30-06 to 6.5X55???

[troutseeker]

I have a bunch of 30-06 brass and while looking at it and comparing it to my 6.5X55 brass I started wondering if I can make 6.5X55 out of the 30-06?

Anyone here has done tis before?

Troutseeker

 

[MiG25]

i've heard of it being done, but 6.5x55 has a slightly greater base diameter than the 30'06.

seems like more work than it is worth to me.

 

['Boo]

The 6.5x55 is ~6 thou larger in diameter at the base than the '06. It is possible the case could separate above the web on the first firing especially if your rifle has a generous chamber.

 

[Proutfoo]

I might be out to lunch on this one, but am I wrong in remembering having read north-american brass (ie: Winchester among others) use a reformed 30-06 for the 6.5x55 commercial brass they sell?

 

[grouch]

I've done it and know of others who have done it, so far without incident. I dont know about Winchester brass, but although Remington brass fits a 30 - 06 shell holder, it's noticably lighter than 30 - 06 brass sized down to 6.5 x 55. This might be a concern if you plan to load near max pressure loads.

The reason I tried it was to get a better neck fit in my 96 Mauser, which is pretty loose. I've stopped doing it because my cast loads don't appear to expand the neck to as good a seal as they did with 6.5 x 55 brass, so it was counter - productive.

 

[Splatter]

Way back when Alan Lever had Swedish mausers stacked like cordwood on the floor of his shop, I had an AG42b and very limited funds.
The AG42 is a fun semiauto, long, accurate and light recoiling; but, my goodness, does it fling the brass! The only boxer primed brass that could be found was factory loaded Norma hunting ammo (expensive!!).
So I experimented with making .30-'06, .270, 7x57 and 8x57 into 6.5x55.
It taught me a lot about annealing, reaming and patience. They all worked well, and survived repeated loadings until they were lost in tall grass or snow.
It will work; but it's a lot of work.
One afternoon I was making .308s into .243s and I got the bright idea of running a .308 into the 6.5x55 die. It looks a little funny with the short neck; but it worked great in the AG42, no trimming or reaming. Maybe in a good rifle you might worry about the erosion on the mouth of the chamber; but I figured that I'd perminantly converted so I didn't worry.

 

[Andy]

As mentionned, much 6.5x55 brass is produced undersized at the factory. Six-10 thou undersize is not a big deal at SAAMI spec pressures. You will get a small bulge which is unsightly is the only negative aspect.