Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Trouble In Paradise...............

Got my 300WSM Redding bushing FL die in the mail today,complete with 100pcs of 300WSM brass and a Ti bushing.
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<br>Long story short,I ruined about 20pcs of brass,trying to yield a 257WSM case. I can neck to 7mm-ish neck diameter(bushing .304"),but the jump from there to 25cal(bushing .284") is toooo much. That despite every trick I know,including several beers and much Hornady aerosol lube(grin).
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<br>Pretty disappointed in myself,as I was stingy on bushings and knew better. I'll order intermediate sizes,to get me to the Finish Line intact. I'm thinkin' a .297" and a .291" will make things muuuuch easier. I'd rather size an extra step,than lose the rest of my brass(I'll be ordering more of it too and a 25cal expander ball,that fits bushing die decapping pins).
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<br>Was hoping to have a sized case to post a photo of,in comparison to other 25's. Looks like it is back to waiting on the Mail. Good news is,the 3000 .284" 120gr V-Max arrived. I'll be in "7mm Mode" until the new 25 is up to speed..............
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Stick, wouldn't it be easier to start w/ 270WSM brass, etc.???

Yep,but headspace dimensions differ,between it and the 300. Soooo,I opted to start at the start. Figuring it was a cinch.
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<br>'Course,you can see how far it got me(grin)............

Stick, you'll have to educate me a bit, since I'm still new at this. I'm looking at Nosler #5 and the two cases look identical until you get up to the shoulder, where you'd expect the difference. It has the same angle, but of course it has to go further on the 270wsm to get down to the smaller neck.
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<br>So, the long way of saying I'm not understanding the headspace dimension.

Muley,
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<br>The difference is to preclude chambering a 270WSM(longer from case head,to neck/shoulder juncture)in a 300WSM. Though the differences are slight,it is enough,that one should feel that something is haywire,looong before the bolt is closed.
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<br>I believe that a straight necked down 300WSM case was used to yield the 7WSM initially,but it was changed fairly quickly,so as to negate the wrong ammo chambering the wrong chamber.
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<br>The cartridge I want,is a straight up 300WSM,necked to 25,without any other changes. I really expected it to be painless,to get from .308" to .257". It will be,with another bushing or two(grin).
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<br>300WSM brass is everywhere,I plan on hording a BUNCH and beings I'm winging it,as opposed to awaiting a SAAMI chamber/dies,this seemed the best route.
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<br>It will work,just not tonight(grin)..............
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Sorry for all the questions, but this is interesting to me...
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<br>Soooo, when you talk about a "straight up 300WSM, necked to 25, without any other changes" you are looking for the same shoulder length (measured along the cartridge axis, not along the angle), which would give you a steeper angle? Then all your head to ______ (fill in the blank) measurements of the case would be identical?

I'll try to find some reamer dimensions and post them.
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<br>Sorta like the 243,260,7-08 and 308 are the same(but different).............

I see exactly what you mean with the 243, 260, 7-08, 308 example. Basically, from the start of the shoulder down to the head, the case is identical. They all have the same shoulder angle. The shoulder simply has to carry further to get down to the smaller calibers.
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<br>I don't have the data on the 7mmWSM, but this is exactly the difference between the 300WSM and 270WSM, so figured it would be an easier transition down to 257. The problem there is that it is probably a lot harder to locate the 270WSM brass right now.

Stick
<br>I'm surprised you are having trouble necking down, too. I would have expected more problems going the other way??? I suppose you have considered annealing the necks, just in case they are a bit hard?
<br>art

I love it when Stick has a problem or two on occassion (grin). He just has it way too good most of the time. I was starting to feel all lonely with all the reloading and rifle problems I have had. It is nice to share my mojo with Stick. Welcome to my ship Stick...hee hee. Are you sizing your brass and then sending a dummy round to Pac-Nor for chambering? Just curious, because if they are chambering your rifle before you size the brass to fit "your" rifle, you may have to size them again to get them to fit, but I am sure you already know that. Been there done that myself. What a pain. Now I wait VERY impatiently for the rifle to be returned before I size brass. Flinch

I wonder if annealing would make the die crush them worse?? If you get the shoulder soft then tamper with the necks my simple mind thinks it would drive the shoulders flat instead of squeezing the neck down. If you could only anneal the neck and not the shoulder maybe!
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<br>I am also interested in your findings! Good stuff!!
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<br>Mike