What to do with 30-06 brass?

M

Monmouth

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Nov 28, 2012
293
5
49
Monmouth, NJ
#1
I picked up 500 cases of 30-06 brass through a multi caliber trade and don't have any use for them. Told they are once fired, but how would one tell? Characteristics, neck thickness, etc.. Trying to use this trade as a learning experience.

Lastly, What would be a fair way to trade these away to a fellow reloader since I don't know the "value" of a 30-06 case? I need to build up a .308 reloading base and don't have anything yet (dies, brass, projectiles, etc).
 
#3
It's really impossible to determine how many firings, unless it's brass that had a sealer on the primer pockets (which wood still be there if only once fired) or if it's mil brass with crimped primers.
What headstamp? You should look to see if the necks have cracks in them too.
I may be interested in taking them off your hands, let me know
 
#9
I get 100 at a time of the same head stamp at my local range for $10/100 and they do the initial tumbling so the cases are ready to inspect. The easiest way to tell if commercial brass is once fired is to Full Length size case and measure it. If it exceeds max length they are not 1X fired.
 
#12
Not saying it isn't possible, but the amount of time and tooling it would take to push the shoulders back, trim off the excess, neck down again and re fire form seems a bit excessive and expensive when you can just buy .308 brass....
 
#13
It's not hard at all and it works. Remove expander ball from your 308 sizing die. Run your 30-06 up and you will find that the shoulder will be pushed down to .308 speck and the neck will be considerably longer. Use a small tube cutter to cut it down. Deburr etc and then run through again with expander ball. Trim and your ready to go. Go to YouTube and type "30-06 to .308 conversion". when .308 brass is in short supply and your sitting on alot of 30-06 then you make your own.
 
#15
308fun said:
No......Really.
Click to expand...

I agree that the process can work. It's not anything new...I was referencing your short post of simply "necking down to a .308" from a .30-06 which does not make sense. Typically the term necking down infers that you are making the neck smaller to fit a smaller projectile, not forming a new case.

That being said, it didn't dawn on me until you said it that it would just take running it into a .308 die to push the shoulders back...also agree: if .308 is in that short order then making your brass isn't a bad option given time vs. availability.
 
#16
Wow. 30-06 to 308 is simple easy pleasy...really? Just run it through a die? Really? So no problems at all that need special handling and special tools? Have any of you ardnaughts actually tried it? Ever fired them? Ever fired them twice? Yes you can reform them to 308, you will need a damn sight more tools than a die and some tubing cutters. Things look great on paper...and ...er...the internet......what do I know, I am a French model...bon jour.
 
#17
Frogman77 said:
I agree that the process can work. It's not anything new...I was referencing your short post of simply "necking down to a .308" from a .30-06 which does not make sense. Typically the term necking down infers that you are making the neck smaller to fit a smaller projectile, not forming a new case.

That being said, it didn't dawn on me until you said it that it would just take running it into a .308 die to push the shoulders back...also agree: if .308 is in that short order then making your brass isn't a bad option given time vs. availability.
Click to expand...

Yes I used the wrong term "neck" I'm typing on a phone and tend to shorten my words a bit. "push the shoulders back" is what I was referring too
 
#18
armorpl8chikn said:
Wow. 30-06 to 308 is simple easy pleasy...really? Just run it through a die? Really? So no problems at all that need special handling and special tools? Have any of you ardnaughts actually tried it? Ever fired them? Ever fired them twice? Yes you can reform them to 308, you will need a damn sight more tools than a die and some tubing cutters. Things look great on paper...and ...er...the internet......what do I know, I am a French model...bon jour.
Click to expand...

Yes no problems at all, have done it several times, fired them several times, No problems whatsoever. Next time you want to be a smart a&&, you may want to "try it first".
 
#19
I don't take being a smartass on advisement. Next thing you are going to tell me is it was the best brass you have ever owned. If you didn't ream them. Or expand and then turn the neck you will have problems. I have tried radical case reforming. To get good results without case loss you will need special dies and reaming/and or/ turning tools. 30-06 to 308 is radical. My experiment involved 223 to 221 Fireball essentially same ratio and same concept. The view wasn't worth the climb. Trouble getting a proper shoulder in fireforming and unacceptable case loss without judicious annealing. In my book that isn't the definition of simple. Good luck professor.
 
#21
armorpl8chikn said:
I don't take being a smartass on advisement. Next thing you are going to tell me is it was the best brass you have ever owned. If you didn't ream them. Or expand and then turn the neck you will have problems. I have tried radical case reforming. To get good results without case loss you will need special dies and reaming/and or/ turning tools. 30-06 to 308 is radical. My experiment involved 223 to 221 Fireball essentially same ratio and same concept. The view wasn't worth the climb. Trouble getting a proper shoulder in fireforming and unacceptable case loss without judicious annealing. In my book that isn't the definition of simple. Good luck professor.
Click to expand...

All Hail the great armorpl8chikn for he knows best. What would I know, for I've only done it several times with the calibers I spoke of. Armor tried something similar with a different caliber, so surely he now knows all. Look I didn't make my initial post to puff my chest out or get into a pissing match with a freakin know it all. It's not radical. It's the same case once you push the shoulder down. It works "flawlessly". Yes of course I'd prefer 308 cases over 30-06, but of the op has 500 30-06 and nothing to do with them, well I offered my two cents. I hoped to do that without someone trying to patronize me or give me a lecture on why they are the greatest. I suggest you take your 221 fireball and shove it
 
#22
Sell em off a hundred at a time for 20$ a pop shipped, I'd buy a couple, sure others would as well, then use the $$ to get some 308 brass.

I would not try to convert 3006 to 308, I know others have done it but others have reloaded berdan primed cases too, not my thing either. Where there's a will there's a way I guess.
 
#25
308fun said:
Yes no problems at all, have done it several times, fired them several times, No problems whatsoever. Next time you want to be a smart a&&, you may want to "try it first".
Click to expand...

You must have one hell of a loose chamber then. Last time I tried that was when I was running low on 308 brass for my SPS Tactical, and I waited to find brass after necking down some 06. The necks of the newly formed brass will have to be reamed or turned and resized going from 06 to 308. There's no way around that in a SAAMI spec chamber, and I haven't seen any that had a looser neck than that.
 
#27
come on guys

Come on guys - I have never done it with the 06 to 308, but the .223, .221, .222 I have some experience with. The brass is so much thinner on those smaller cases. Way less room for error, pain in the ass to deal with.

On the other hand, I would not want to trim them all. It can be done, good luck. My 30-06 brass become 6.5 x 06 brass.
 
#28
George Az said:
Come on guys - I have never done it with the 06 to 308, but the .223, .221, .222 I have some experience with. The brass is so much thinner on those smaller cases. Way less room for error, pain in the ass to deal with.

On the other hand, I would not want to trim them all. It can be done, good luck. My 30-06 brass become 6.5 x 06 brass.
Click to expand...

George I don't think I said it couldn't be done, don't think I have denied that. All that I have illustrated is that it is not popcorn easy, and requires more than pipe cutters and a die. Done correctly and done quickly are two different things. If my rifle HAD to fire or I would die, I would do this. Without the tools that have been mentioned you are asking for trouble, or just slinging lead, or both. I did go in the loading room and reform some 30-06 to 308...well something similar to it. Crushed shoulders and case bodies resulted so I can't say they were "converted" into anything but scrap brass. 308Fun now owes me 4-brand new LC69 cases. I used these cases to make a point, the blanket statements that have been made are not universal, covering all dies, all brass, all guns, all situations. Telling someone they can take 500 unknown 30-06 brass and convert them to 308 and they will work in THEIR gun is a good way to piss someone the fuck off. I have made these mistakes in the past that is why I pass my eperiences on to others. I was told by a goob many years ago that I could convert 500 Hirtenberg 308 Match cases to 243, much the same way things have played out here in this thread. I converted every one of them, they LOOKED great coming out of the die. I was much younger and dumber though and simply churned them through the die. Long story short I had to get a set of SB dies and hack my shellholder, buy a reamer, and after one hell of a headache they were never any good, and rife with problems every time I fired them.
For all our knowledge today we are inundated with instant haphazard incomplete advice, often the cause of reinventing the wheel over and over. I will refrain in the future from educating the chronically uneducable masses.
 
#29
If your going to make it into another caliber best bet would be to trim to .45 ACP length and size/load for same. It would get the next guy that picks them up scratching his head when he reads the headstamp.
 
#31
BCP said:
Sell em off a hundred at a time for 20$ a pop shipped, I'd buy a couple, sure others would as well, then use the $$ to get some 308 brass.

I would not try to convert 3006 to 308, I know others have done it but others have reloaded berdan primed cases too, not my thing either. Where there's a will there's a way I guess.
Click to expand...

I agree, easier to put the money to 308 brass. I'm new to reloading and wouldn't feel comfortable forming new a case caliber from a different.

I would split up the lot and sell them off. Just want to do it in a way without angering the mods or forum rules. It is interesting to read how cases can be formed into a different caliber....... one day.
 
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