Reformed cartridge case
How common is it for a cartridge case to be reformed to another caliber? Am I correct in my understanding that when the cartridge is reformed the headstamp is not necessarily a reliable indicator of the particular caliber nor of the manufacturer??
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Nowadays I don't believe it's common atall. There are many specialist manufacturers, who either make brass for obsolete calibers or import it from abroad,i.e. "Graf", "Starline", "Bertram" etc.
Years back when I use to do it to shoot the older guns it was necessory, because the original brass was virtually unobtainable in shooting quantities.
The headstamp on the reformed brass has the markings of the parent cartridge. The only instances when the markings were changed was in the distance past when commerical customers loaders sold their loaded ammo. Obviously for safety sake they had to rework/revise the headstamps.
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You are correct in your assumption as is rufe-snow with his explanation. However, those of us whom are serious wildcatters still have to be careful because parent cases are used to make brass for some of our non-commercial cartridges or wildcats. I have 75 small drawers of wildcat brass that I can't get from a supplier but have to make from some other case.
Best.0 -
very common instances would be someone necking down lapua 308 brass for their custom chambered 243, 260, 7mm-08 etc. this way they can use the lapua brass which is not made in the correct headstamps for their rifle. This can alos include the same aforementioned calibers in the Ackley Improved wildcats and any wildcat made from the parent case of any of those calibers.
I used to use Lapua 30-06brass to form my 280AI and it worked great. the only reason I switched to Norma was to have a 280rem headstamped brass.
why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
Got Balistics?0 -
When considered against the total number volume of centerfire rounds purchased, shot or even reloaded in the course of a year, it is indeed a very small amount. But within certain specialized niches such as the realm of the wildcatter noted by JustC, it is not at all unusual. Another example would be obsolete cartridges. When was the last time you saw .33 WCF or .40-82 WCF offered for sale? Both are fairly simple to form from existing brass types (.45-70 & .45-90 respectively). What about 7.35 Carcano? It's never been offered by an American manufacturer but is readily formed from 6.5x52. In at least two of these instances, the correctly headstamped brass is (or was recently) available from Bertram (Australia) through various sources. Me, I'd rather make my own and use first quality brass.
"There is nothing lower than the human race - except the french." (Mark Twain)0 -
I make rimmed brass for my 10mm from .41 mag brass and also brass for my Herter .401 Powermag from 30/30 or .41 mag brass and at least 3 others in the past.[:)] 0 -
Good afternoon,
I reform .30-.30 brass into both .30 and .357 Herrett calibers. Also convert .300 Savage brass into 7 mm. Intl. Works just fine and doesn't take all that long. Just need a hacksaw, case trimmer, and an accurate caliper.
YOU MUST REMRMBER TO ALTER THE LABEL ON EACH BOX CONTAINING REFORMED BRASS TO SEPCIFY THE NEW CALIBER.
Regards, Bob0 -
For a while there I could not get enough once fired .357 Sig brass, so I made my own by running .40S&W empties through my carbide .357 Sig dies. Although they were almost ten thousands shorter they worked very well. I did not find it necessary to alter or change headstamps. 0 -
Since about 90 percent of the cartridges presently on the market can be formed from 222 rem mag, 30-06, or 300H&H, it is possible that yyu could have a cartridge that meets dimensions of one cartridge while having the headstamp of another. The exceptions are a lot of older cartridges, 30-30 family, non-belted mag family. 0
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