Question about Necking down from 6.5 Creedmoor to 6

B

Bfglowkey

New member
Greetings. Well I was extremely lucky and was in the right place at the right time...picked up a 6mm Creedmoor rifle ( Rueger American Predator with the older rotary 4 capacity mag) for pennies on the dollar. I was in the market for either this or a 243. I already have a new stock in route as the factory one will not do....my question is regarding my large stockpile of 6.5 brass. I already reload for my RPR and purchased 6mm Creedmoor dies.

Is it as easy as running the 6.5 Creedmoor brass through the Full Size 6 mm Die once and trim/chamf/deburr?

I read a lot of other forums and quite frankly the nerds are making it sound like brain surgery with their 5 paragraph explanations about bushing sizes on some exotic custom made die they had to order and bumping it down 0.0000001 of a inch ( exaggeration but you get the idea )

I was going to experiment regardless but before I run that first piece through I thought to check with the community here as it seems to keep a much more simple and level headed approach to answering posts/questions and offering advice.
 
There are those types who really like to get deep into the minutiae of this hobby and there are those that just want to get it to work. When the former attempts to coach the latter is ccant get frustrating.

The short answer is yes, grab some sizing die wax, put it on the neck and shover home. You may need to check neck thickness.
 
The short answer is yes, grab some sizing die wax, put it on the neck and shover home. You may need to check neck thickness.
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When checking neck thickness remember the neck does not get thicker and or thinner' it gets longer and or shorter. When going from 6mm to 6.5mm the neck will get thinner.

And I would use lube on the case below the neck unless I was using a neck sizing die.

F. Guffey
 
If you also have a 6.5 CM, I don't think I'd make 6mm brass from it. to easy to confuse them. I've read a lot of guy's are making 6.5 CM from 308 brass. I would suspect that any brass made from a 308 case could work. Ya might check first rather than go out and get a bunch of case's and find they don't work. If you decide to try it, pick something you don't have to do it either, say 243, 7mm-08 or 308. Problem I see is ending up loading for two different cartridges on the same case. That's just for identity of two different cartridge's.
 
Going from 6.5 to 6 mm, you would expect about 0.0011" of added neck thickness if the neck didn't lengthen any. In reality, growth of the neck will take up some of the extra brass and, after trimming, any thickness change may well prove possible to ignore.

I once accidentally ran a .45 Auto case into a .44 Special/Mag sizing die. It was a carbide ring die. I don't think I even noticed the extra resistance to the press operation, but the case sure came out looking wrong.

So, yes, you can just run the lubricated brass in. The only consequence I'm aware of for sizing that much in one step is a tendency for it to be less uniform in wall thickness and perhaps the neck to come out less straight relative to the case body. The second factor will take care of itself after the first firing and normal resizing. But if you get increased neck wall runout (say, all the thickening of the neck favors one side), that may affect accuracy a bit. It can be easily remedied by outside neck turning of the reformed cases, but I recommend you wait and see if that really proves necessary before going to that trouble.

If you start with .308 brass, you are looking at neck thickness growth of up to about 0.003" before allowing for lengthening. If you got that much, it would almost certainly require outside neck turning both for evenness and to fit a tighter chamber. The advantage of having the .308 headstamp on it has to be weighed against possible confusion. On the other hand, if you have a chamber that has a wide neck, you may get the best accuracy by outside neck turning an extra thick neck wall to leave a clearance of just a thousandth of an inch around it in the chamber.

I know that's starting to drill down into detail you wanted to avoid, but there is a safety issue if the brass gets so thick in the neck that it jams into the chamber and the bullet isn't freely released. Sizing down 6.5 isn't likely to take make that a concern.
 
You can do it without worrying too much about it. Check length after sizing.

I'd be careful using any member of the 308 family to convert. While the case length is shorter, the Creed is an "improved" configuration. Meaning fire forming your cases. You'll likely want the bullet seated to the lands for that.
 
Where's the fun?

Old roper.

Sure they do sell the brass. But where's the fun in the game? ;)

I try to get as many 243 cases as possible, to make 6.5 Creed out of it.
This is the easiest way to do it.

Trim the case to 1.910 and you get an weird looking case with almost no caseneck.:eek:

Run it trough the sizing die and tadaa… a 6.5 Creed is born. :D

This would be my suggestion to the TO as well. Try a .243 case, trim it to length and just size it.
Might be the better way, because .243 is a 6mm diameter already.
 
308 to 6 CM requires trimming and neck turning, 243 to 6 CM just trimming. For both 308 and 243 ensure that when bumping the shoulder back it doesn't buckle and the case closes tightly in the gun it is to be used in. After the first firing FL size and reload as normal. The sizing process from 6.5 CM to 6 CM is just run it through the 6 CM FL die. 22-250 cases can be used however an unsightly bulge develops around the pressure ring after the first firing which could rupture upon further reloadings.

Ideally Hornady, Lapua, Petersen, and Starline make brass so the time saved can be used in loading ammunition.
 
Update:
I took 50 pieces of my 1x fired 6.5 brass and after a bit of elbow grease I now have 50 shiny 6mm cases. I had them all FL sized and trimmed for 6.5 so when I ran them through the 6mm FL die every single one is still within case limits ( avg case length is 1.915 after necking them down) so I didn't NEED to trim them but since I firmly believe that to make the race fair they all start the same...I trimmed them all back down to 1.910 and cham/debur….all the necks measured exact and with my calibrated eyeball I only noticed 3 neck walls not looking the same ( thinner ) so I ran them through the 6MM die again and repeated...sure nuff they look uniform. I know my first shots fired will not be as accurate ( well I am assuming...once they form fit to my 6 chamber and go through a neck size only for the follow on shoot )
As reference I ordered 50 pieces of Starline Small pocket primer 6MM brass from Midway. I will probably test them side by side and see how they compare cause that's what freshly retired folk do....look for crap to keep us busy
 
Don't mind me asking. I know you can form cases but don't they make 6 CM brass.
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I was in Ohio, that made it convenient to stop by and visit Pat's Reloading. He made me a deal on 30/06 cases. He had LC NM pull down cases for eleven cents each. I purchased 3,000 new/unfired/annealed cases, I did not need 500 30/06 cases but the 30/06 cases can be used to form 7 other cases that would be too expensive to purchase. I have 16 forming dies, I form first and then fire, once I fire a case it becomes a once fired case.

When I form cases I take advantage of the threads in the press and on the die. I understand that is sooo confusing but when forming cases from long cases I determine the length of the case from the shoulder to the case head. If reloaders can 'bump?' the shoulder back .002" with absolute precision and consistency I can control the length of the case from the datum/shoulder to the case head. And: It is easier on me because my cases do not have head space.

What does this mean? I do not have to start over everyday, I form cases in at least 10 different length. I am not required to remove the extractor and or use a stripped down bolt. I have used one long case when measured from the shoulder to the to the bolt face; for most that is too complicated because of the difficulty in understanding the 'ZERO GACTIR'.

F. Guffey
 
F. Guffey, I form cases for 6ppc,22BR,35WhelenAI,243AI,222AI and non spec 280AI. I understand how to form brass.

I can afford to buy Nosler 280AI brass for my spec 280AI and I'm not going to buy 3,000 case to make other cases. So please don't use me as example on how to save money.
 
I can afford to buy Nosler 280AI brass for my spec 280AI and I'm not going to buy 3,000 case to make other cases. So please don't use me as example on how to save money.
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I form 100 cases from the LC 30/06 cases, when finished the forming die is paid for. I have no clue how a reloader can spend so many years reloading and then finish with no tools to work with.

I am interested in reloaders getting more mileage out of the minds and money. I have always suggested a reloader purchase a 308 W forming die and if they had money left over I suggested they purchase a 243 W forming die. When forming cases that that are shorter from the shoulder to the case head than the 30/06 the 308 W forming die can be used. When forming the reloader must have a good understanding of the 'incline plain'. When finished with the short forming die the reloader has to apply the RCBS rule #1.

While at Pat's I called a few friends and ask them if they wanted to save shipping and make give me the opportunity to move up to 'VOLUME BUYER'. The answers were 'No', they are all skeptics. When I got home they came over, the next day I was calling Pat. I was back trying to make the best deal for shipping because they just do not get the opportunity to purchase new, unfired and annealed cases for less than eleven cents each.

So, we ordered another 2000 cases.

for my spec 280AI
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How do you form 280AI cases from 280 Remington cases? I am the fan of form first and then fire. After firing I eject once fired cases if the case was new when I started.

F. Guffey
 
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