I am in the planning stages of a 6.5-06 build. Will be ordering a barrel in the next couple weeks.

Looking for some advice on brass to those that have reloaded for one.

I cannot use 25-06 brass since I load for a good friend of mine. DO not want to get one of my 6.5 rounds mixed in with his. Don't like Kabooms!

I currently do not load for anyone that has a 30-06 or 270. But I would prefer using 270 brass. No real reason other than just a personal preference and I am not sizing it down very far, hoping that would lengthen brass life.

So if I use 30-06 will it require any trimming after I size them down. Same question for 270.

To anneal or not anneal? I currently do not anneal any of other cailbers I load for. Would there be any benefit to neck sizing later? Looking at die options and Redding has a 3 die set for the 6.5-06, I love their dies.

Final question, I have a lot of R-22 and Retumbo on hand for my 270 WSM, 28 Nosler, and 300 SAUM I load for. What powders have you had the best luck with 130's and 140's. Oh I also have lots of IMR-4350.

Thanks for help you can give.

No one wants a kaboom,but you'd be hard pressed to seat a .264 bullet into a .257 case mouth!
With all the tens of millions of '06 cases out there,just size the case down to 6.5
You may not even have to thin the neck as you do with the .25-06 with some brass.
Both the .25 and 6.5-06 in bolt rifle love neck sizing only.
As for annealing the case neck/mouth,it is a good idea.This will help to stop vertical neck splits.

Thanks!

If you are worried about mixing up the two calibres, would it make more sense to make your build in one that looks more distinctive, like a 270W, 264 mag, 6.5x55 or 6.5 Creedmoor? Alternatively, perhaps another .25-06, where a mix-up might matter less?

I burn a LOT of RL-22 in 06 based cartridges.. It would be one of the first I looked at. MRP or 7828. I think you will run out of capacity with Retumbo.

I reloaded a number of 06 based and 280 base wildcats. Simply properly label the box and NEVER reload the different calibers at the same time.

If using 30'06 brass, just make sure the loaded ammo meets spec at the neck and in YOUR rifle chamber. You may get a thicker neck area that could need outer neck turning.

You could also use the Winchester nickel brass to differentiate the ammo. I use them for my 280 Ack Imp

I use Remington 30-06 Brass. I remove the 30 from the headstamp and just have 06 left. I run them once thru the fl die and trim and turn necks as needed. Works well for me.

This is where the colored sharpie is the reloaders friend !

This is where I am differing from the other guys. I found that with a couple brands of 30-06 brass I had to turn the necks. I have used 270 brass for a long time with just trimming and running it through the neck die. If you don't mind trimming, I think that is the way to go. Now I use 25-06 brass, but I understand why you would not.

I never had luck with the slower powders in my 6.5-06AI. You stuff them full and get no reward. The various 4350 powders have always worked best for me. Half inch groups if I do my part is good enough for me.

Another option would be to have who ever does the chambering to cut a longer neck and throat to accommodate .270 brass as is, so you don't have to ignition ally trim .
Using an Improved version might give you a slight edge using monometal lighter bullets.

roger

quote:

This is where I am differing from the other guys. I found that with a couple brands of 30-06 brass I had to turn the necks.

The diameter of chamber necks varies, most especially with wildcats since neither the reamer manufacturer nor the gunsmith is working from SAAMI specs. It is no surprise that some chambers accept neck-down .30-06 brass while other chambers require reaming -- just the same as one 6.5-06 chamber might or might not re-chamber brass fired in another 6.5-06.

Issues like whether to neck ream or turn, whether to anneal, or which original brass to use have to be resolved on an individual basis according to circumstances. That's why they call it "reloading".

I just dropped off a 700 action this week to be barreled to 6.5/06 AI. I plan to use 270 brass because I don't shoot that caliber much and I do shoot a 25/06 AI. I'm sure I won't be able to tell the difference looking at those two so I'll stay away from the 25/06 brass. While no one would recommend it if you were to shoot a 6.5/06 in a rifle chambered for .270 I don't expect it would be dangerous.

No real danger. I’ve seen people fireform that way.

I'm pretty sure I have a bunch of .270 brass and no use for it or a set of like new Redding dies.
Just a thought.

George

I will PM you georgeld

I use Remington 270 brass trimmed to 30-06 length. I use Winchester in my 270's to avoid any confusion. I built mine on a Springfield action with a Pac-Nor 24" barrel. Chamber is 30-06 dimensions as I wanted a .060 throat to shoot the shorter bullets. With IMR 7828 and a 120'S Sierra the groups are .5, maybe a little better, and with the Nosler Partition 125"S and IMR4350 gives about the same results. I would be sure, to ask your barreler to use the 6.5-06 reamer and throater, if you want the .060 lead. The A-Square's lead is about .240 to long for the shorter bullets to reach the rifling. I like Bartsche's suggestion about having the gunsmith cut the throat for 270 length brass, could save some fussing around. I don't recommend 25-06 brass, as I find it too thin in the neck. In a 6-06 I have, if I use 25-06 brass necked down to 6mm, it won't hold a bullet. To get it to hold a bullet, I have to run the sized case thru a 6mm Remington neck sizer, then after a couple loadings the necks split, FYI!

Thanks Jerry. I am going to use 30-06 brass. I just picked up 300 once fired Remington brass for $25. Couldn't pass it up. I plan on sizing trimming as needed then annealing.

Sounds good, you can't go wrong there.

I would have made his 25-06 cases from the 270 brass and used 30-06 for this rifle anyway.
you'll end up with a better neck fit in both rifles.