Resizing .270 Win Brass to .30-06

[Skinnedknuckles]

This is probably one of those "you can but why would you" questions. I have a lot of .270 Win brass and no rifle and I have little .30-06 brass and one rifle with another on the way, so I'm wondering what the downsides might be resizing the .270 to .30-06.

I first checked SAAMI and the headspace lengths and shoulder angles are identical. I checked a piece of .270 brass in my .30-06 case gauge and it checked OK for headspace but overall length was long.I liberally lubed the inside of the neck and carefully worked the brass into the resizing die. After sizing, the brass looked good, it gauged OK again for headspace and was still a little long - nothing the Quick Trim won't fix.

So, am I heading for trouble or just more work? Or does someone have a cache of .30-06 brass and want to trade it for once-fired .270 brass?

 

[FROGO207]

The only problem you will encounter is that the expanded neck is now thinner and will possibly split sooner as well as have a bit less neck tension. I have used them like you are proposing in the past with no problems. The life was about the same but I did anneal every two loadings just to try to prolong their use. Someone here might trade with you. How many are we talking about?

 

[Slamfire]

I have lots of 30-06 brass and necked the cases down to 270 Win. I had lots of case neck cracks till I learned to anneal the case necks.

 

[Skinnedknuckles]

The only problem you will encounter is that the expanded neck is now thinner and will possibly split sooner as well as have a bit less neck tension. I have used them like you are proposing in the past with no problems. The life was about the same but I did anneal every two loadings just to try to prolong their use. Someone here might trade with you. How many are we talking about?

Thanks for the info. I have about 275 pieces of .270 brass.. Apparently, the .270 shooters at my club don't reload.

 

[edwardware]

I've done it, just to see. . .

Anneal first, and then expand. Use generous and effective lube.

The necks might split sooner since they'll be a bit thin, but it sounds like you have lots to play with.

 

[Skinnedknuckles]

I've done it, just to see. . .

Anneal first, and then expand. Use generous and effective lube.

The necks might split sooner since they'll be a bit thin, but it sounds like you have lots to play with.

If I have to anneal, it isn't worth it to me because I'm not set up for annealling. I'll keep searching for a trade.

 

[Wolfmanjack]

I have lots of 40 s&w brass if that fancies you?

 

[Stevenvalleyky]

Skinnedknuckles, if you have a drill, some sockets and a propane torch, you only lack a tempilstik or temp paint from being able to properly anneal, it really is easier than I could have imagined. I anneal my rifle brass after every firing and never ever get split necks. Primer pockets get loose or I start getting case head seperation after many firings first.
That said, what part of the country are you in? I can send you a box of 30-06 cases. Let me know.

 

[Skinnedknuckles]

I have lots of 40 s&w brass if that fancies you?

Thanks but I don't shoot or load .40 S&W. My brass shortages are .35 Rem, .357 Mag, .30-06, and .30-30. I have .270 and 7mm Mauser brass to trade as well as .223 Rem and .308 Win.

 

[Random 8]

Will work just fine. Only issue is you might cause a novice lots of frustration if he recovers any of your range brass. Please crimp any discards thoroughly with a pliers, or that will be the next question we see posted here LOL.

I had an 8mm-06 (AI, some weird metric or excessive headspace? ) converted HXP case lock up in my almost new Redding FL die a few years ago. I wasn't lubed sufficiently for case forming as I didn't know it would be necessary. Was even the same date as the .30M2 HXP I fired through my Garand the day I picked it up.

 

[ReloaderFred]

The .270 Winchester is longer, since it's based on the .30-03 case, not the .30-06, which was standardized in 1906. It will work for a few loadings, depending on how you size it and the chamber it's fired in. I did it back in the late 1960's, when I was short of .30-06 brass, but someone had given me a bunch of .270 brass. Now I've got five gallon buckets of .30-06 brass, so I no longer need to do the case forming.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[wild willy]

Redding makes a tapered expanding button
Tapered Sizing Button, 30 Cal, Range 6mm to 30 cal

Mfr Part: 16307 just for this I.ve done 3006 to 338-06 with a different sized one with few problems didn't anneal got more than a few loading out of each case

 

[Slamfire]

If I have to anneal, it isn't worth it to me because I'm not set up for annealling. I'll keep searching for a trade.

I am not the final word, or even expert in annealing. What I do sort of works.

I anneal in the inky shadows, the only light is that of the blow torch. On my table is the blow torch, and a metal cake pan, filled with water. I do recommend depriming before annealing as the case fills up with water faster, and that may do something. Take a case you plan to ruin and point the blow torch at the shoulder. Hold case in your bare fingers and rotate it and count. Since this is your ruin case, how many counts does it take to see red or orange? Let case drop in pan. You will release the case before it burns your fingers, so this is a safety check to prevent you from annealing the case head. Pain will help you learn and pain always reinforces memory. I drop the case in water, because if the thing falls on carpet, plastic, cardboard, it will burn them. Dropping a hot case in water cools it, it does not "heat treat" it. Brass work hardens, and heating takes away its strength. Now, lets say it took to the count of four to see red. Next time, rotate, heat the case neck and shoulder to the count of three and drop in the pan. Drop before you see anything that looks red, or orange. I have experimented and pulled the case out around count two, let it cool, and then stuck it back in there. And while it seems clever, I can't tell if I am doing anything beneficial. But it seems clever. So it must be doing something, right?

I put the annealed cases in the toaster oven, put on low, and come back in a half hour and they are all dry. Do not try to get fancy and heat the cases higher than low.

 

[Demi-human]

Don’t try to dry them for “just a minute or two” in the oven while baking cookies at 400*.

You will forget them. They will come out with the cookies looking discolored and olive drab, not the mirror polished gloss they were when they went in.

They are not ruined.
But they look shabby! Nobody wants to look like a Hobo at the range!
You can’t look Agent Smith cool at the range with your Desert Eagle spitting out shabby brass.
You have clean and shine all that brass all over again!

(Sigh) At least you have cookies...

 

[Demi-human]

They do look kinda “Retro”.
But I am a Crow, more shiny more better!

Two unmolested cases for color reference. They really are more blue than that.
Were it done more evenly, one might intentionally “age” their brass. For a closer match to their brand new mil-spec Springfield perhaps...

But I digress, keep looking for a good trade. I am too finicky, and must have the head stamp match. I had to go buy Blackout brass for a new pistol, whilst setting on a bucket of .223 cases...

 

[Slamfire]

Don’t try to dry them for “just a minute or two” in the oven while baking cookies at 400*.

You will forget them. They will come out with the cookies looking discolored and olive drab, not the mirror polished gloss they were when they went in.

I agree in keeping temperatures low. My toaster oven, low produces about 150 F and a half hour at that temperature cases are hot and dry. Depends on how many cases are in the toaster oven, but a half hour is a good average. Temperatures above 400F will anneal the brass and annealing the case head can/will result in catastrophic failure of the case. These brass cases are gas seals, once they are breached, severe gas release can blow the action. This is particularly true of older, say pre WW2 firearms that are made of plain carbon steels, there are all sorts of pictures of large ring and small ring Mausers with the receiver ring blown off, and the most likely cause was a case head rupture.

As can be see in this chart, keep temperatures below 400 F to avoid brass annealing.

 

[lightman]

I've done it, just to see. . .

Anneal first, and then expand. Use generous and effective lube.

The necks might split sooner since they'll be a bit thin, but it sounds like you have lots to play with.

I've done it before too. Mostly just to see if I could. It seems like no one loads 270's and you can't hardly even give it away.

 

[fguffey]

The only problem you will encounter is that the expanded neck is now thinner and will possibly split sooner as well as have a bit less neck tension.

I do not have the same instructions as the rest of the reloaders on this forum, Years ago I got into the bad habit of measuring before and again after. When I neck a case neck up it gets shorter and when I neck the case neck down the case neck down it gets longer. And then there is Google search, I have not been able to determine the inventor of the thicker/thinner neck thing;

We should designate the 'neck tension' inventor, Many years ago I got involved in measuring bullet hold in pounds because I did not have a tension gage that measured tensions. All of my tensions gages measured tension in pounds.

F. Guffey

 

[Varminterror]

Work for nothing.

Pulling up necks means thinning the neck, plus pulling shoulder into the new neck, meaning high potential for doughnuts. Absolutely not worth the trouble - better off selling/trading the brass, even if you’re just selling the .270win brass for scrap and using the proceeds for .30-06 brass.

 

[fguffey]

Pulling up necks means thinning the neck, plus pulling shoulder into the new neck, meaning high potential for doughnuts. Absolutely not worth the trouble -

Pulling up necks, pulling shoulder into new neck and then there is the 'high potential' for donuts? Again, I was measuring before and again after and I was wondering where the old shoulder went; it was about that time I found it was impossible to move the shoulder back, I even tried 'bumping', If I was going to cover 'bump' I decided I was going to have to add a chapter because it does not exist before the Internet.


F. Guffey

 

[Nature Boy]

OP, if you decide not to try this send me a PM an I'll send you some once fired .30-06 brass

 

[Stevenvalleyky]

Skinnedknuckles, dropped your package off this morning at the post office. Delivery due friday. They were just tumbled for 3 or 4 minutes in my homemade rotary tumbler with no pins so the primer pockets and inside are not shiny but the outsides aren't bad. I size and load them just like the ones I just sent you as getting them cleaner will have no effect on performance.

 

[Skinnedknuckles]

Skinnedknuckles, dropped your package off this morning at the post office. Delivery due friday. They were just tumbled for 3 or 4 minutes in my homemade rotary tumbler with no pins so the primer pockets and inside are not shiny but the outsides aren't bad. I size and load them just like the ones I just sent you as getting them cleaner will have no effect on performance.

Thank you so much.

 

[Nature Boy]

I have some headed your way too so you’ll have plenty

 

[Skinnedknuckles]

I have some headed your way too so you’ll have plenty

Thank you, too. Now I need to put the .270 brass on the pay it forward post. And I'm sure there are other things on the shelf that should be there as well.