Which brass for .338-06

[Northwest Cajun]

Happy Holloween Guys!

I've been using Win 30-06 brass to form my loads and they are doing a very respectable .5 MOA & 2550 fps with 225SST's and 50.5 Varget.
BUT I'm only getting 2 loadings before the expansion in the case heads start to go.
Would switching to Weatherby or Norma .338-06 A-square brass prevent this.
What about starting with 35 Whelen brass?
Any help would be greatly appreicated.

Cajun

 

[Vern Humphrey]

First of all, are you full-length resizing? That will dramatically shorten case life. The solution is to neck-size. Adjust the die to barely kiss the shoulder of the case.

Next, have you measured expansion just forward of the web? You may have an oversize chamber which would over-stress your brass.

Finally, check headspace. Excessive headspace can result in short case life.

 

[LAH]

What vern said.

 

[Northwest Cajun]

I do full legnth resize my brass, It's the same dies I form them in( Lee)

Can I resize from 35 Whelen or 30-06 with neck sizing dies?


I'm thinking I may have an oversize chamber, mainly because I helped the gunsmith ream it out. He did say that it was a tight chamber for headspace though.
Is there a way to check if the chamber was cut to large( diameter).

All it would have taken is a few off center turns of the reamer,....right?
The barrel started out as a 1.25" blank from A&B that was turned down to fit a 1917 Enfield; contour, threads, chamber and crown all done by the gunsmith with a little help from yours truley

Elk season opens next weekend here in Washington, Since short case life is it's only problem, It can wait untill after I get back.
I hope different brass can fix it , if not, I'm not sure what I'm going to do

OR
Could it just be I'm over stressing my brass with too much pressure?
My load is win 30-06 brass, 50.5 gr Varget, CCI 200 Primers and a 225Gr SST for 2550 fps(chrono'd) out of a 26" barrel.
If I knock it down to 50.0Varget, I get no ring or flat primers.
I've tried IMR's 4064, 4350 and Varget, with Varget being the most accurate and the highest speed with the leaste access pressure signs.
What powder should I try? My goal is 2700fps.
Any suggestions?

Thaks
Cajun

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Quote:
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I do full legnth resize my brass, It's the same dies I form them in( Lee)
----------------------------------

Try neck sizing only and see if that improves things. Adjust the die to barely kiss the shoulder.

Quote:
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Can I resize from 35 Whelen or 30-06 with neck sizing dies?
--------------------------

Yes, but standard resizing dies are a bit better -- that's because the sizing pressure is transmitted through the case wall. Unless the wall is supported, you can bulge the case wall

Quote:
---------------------------------------
I'm thinking I may have an oversize chamber, mainly because I helped the gunsmith ream it out. He did say that it was a tight chamber for headspace though.
Is there a way to check if the chamber was cut to large( diameter).
--------------------------------------

Yes -- measure the diameter of the case just forward of the web (the solid floor of the case) before the first firing and after firing. You should see only a couple of thousandths of expansion if the chamber diameter is correct.


Quote:
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Could it just be I'm over stressing my brass with too much pressure?
My load is win 30-06 brass, 50.5 gr Varget, CCI 200 Primers and a 225Gr SST for 2550 fps(chrono'd) out of a 26" barrel.
If I knock it down to 50.0Varget, I get no ring or flat primers.
I've tried IMR's 4064, 4350 and Varget, with Varget being the most accurate and the highest speed with the leaste access pressure signs.
What powder should I try? My goal is 2700fps.
------------------------------------

Rings? Flat primers? Those are pressure signs. Back off!

You SHOULD get more than 2550 fps from a .338-06, but every rifle is a law unto itself. If you're getting pressure signs with several powders, I'd say your particular rifle is simply one that generates too much pressure at low velocities.

I'd try neck resizing only with this rifle. If the expansion forward of the web isn't excessive, I'd start looking at a few things.

How long are you loading these rounds? Can you seat the bullet a bit deeper? If you are seating them right into the lands, that would cause higher pressures.

How about the throat? If your throat is too tight, it can hinder case neck expansion to release the bullet. That will also build pressures.

 

[LAH]

We want a full report on the elk hunt.

 

[GooseGestapo]

You've definitely got a "LOOSE" chamber.

I built my .338/06 in Jan-May of 2003. Midway had the A&B barrels on sale for ~$55.00, so I jumped. I had been intending to rebarrel my MkX since I bought it in 1975 prior to shooting my first deer with it.

I too am using Win. reformed .30/06 brass; I have ~100 of the "Brass" cases, and 51 Nickle cases.

I have upward of 6 reloadings on some of the first I made up (brass ones), but will eventually ditch them all as I reamed the primer pockets/flashholes and the primer pockets are rather looser than I prefer.

I too am using Lee dies, and other than they seem to over size the necks a little, I've been satisfied. I have considered ordering a .338 stem and collet for my .30/06 collet die to try to see if I get any better accuracy with the collet necksizing. My rife now has ~250rds through it, and is continuing to shoot better and better.

I have some bragging sized 3-shot groups through it with Nosler 180 and 200gr Ballistic tips. I find that the Speer max load of 54.0gr of Rl-15 with the 200gr is a tad stiff in my gun, but 52.5 is excellent at 2,780fps. The 180 with 54.0gr shoots right with it at 100yds and gives 2,940fps. 55.0 gave 2,975fps, and like the 54.0 with the 200gr was just a tad too much with some flattening of the primers.

Best accuracy to date has been with Elmer Keiths load of 60.0gr of IMR-4350 with either the 200gr Nosler or Sierra 215gr BTSP. These will go 3-shots to ~1.0" with occasionally better. 5 shot groups run to 1.3-1.5". Not a match rifle, but certainly a real "meat hammer"!, which is all I really intended. Velocity w/200gr is around 2,725fps. I also like H414, and it really delivers the velocity that Hodgdon claims for it. I have seen over 2,800fps with it under a 200gr bullet.

I was NOT happy with the performance of a Hornady 200gr SP on an elk I shot last November 4th in Colorado. The bullet struck a little high and back in the lungs (my fault, a lased 250yds with a light cross wind, at 7,600ft elev. -from GPS. I was sighted in at 250yds at 660' elev.! bullet struck 5" high!). The heavily constructed Hornady 200gr bullet didn't expand sufficiently to take out substantial lung tissue. 3.1mi later, I muffed an easy 220yd shot I "guessed" at 400yds (later measured with GPS) and over shot holding on the elks back (~500lb cow). Unfortunately, other hunters found the elk the next day before I could hike back into where I left it the day before at dark, and 8 shots later, "horsed" it out.
(Bullet was over 62.0gr of H414 for just over 2,800fps. Very close to a factory .338mag. load).

Next time I'll probably use the 200gr Nosler BT.

I would suggest you find a gunsmith and have the barrel set back 1-2 threads, and then have the chamber re-reamed.
(This would cost less than 100rds of Norma or Weatherby brass!)
My gunsmith used a "tight" reamer at my request and I'm very happy with the results, except for the 10lb+ weight of the rifle!! Again, thats MY fault! Another set of bases, rings, and scope should pare the weight down a little more without sacrificing anything.

 

[Northwest Cajun]

Next year,after I return from my deployment to the desert , I'll get new; dies( redding neck sizing),brass (35Whelen and weatherby 338-06) and new powder ( mabe H414 and something from V V) I'll start from scratch with my loads, that is, after I take it back to the gunsmith to see if the chamber was cut too big.
I figure I have at leaste a good 30 more years to find the "perfect" load :banghead:


Thanks guys for all the input

Cajun

 

[Northwest Cajun]

Here is the rifle