/08 target rifle...

I have done it both ways. As a rule of thumb, I would rather neck up rather than down because of the potential for neck issues.
GOOD LUCK and GOOD SHOOTING!!!

Federal 308 brass has to thick a neck for my 7-08. Remington, Winchester and LC work fine.

KB

I've done both .243 up and .308 down. For .243 brass I run it over a 6.5mm expander ball before completing the neck up with the 7-08 die. I've only fired these cases a couple of times, so can't comment on potential longevity.

I have run into problems with .308 brass necked down. My unmodified A-Bolt seems to have min spec neck dimensions - the necks of fired cases measure less than 0.316" (0.315" is max neck diameter according to Hornady). Norma Match and the old W-W SUPER brass necked down work fine, with neck dimensions when loaded about the same as factory ammo. R-P, S&W, and WINCHESTER brass were just under .315" in neck diameter when loaded, and were snug when chambered. The bolt would not close on loads in resized F C, SAKO, or 7.62 NATO brass. Since I subsequently acquired a .308, I chose not to turn necks of the R-P, etc. brass, and just necked them back up to .308.

Cheers, Al

I don't see any problem in necking up .243 to 7mm. Lubing the inside of the case mouth makes operations go smoother. Some expander balls on my older RCBS dies have a steep angle and are not good for that much expanding.

I made a long taper expanding plug for expanding 7mm and .30 RUM brass up to .375 RUM. It expands them easily, and I've never damaged a case.

quote:

Originally posted by DMB:

Do you remember how thick the necks were after necking up?

TIA,
Don

Sorry Don, I don't recall, if i measured them at all .. delivered great accuracy in my wife's 708 mexican mauser and in my 708 striker pistol

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:

quote:

Originally posted by DMB:

Do you remember how thick the necks were after necking up?

TIA,
Don

Sorry Don, I don't recall, if i measured them at all .. delivered great accuracy in my wife's 708 mexican mauser and in my 708 striker pistol

Jeff,

Thanks for taking a look.

Don