Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Making 7mm Weatherby Brass

My source for 7mm Weatherby from Remington brass is rapidly drying up. What is the best way to make 7mm Weatherby brass from something else? I would buy new Remington brass but nobody here carries 7mm Weatherby chamberings except in Weatherby brass and Cabela's doesn't list it as being available any longer. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif" alt="" />

Rolly I used to make brass for my 270 Wby by using 7 RM brass. I'm not sure but I'd try to resize the & RM for the Wby and see how it comes out.

MD

although I gotta believe you can find it somewhere, how much are you looking for?

Rolly,

I have done a lot of both 257 Wby and 270 Wby from 264Win and 7mm Rem brass. It ends up a tad short, but works perfectly.

Using W-W brass, I can actually load hotter than with the Norma manufactured Wby brass.

Ted

Yukoner,

I have a .257 Weatherby that is in need of some new brass. I have not loaded it up for that reason. What is your process for taking .264 Win Brass to .257 Weatherby?

Thanks in advance.

Lube the cases as usual, however also do a very light lube on the outside of the case neck and shoulder. If you lube the shoulder and neck too much, you will get hydraulic dents in the shoulder for sure. I just use a bit on my fingers to do the shoulder/neck area.

Do the same inside of the case neck with a swab or brush.

One pass through your full length sizing die and you are in business. Works slick as can be with Imperial Sizing Die Wax, but I have done it with both STP and RCBS lube as well.

Be sure to adjust your sizing a bit at a time until the bolt will just barely close on the sized case. This will ensure the cases are headspaced on the shoulder, rather than the belt and get little or no case stretching.

I have used both 264 and 7mm mag and never had necks that were too thick to chamber. Once you have the cases formed just load them up and go. They will be perfectly formed with the first firing.

I have found that there is no difference in accuracy, except the cases formed from 7mm mag give a bit more accurate loads, probably because the neck clearance is close to minimum.

Let me know how you make out with your rifle. Is it a Mark V, Vanguard or a custom? Mine is built on a Savage 110 and shoots under 3/4" all day long, every day. Some of the groups with the Winchester 7mm brass are scary tiny. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Ted

Yukoner,

Thanks for the information. Sounds like 7mm Remington brass made by Winchester Western is the way to go. I am assuming that I will need to work up a load with the unfired/unformed brass and then when I have enough fire formed brass I can adjust the load to match the fired/formed to chamber brass. Is this the process you follow?

I have a Mark V Deluxe, and you are right...they shoot some scary small groups. My go to load has been the 115 CT Ballistic Silvertip over 71 grains of IMR 7828. Chronographs right at 3400 fps. I used to rod it a little more than that but the fouling was unbearable.

I have been wanting to try something different but with the price of Weatherby or Norma brass I just haven't had the ambition. Now that I can do it a little more reasonable I am going to get after it. What kind of loads do you use to form your brass with the first loading?

Thanks in advance.

Thanks Yukoner. I'll get some 7mm Rem. Mag. brass and give it a try. Using 7mm RM brass was my first guess but I didn't know if it would work of if there was a better source. Thanks for the info. I only want 100 or so for loading so it won't be too big a deal to make some of those up if it works as well as described. Preciate it.
Rolly

The resized 7mm or 264 brass will be almost fully formed before you fire it. Consequently, it is not much of a step between the resized and the fireformed brass. You will see what I mean when you do the first case.

I never use reduced loads when fireforming brass. On the other hand I don't just load up the hottest load in the book either. My suggestion would be to fireform a few, say twenty rounds, with the starting load from whatever manual you have. Then work up your loads using this brass.

Once you have the load determined, you can just load the rest of the resized cases with that load and go. They will fireform perfectly, and the point of impact will not vary enough to be any concern at all for hunting.

Again, let me know how you guys make out! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Ted

Rolly, I still see Rem . 7MM weatherby brass in my area. Do you want me to pick some up for you? Mark.

Thanks a bunch.

No thanks Birddog65. I would kind of like to try and make some from Remington Brass. That is where I will be sooner or later anyway and it might as well be now rather than later. I would just buy Weatherby brass but I am not fond of Wby brass as my experience is that it is pretty soft. Thanks anyway. I'll try making some. Sounds like it should be a snap.
Rolly

Rolly:
I tried sizing a 7mm Rem Mag case in my 7mm Weatherby die. It got stuck, and I pulled the rim off. I had to use my RCBS stuck case remover to get it out.

Close examination, and measuring of the case, compared to others, right there close to the belt, leads me to believe that my mistake was using a fired case. I intend to try it again using unfired brass.

I just wanted to pass that along to hear if my theory is correct. And, yup, the case was well lubricated inside and out with Imperial sizing wax.
Smitty of the North

Thanks for the headsup Smitty.

I found about 6 boxes of brass in a shop on Saturday if anyone is in need. Wby that is (7)

Mark D

I just ran some fired 7 mm rem mag brass (W-W) both sized and unsized through RCBS FL 7mm weatherby Die and it worked perfectly.

This brass was fired in a shilen barrell with a relativley tight chamber.

Smitty,

Are you sure the base of the case was well-lubricated? Even if the once fired stuff was quite oversized, it should still have sized down without sticking if it was properly lubed.

Try one with a little STP or whatever liquid case lube you usually use and see what happens. Imperial Sizing Die wax is incredible stuff, but it is a bit more difficult to get evenly on a case.

No flame at all, just a suggestion.

Ted

That has always been my experience, even when sizing down to 257 Wby. The cases are almost fully formed with a single pass through the die.

Just be sure to adjust the die so the bolt barely closes on the newly-sized case to avoid excessive case stretching upon firing.

Ted

Rolly, I have 80 rounds of 7MM WBY once fired brass. 40 rounds of Rem., and 40 rounds of WBY if your interested. It`s cleaned and polished, ready to reload. Shipped to your door for $40.00. Chaz. cjh700bdl@webtv.net

Smitty,

Are you sure the base of the case was well-lubricated? Even if the once fired stuff was quite oversized, it should still have sized down without sticking if it was properly lubed.

Try one with a little STP or whatever liquid case lube you usually use and see what happens. Imperial Sizing Die wax is incredible stuff, but it is a bit more difficult to get evenly on a case.

No flame at all, just a suggestion.

Ted [/quote]

Thanks Ted:
As I said, I wanted to hear if my theory was correct.

It is possible that I didn�t have sufficient lube right near the belt. That�s where I measured a difference in diameter of the fired 7mm RM case .514 - 515, compared to that of an unfired factory loads, .508 and that�s where it stuck on, and not on the expander.

I also noticed that this part of the case was sized down considerably, after
I was able to remove the case. Possibly the chamber size on my 7mm
Rem. Mag. is at the maximum in that area too.

Both my Sierra and Speer Manuals show the diameter of the 7mm Weatherby
to be .512, and the 7mm Remington Mag. as .513. at that spot.

Anyway, my thinking is I should have an easier time of getting them right if I
Start with unfired brass, and I�ve ordered some new 7mm RM cases.

In light of what your telling me, I might try some fired cases again sometime making certain they are Well lubed in that area.

Again, Thanks for telling me what I wanted to know.
Smitty of the North

Use 300 WM brass. That way you can set the headspace on the shoulder for the first shot and they won't be short either.

That's how I made my 7mm RM cases.