Hi everyone,

I know that I can get 7x61 brass from Grafs and Huntingtons, but the recent supplies shortages have me concerned, and I'd really like to find a viable way to convert 7mmRM/.300WM/.338WM brass into something useful. I see that RCBS has forming dies for 7mmRM->7x61, .300WM/.338WM->7x61 and .300H&H->7x61 conversions. While the forming dies are reasonably expensive, I'm giving serious thought to buying one. If I go that route, which of the conversion dies does the best job?

Is there another reasonable way to perform the conversion?

Anyway, the rifle is a Schultz and Larsen M60 in very nice shape, and I'm looking forward to shooting it.

Analog My forming dies are the 300H&H to 7x61 variety. I can use any of the other brass mentioned if I run that case into my 300 H&H size die first, I would suggest you get the forming set that uses the most common case that you will have the most of. A word of caution, formed cases will have different capacity than the Norma 7x61 cases and max loads will be several grs less than the Norma cases. Hope that helps.

Thanks for the information. The 7mmRM->7x61 die is the obvious choice, but I've got a bunch of .300 WM brass, so that's pretty attractive.

It never occurred to me that I could just run any of them through a .300 H&H die and then use the .300H&H->7x61 conversion.

When I had my 7x61 and needed brass after using up the 40 original cases I had, I simply reformed the 7mm rem mag in my 7x61 dies. No difficulty at all and no special dies were needed.

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Thanks for the information. The 7mmRM->7x61 die is the obvious choice, but I've got a bunch of .300 WM brass, so that's pretty attractive.It never occurred to me that I could just run any of them through a .300 H&H die and then use the .300H&H->7x61 conversion.

Why make it more complicated than it needs to be? Use 7 mag brass. Trade the 300 for 7mag. Just not worth it to jack with 300 brass.

I had heard there were problems with running 7mm RM brass through the 7x61 die; but I'll cover one with imperial sizing wax and give it a careful try.

Paul, the form dies come in three configurations and one of those is specifically designed to convert .300WM or .338WM brass into 7x61. It's no more trouble than the 7mmRM or .300 H&H die to use, and brass availability, in general, is about the same. Since I have a .300 WM and don't have a 7mm RM, I was leaning to the .300WM conversion die.

I think you need to do what makes you happy.

I've made 7x61 with 7mag while I had the 7x61 20+ years ago. The 7mag brass is longer so I trim first so it doesn't hit the top of the die.

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Originally posted by analog_peninsula:
I had heard there were problems with running 7mm RM brass through the 7x61 die; but I'll cover one with imperial sizing wax and give it a careful try.

Paul, the form dies come in three configurations and one of those is specifically designed to convert .300WM or .338WM brass into 7x61. It's no more trouble than the 7mmRM or .300 H&H die to use, and brass availability, in general, is about the same. Since I have a .300 WM and don't have a 7mm RM, I was leaning to the .300WM conversion die.

Analog By all means trim that 7mm Rem case before you try re-sizing. Even by trimming I had several cases collapse when I tried sizing down to 7x61. The forming die seems to solve this. Let us know how you make out.

Cool caliber, I have a S&L mod 60 and I am planning on building a custom Howa 1500. The cartridge is about perfect for most game in the lower 48.

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Cool caliber

I always felt it was the perfect capacity for the 7mm.

Tried to make some out of 300 H&H and made junk.

The 7mm rem.brass had necks that were too loose and only got tight close to the neck/shoulder junction.
With the 300 wm.brass after trimming some off and first pass into the die i had to trim the neck walls.
The 300 win.brass made a better case for this rifle.
Would like to use/see one of those forming dies,just to see how the thin brass forms.

Good Luck

I got lucky and was given 500+ new and 200+ once fired brass when I bought the S&L mod 60 so I think I have enough brass to last a lifetime. Hoping to be able to use the 7x61 this year for Pronghorn if I get Lucky and draw a ND tag.

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The 7mm rem.brass had necks that were too loose and only got tight close to the neck/shoulder junction.

Hard to believe with an OD difference of .002 you had issues. Did you try it without the expander?