Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Forming .240 Weatherby from .25-06 brass??

I read on another forum where a guy was saving money on Weatherby brass by running .25-06 brass into his .240 Weatherby sizing die. Since the '06 case body is slightly larger than the Weatherby, he actually was forming a faux belt on the .25-06 brass. The rim sizes of the two cartridges are identical. The shoulders are close. In my view, this thing just might work and save a few coins to boot.

Has anyone else tried this, and do you do it routinely? I worry about the concentricity of the formed cases; are they straight? Is case life acceptable? What about case separation issues just forward of the web? And most importantly, does the re-formed brass shoot as accurately as the proper-headstamped stuff?

If you can afford a Weatherby, you can afford the correct brass.
It might work or it might blow up the rifle. Reminds me of the photo of the guy who shot war surplus 303 British ammo in his Krag because it was cheap.
Eventually it came apart, only the bolt handle kept the shooter from having a third eye socket.
I'll help you out. Swap your Mk V 240 even up for a NIB Marlin XL in 25-06.

Collectively retarded post, topped off by a ridiculous trade offer. Really great job!

To the OP, I'd ask one of the gunwriters around here (Mule Deer) and ask them to weigh in on it.

Thank you, Orson, for that Mazda Minute. Now back to our regular programming.....

Stay with regular 240 weatherby brass dude.

No I have not done it.

But I have read (wish I could name the source, so you could check it) that it is easy to form 240 Wby from 30-06. 25-06 would be a much better place to start.

I can not name a single reason not to use 25-06 to make your cases. I'd love to hear why not from a knowledgeable reloader/wildcatter.

Use lots of lube when forming!

I haven't tried it, but I bet I can tell you where a problem will arise.

Dies for belted magnums usually don't size the case much, if at all, right at the transition from the belt to the main body. So a case formed this way from 25-06 to 240 Wby. is very likely not going to chamber without difficulty.

I may be all wrong, but there's my prediction.

Where do you shoot at? I just want to know so I can avoid being there when you try this out. Not a snowball's chance in hell is it worth saving money on something like this. I believe it was quoted already, if you can afford the rifle, you can afford the rifle. This is a completely different ballpark from turning .308 Win brass into .260 Rem. brass to save a few bucks.

Even If you could form the belt you would use up a lot of brass from the case head and the case would separate in a short time if not the first time you fired it. I have a Semi-Custom LH Ruger 77 in 240 Wby and wouldn't even consider this. 240 Wby brass isn't all that hard to come by , just expensive.

If one values his time and rifle, I too would suggest using the proper brass to begin with. Maybe rechamber and do a 24-06.

Dirtfarmer has played with this a little bit and observed the results Mathman predicts. IIRC, Dirtfarmer decided it could be done but not without forming dies, whch, I believe, he has on order. Maybe he'll chime in.

John

Actually, I don't own a .240 Weatherby at all. Nor do I have any itch to own one. I read about this on another forum and had one of those "Oh WOW, I'm not believing that!" moments. So, I researched some data on the case dimensions of both cartridges, and it does APPEAR to be possible.

My question is of casual interest only. This guy on the other forum can't be the only person to have tried this, can he?

Hondo,

Being the kind of guy who won't take no for an answer, I contacted CH4D and got a .240 Wby case sizing die. It uses a shell holder without the slot, essentially a flat platform to push the case into the die. A rod is used to tap the case out. It take a lot of pressure to swage a 25-06 case into a .240 case, as the belt is formed by squeezing the case body. There is usually a ring of sheered brass to be pealed off the newly formed belt. The process doesn't fully form the shoulder and fire forming is needed to complete the new case. These cases chamber easily in my rifle, as compared to the cases I tried to make using a .240 Wby FL sizing die.

Looks good so far. I haven't loaded or shot any yet, but will post photos of the whole process when I get it completed.

Whether it's worth all the effort. I'll report, you decide...

DF

Other than the lack of a belt?

Man, do not dik around. Get some WBY brass.

I did try reforming .25-06 dies with standard Redding FL length dies, and they wouldn't chamber. Decided it wasn't worth it to go to custom dies.

I eventually sold my Mark V Ultra Lightweight .240, not because I didn't like it or it didn't shoot well, but because I'd had my fun and experience with it. It was VERY accurate, flat-shooting and pleasant to shoot, and if somebody wants the ultimate American factory 6mm, it's got a lot to recommend it, including top-quality brass. It ain't a prairie dog rifle, so 100 cases should last anybody a long time for coyote-to-big game hunting.

John,

The CH4D die is in the $70 range. If one takes $.50 W/W .25-06 brass and makes $1.50 .240 Wby brass, it won't take but 70+ cases to clear the die. That's the plus.

The down side is the extra work and time needed to make it happen. The .240 case, evidently, has less taper than the .25-06 and the shoulders aren't fully formed by the sizing process. These cases will need to be fired to fully expand.

The new belt looks pretty good and with new brass, I don't see any problems with case wall or web area weakness as a result of the process.

DF

Why bother with the belt at all ? Just neck down 270 WCF enough to form a false shoulder for the case to headspace on and fireform them. Once done the case will headpace on the shoulder (as all rimless cases should, belted or not). As the belt serves no purpose in extraction and is well into the solid portion of the case, there is no issue with head expansion.
As long as you don't push the shoulder back in future reloadings, you should have no problems.
I'd still but the WB brass. For a rifle with a 1500 round barrel life $1.50 a case is cheap.

Once you size a 25-06 (or .270) case down to .240 Wby. body diameter, you'll have a "belt", no way around it. Headspace will be on the shoulder, not the belt, anyway.

I agree on the practicality of this exercise. One doesn't blow through a lot of brass with this type rifle, as JB pointed out, and good brass is available, although expensive.

I have re-sized 7mm RM brass into .257 Wby. brass without much problem and was wanting to see how well this one would work. It's harder, IMHO, than the .257 Wby conversion, but can be done.

DF

Maybe because it's the belt on a 240 Wby. that's 30-06 case head size. The 240's body is smaller.

DF, you beat me to it.

Yeah, there's no way NOT to have a belt, as you pointed out. It seems that .240 Wby. FL sizing dies like JB and I initially tried, don't size the case far enough. The belt from those dies is too long to chamber. The CH4D die squeezes the case body down far enough so that the "belt" is short enough to chamber. That sizing gets pretty close to the case web and I don't think the std. FL dies can quite get there. Even with a good coat of Imperial Die Wax, some serious "elbow grease", using a heavy, compound leverage press is needed to get it done.

DF