WB
Trying to make 7mm International with no dies.
Monday, December 28, 2020, 16:02

The real trick is not to overwork the brass cases and get it to chamber, lock up the safety system of the gun so it will fire, and not expand the brass in forming to where it splits.

I have some hope in this method. I ran a fired .30-30 case in a FL 7mmBR die until it just began to bulge below the shoulder, any less and it's no good. I then iron the "bulge" out in the 7mm GNR FL die, and body size too. I've found several .30-30 casings that are pooched out above the web, needing that sizing down. Lots of chamber variation on it.

You can see the case bulge after necking as far as I dare.

I also trim to 2.00" and make sure they close the action at least with a bit of a snap. These do. I've only made 20 so far to get a shooting sensation of the gun.

This is the fire formed case far left, a raw fired .30-30, and my form case. The changes are very subtle but highly important. I found some dies for about $100 but I'd sure rather spend that on re-chambering. I'm not a big fan of the 7mm International. I've sourced some 7mm Merrill dies that I might be able to use. It is the .225 Winchester necked up to 7mm.