I'd like to hear from someone who owns, shoots, and reloads for 8x57mm Mauser, and live in or near the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. I have a question about reforming .30-06 based cases to 8x57mm, and would value advise from someone who knows how to do it. If you don't live near me, but know the technique, please contact me anyway.
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8x57mm Mauser shooters near D/FW metromess.
- Thread starter Kosh75287
- Start date
Mosin-Marauder
New member
An RCBS Forming Die makes the job SO much easier. If you take the -06 Case, put it in the die on a regular case, it pushes the shoulder back to proper specks and makes the neck really long. Then, you have to trim off the excess neck, which gets the reformed case in the ballpark of length specs. THis can be done by a file (very slow) or a dremel or other manner of saw (really fast) Hacksaw will also get the job done. The top of the forming die is hardened so you can't cut it with any normal type of saw or file. After that, you would resize the case in a proper FL sizing die, and then trim to the exact length and deburr etc.
It can be done without a forming die but if you plan to use any considerable amount of -06 brass or 8mm it is worth the investment.
You can also get a rebate on it if you buy one, however they are only accepting backorders at Midway. Graf's has the Redding variety in stock. $5 cheaper
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/77...57mm-mauser-8mm-mauser-from-30-06-springfield
It can be done without a forming die but if you plan to use any considerable amount of -06 brass or 8mm it is worth the investment.
You can also get a rebate on it if you buy one, however they are only accepting backorders at Midway. Graf's has the Redding variety in stock. $5 cheaper
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/77...57mm-mauser-8mm-mauser-from-30-06-springfield
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I did it with some .270 Brass, following these instructions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2QunpZ9eGQ
Worked out pretty well, and didn;t need a special form die.
Anneal the case, chop it to rough length, resize using standard FL die, trim.
Worked out pretty well, and didn;t need a special form die.
Anneal the case, chop it to rough length, resize using standard FL die, trim.
I formed a bunch just using a FL sizeing die. I just did one at a time with plenty of lube and several partial strokes into the die forming a bit at a time. Some cases took three passes some took five. I bought a $15 set of used RCBS 8mm mauser dies. Reforming without the expander rod worked the best.
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I did it a few years ago with a very simple Lee F/L sizing die and the even simpler and extremely low cost Lee cutting system. I am nowhere near a pro at this, I think I did about 30 pieces and had no issue with them.
Frankly, I just haven't done a lot of shooting with my Mauser. But I did a bit this summer, enjoyed it, so I simply bought a couple bags of new production Prvi Partizan 8x57 brass instead. Like most handloaders... penny pinching is as much of a fun sport as an economic activity, but occasionally (even after proving that I could do it!), it just seemed to make more sense to buy the brass.
One of the factors is that the vendor I purchased from are just a couple of terrific folks and I love to shop with them whenever I can. Look up ET BRASS in Ohio if you wish to shop with them also, but they aren't so much a web/mail order business, they really bust their humps doing Ohio gun shows. I highly endorse them for anyone that visits gun shows in Ohio.
Frankly, I just haven't done a lot of shooting with my Mauser. But I did a bit this summer, enjoyed it, so I simply bought a couple bags of new production Prvi Partizan 8x57 brass instead. Like most handloaders... penny pinching is as much of a fun sport as an economic activity, but occasionally (even after proving that I could do it!), it just seemed to make more sense to buy the brass.
One of the factors is that the vendor I purchased from are just a couple of terrific folks and I love to shop with them whenever I can. Look up ET BRASS in Ohio if you wish to shop with them also, but they aren't so much a web/mail order business, they really bust their humps doing Ohio gun shows. I highly endorse them for anyone that visits gun shows in Ohio.
Did you trim the cases before or after you reformed them?
Did you anneal cases at any point? If yes, what was used to anneal them?
Did you reform the cases with or without the expander die?
Were any cases you reformed originally in calibers smaller than .30-06 (.270, .25-06, etc.,), and did reforming them present any special problems?
Did you anneal cases at any point? If yes, what was used to anneal them?
Did you reform the cases with or without the expander die?
Were any cases you reformed originally in calibers smaller than .30-06 (.270, .25-06, etc.,), and did reforming them present any special problems?
See the video I posted above. Explains how to do it with just a standard full length size die.
Yeah, he uses a cheap chop saw (as did I) but you could easily do the first rough trim by hand with a hack saw. You only need to do it once.
Again: Anneal the case, chop it to rough length, resize using standard FL die, trim.
Yeah, he uses a cheap chop saw (as did I) but you could easily do the first rough trim by hand with a hack saw. You only need to do it once.
Again: Anneal the case, chop it to rough length, resize using standard FL die, trim.
Did you trim the cases before or after you reformed them?
I actually trim the casing twice.
First I chopped 1/4" or so off the 06 neck with hacksaw. Trimmed the mouth briefly to remove burrs for subsequent steps.
When all steps were done; forming, neck turning, I trimmed to final length, and then annealed.
Did you anneal cases at any point? If yes, what was used to anneal them?
The last step is annealing in this case. Only for conversion that needs drastic working on the brass will I anneal before and after forming. 06 to 8mm is not one.
I anneal with propane torch and my fingers. No fancy crayon or due.
Did you reform the cases with or without the expander die?
Negative. Just the expander ball in the sizing die. It could be a bit tough to pull the expander out of the new neck because of the thicker wall. The dubious Lee collet doesn't help. You really need to cinch it down, or the expander will come off. Adequate of good lube helps. If there is still problem, pm me.
Were any cases you reformed originally in calibers smaller than .30-06 (.270, .25-06, etc.,), and did reforming them present any special problems?
I did 06 to 7.7 jap, 06 to 8mm, 0.38 spl to 41 long colt, and am going to try 6.5 carcano to 7.62x45 Czech. The biggest problem I have met so far is the new neck wall being too thick. Brass from the shoulder is extruded into the new neck to form the dreaded "donut". It could become a real problem, worse than dragging the expander ball, and needs to be removed. Inside reamer is the proper way. Outside turner works too, but requires extra steps.
-TL
I'll echo tangolima's comments. I resized 60 pcs of FC -06 commercial brass and make no mistake its a tedious multi stepped process. The primary issue is you can't completely size to 8mm in one step. The added oal of the 06 casing will cause the casing to bind prior to a complete size within the 8mm die. So the simple breakdown is :
1) anneal the necks (makes the process much easier)
2) trim off approx 3/16"
3) size (I did each casing in 2 stages)
4) final trim
5) neck turn (my casings would not chamber from compressed and excessive neck wall thickness )
6) final size
In hindsight too much labor involved imo. Theres always once fired 8mm brass available and while I did learn a lot about the process, just seemed like jumping over a dollar to pick up a dime.
1) anneal the necks (makes the process much easier)
2) trim off approx 3/16"
3) size (I did each casing in 2 stages)
4) final trim
5) neck turn (my casings would not chamber from compressed and excessive neck wall thickness )
6) final size
In hindsight too much labor involved imo. Theres always once fired 8mm brass available and while I did learn a lot about the process, just seemed like jumping over a dollar to pick up a dime.
I want to make one point just for the record. Be VERY careful that someone doesn't unknowingly try to fire the re-formed case ammo in a 30/06. I used to be quite casual about my re-forming strategy when I was the only one who might shoot the ammo. Later, kids and less experienced shooters came into my life and I had to rethink how I did things.
It is actually a good point, especially anyone else who is not proficient may have access to the components. Caution is well warranted.
I did it partly because I wanted to do it. 8mm brass were available at the time. But it still cost more than 30 cents apiece, while I had more 06 brass than I knew what to do with them.
-TL
I did it partly because I wanted to do it. 8mm brass were available at the time. But it still cost more than 30 cents apiece, while I had more 06 brass than I knew what to do with them.
-TL
98 220 swift
New member
I have done it with lee dies. Also have used 30-06 to make 7.7 jap and 7.65 argentine. my procedure is as follows.
1. cut cases close to correct length with dremel.
2. full length size with a good amount of lube.
3. trim to correct length with lee trimmer.
4. full length size again.
5 trim again if needed.
Always worked fine for me. Only ones I had problems with was 7.65 arg. I had a few cases split.
30-06 cases used to be free(range pickup) but now the range brass is hard to get other than 9mm and .40 sw.
1. cut cases close to correct length with dremel.
2. full length size with a good amount of lube.
3. trim to correct length with lee trimmer.
4. full length size again.
5 trim again if needed.
Always worked fine for me. Only ones I had problems with was 7.65 arg. I had a few cases split.
30-06 cases used to be free(range pickup) but now the range brass is hard to get other than 9mm and .40 sw.
I finally broke down and bought the trim die for 8x57mm. No denying that it makes life easier. I just wish I'd learned to do it better than I did, without the trim die. Oh well...
Thanks for all the very VERY helpful advice, and steadfast attempts to assist me. I would have messed up MUCH worse without your consultations!
I also acknowledge the message about the hazard of reforming 8x57 from brass with a .30-06 head stamp. If I owned a .30-06 in anything but a Garand, it would be a valid consideration.
Thanks for all the very VERY helpful advice, and steadfast attempts to assist me. I would have messed up MUCH worse without your consultations!
I also acknowledge the message about the hazard of reforming 8x57 from brass with a .30-06 head stamp. If I owned a .30-06 in anything but a Garand, it would be a valid consideration.