243 or 308 to 7mm-08

[Blue Line]

Can I neck up or down used brass to use in my 7mm-08? The price of new 7mm-08 brass is getting too pricey and there seems to be lots of 308 style cases left at the range.

 

[rcmodel]

Yes.

.308 would be a simple resizing in your 7mm-08 sizing die.

.243 Might be a little more trouble because you would have problems expanding it with your 7mm expander plug in one step.

rc

 

[Offfhand]

You can easily use either case but I prefer necking down .308 brass and turning the necks to an even thickness. Whereas for making .260 Rem cases for my target rifles I prefer necking up Lapua .243 brass. Either one is a simple one step operation. If you use .243 brass use an expander mandrel rather than the neck expanding plug in your sizing die.

 

[Blue Line]

someone told me I would have to aneal the cases, is this true?

 

[ranger335v]

You would not HAVE to anneal but the reformed cases would last longer before the necks split if you did. Necking down is easier and makes for better cases too.

 

[noylj]

I prefer to have the headstamp match the actual caliber. You can use .308 cases easily enough, but how many cases do you need? I buy 100 virgin cases for my rifles and find that is all I need for several years.

 

[X-Rap]

Agreed, I load to many shells from the same family to mess with sorting and separating by anything but the head stamp.

 

[tommyintx]

use a tapered expander, expand the .243 up to 6.5 then again up to 7mm to keep the necks from splitting, or neck down the .308.. You can also use 260 rem cases, and neck them up in one pass, but they're usually harder to find than 7mm08. at least around here.

 

[Blue Line]

Noy,
I was finding lots of spent 308 at the range and just getting into 7mm-08 I didnt have any brass and thought I could neck the ones I found. 7mm-08 brass seems pricey, for brass and loaded rounds, must be that extra step to 7mm that jacks it up.

 

[interlock]

both work fine, i do both.

 

[ranger335v]

It's for sure easier to use factory cases and not reform. Come to think of it, it's easier to use factory ammo and not reload. ??

Any reloader who has to read a headstamp to know what he's shooting is into the wrong activity.

 

[roc1]

308 to 7-08 is easy and cheap. I just keep track so they do not get mixed up with the real 308 brass.
roc1

 

[SSN Vet]

You can get Privi-Partisan 7mm-08 factory ammo. for $17/box at Graf's, and the brass is qutie nice.... with the necks showing the discoloration from being annealed.

One free bang and nice brass to boot.

Winchester 7mm-08 brass is $23 for a bag of 50 cases, while their .308 brass is $20 per 50 cases.

15% more isn't that bad imho.

 

[Blue Line]

where's that? I'll have to google Graf's and see where they are.
Thats half as much as I just paid for new rem brass.
the loaded rounds I bought (rem) were the same price as my 7mm Rem Mag ammo.