Some 6ppc reloading questions

S

stevenorlando

Guest
Hello All!

I have a 6ppc rifle coming. The neck dia is 0.262. I have a few questions before I reload alot of shells.

1. My new Lapua brass measures about 1.502". Any recommendations to start on what length to trim to?

2. I did one case. I trimmed to about 1.495, and the neck dia w/o bullet is about 0.262. Should it be 0.262 at this point?

3. I then took that case and necksized it with a .258 bushing (Redding) and tried to seat a bullet in it. With the Wilson seater, I used the setting that should give me the longest OAL, and the bullet was seated past the ogive (that's why I would like to know a starting length to trim the cases to. With a Redding seater, it seated in and I got an OAL of about 2.08", but I don't think the bullet went in straight. It is a flat-based bullet and it is hard to hold it onto the shell while raising up the ram of the press. The runout was not very good. The case runoff w/o the bullet is excellent. Should I use a wider bushing, like 0.260?

As usual, any help for a newbie would be appreciated.

Steve
 
Is this a 6 PPC or a 6MM BR? The reason I ask is that Lapua does not make 6 PPC brass. The 6 PPC is made from .220 Russian and must be fire formed. On the other hand Lapua does sell 6MM BR that can be used right out of the box if you have a no-turn neck .272 for example. With a neck size of .262 you will have to turn the neck on new brass because of the tight chamber.

Ed
 
You descriptions a a tad confusing.

I am assuming you started with a new 220 Russian case, since you said Lapua. That 220 Russian will be about 1.510 out of the box. When you neck it up, it will draw back to about 1.505. After you fireform it, the length will be about 1.495.

I always trim to length after I fireform, not to arrive a specific length, just to get them all the same.

You never said anything about when you turned the necks. That is the most imortant step, you want to arrive at the overall clearance in your loaded round to be no less than .0015 at the largest portion of the neck, with a max at about .002.

The overall length of a 6PPC round is determined by your Rifle's chamber. Most shooters like to start with the bullet just touching the lands, and tune from there.

I get the feeling that you knowledge of the way all this works is lacking. Maybe you need to start at square one, let us in on yust how far your knowledge extends. ........jackie
 
I'm sorry, it is 220 Russian that hasn't been fireformed yet. One case has been full sized, trimmed to about 1.495, neck-turned so the neck dia w/o a bullet is about 0.262, and then neck-sized with a 0.258 bushing to be able to hold a bullet. The bullet was then seated. When I get the rifle I'll measure with a Hornady Lock-n-load the proper length.

Does this help?
 
Neck diameter with no bullet tells you little or nothing. You need brass with bullet seated to be no larger than .261 (at largest place) and should really be a little less.
It also should be loaded with a reduced charge and bullet seated long for fire forming.

Dick
 
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Steve, based on your posts that I've read over the past several months, I think you'd get a better start by buying prepped cases. Ron Hoehn offers them. Perhaps someone else can chime in with other sources.
 
Why am I geting criticized. I asked a few simple questions.

First of all, I don't need prepped cases and I don't have any. I have 220 Lapua Russian Brass. I want to get it prepped for fireforming, and I have some simple questions:

1. Do I trim the length? And if I do, to what size????????????????? I got NO answer

2. After I neck-turn and then neck size what bushing should I use, again no answer.

However I did get an answer from Dick Grosbier on the neck dia with a bullet, it should be no larger than .261, unfortunately, mine was 0.262, so I need to turn the necks a bit more. Thanks Dick!

I know the sequence: inspect the new brass, weigh each one and screen, uniform the primer pockets, full-length size the case, trim (or not), neck-turn, neck-size, prime, powder and seat. I'm not at the last three steps yet, and when I get my rifle (later today) i'll get the length, both ojive and OAL with my Hornady LOL.

Will someone PLEASE answer my unanswered questions instead of criticizing me?

Steve
 
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Trim after three or four firings to proper oal to what your reamer will allow.

Use .257 neck bushing with 133 on a .0085 neck wall thickness.

Enjoy your new rifle.

Russell
 
R. Rains said:
Trim after three or four firings to proper oal to what your reamer will allow.

Use .257 neck bushing with 133 on a .0085 neck wall thickness.

Enjoy your new rifle.

Russell
Click to expand...

Thanks Russel!

Those are the answers I'm looking for. What is 133? Is that N133?

Steve
 
stevenorlando said:
1. Do I trim the length? And if I do, to what size????????????????? I got NO answer

2. After I neck-turn and then neck size what bushing should I use, again no answer.


Steve
Click to expand...

Steve ,

1. Jackie told you trim after fire forming. I prefer this also but one problem is my neck turner indexes of case mouth. So I like to blow cases out with a load of Bullseye powder in a case with no bullet first this is first thing I do. I seem to recall some people actually load cartridge with a cheap 22 bullet and fire form case first. Then you trim to length of your shortest case.

2. What size bushing is very dependent on your actual neck thickness and how much neck tension you desire. Start out with a .258 or .259 bushing. you will likely end up owning several. Back when I shot PPC I think I eventually had .255 on up.

Dick
 
Lube the inside of your case necks and expand them. Turn them, to a maximum thickness of .0086. If you don't have a 1" mic. that reads to .0001 wait till you have one to start the project. (you can seat a bullet in the turned case neck and measure the OD over the base of the bullet.) Super close fit gains you nothing, some top shooters use between .002 and .003. Check the first turned case to see how it chambers. You want a little feel, but not a hard bolt close. This will be controlled by how heavy the cut on the shoulder is. You can also trim after expanding and before turning. to the longest length that will clean up the mouth of your shortest case, and set your mandrel so that the shoulder acts as a stop to give you a uniform cut on the shoulder. This may be your best approach. Turn the necks, going fast to the shoulder, leaving some metal behind to cut on the return trip, which should be at a slow rate of feed. Let the case and turning tool float so that their alignment is not forced. Clean any lube from the interiors and exteriors of the cases. chamfer and debur. Prime the cases, and fill to where the base of the bullet will be (or slightly above) with 133. Seat your least favorite bullets to a length that you have determined to be a few thousandths shorter than jam, and fire them in your rifle. After fire forming, trim the cases to 1.490", chamfer, debur, and load again with a suitable load. Your may want to change your seating depth depending on the shape of your bullets' ogives. A good place to start would be somewhere around 28.5 grains, but this will have to be fine tuned for your rifle, by trial and error. Is this specific enough? Good luck. Don't start if all you have is calipers. With .0086 neck thickness, I like a .257 bushing. 133 likes a lot of neck tension.
 
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Here's a link that's pretty good:

http://www.benchrest.com/FAQ/2.1.shtml

If I were trimming for a match, I would cut them 1.485. That puts 'em back far enough to make it to the last shot before they need trimmed again. Trimming cases during a match is unsettling at best and seems that it's never done before it's too late.
 
Steve, Might I suggest Mike Ratigan's Extreme Rifle Accuracy book. I think you will find a complete, comprehensive, and safe approach to your loading questions. He advertizes on this site but I copied down a couple of items.
Extreme Rifle Accuracy-brc@yahoo.com
580-256-2963
I found this book very helpful and you receive the why's for the reasons of choice.
Great for beginning, intermediate, advanced BR shooters.
Hope this helps.
Centerfire
 
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