Making 35 Whelen brass from 30-06

Mad_Mikee

Mad_Mikee

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Planning to build a 35 Whelen from an old Rem 700 30-06 I have.
I have a ton of once fired 30-06 cartridges that I'd like to resize into 35 Whelen.

Figure it might be a good winter project to prep a bunch of brass while I'm waiting for my rifle to be finished.

Ovbiously I'd prefer to deprime and resize into 35 Whelen all in one step.

Can I go straight from 30-06 to 35 Whelen or do I need a step in between like 338-06?

Planning on using a standard 2 piece set of FL RCBS 35 Whelen dies.
 
You have several choices but the easiest one is to buy a new set of Hornady .35 Whelen dies with their tapered expander plug/button... Just lube the inside of the neck with Imperial sizing die wax...
You may get a few split necks on fired brass... To mitigate that I run my brass over a LEE 8X57 sizing die first...
You can also fire form your brass by using a small amount of Bullseye under cream of wheat with a TP wad to hold the COW in the case..

Regarding Hornady dies... There are a few people who post here that despise them...:rolleyes: I can only guess that they were not using the the "New Demension" dies...

I have had nothing but good luck with them and now have a set for most every cal. that I own over 30cal. because they are the cats ass for loading cast boolits and I like the tapered expander for expanding .30-06 up to .35Whelen and 9.3X62 and 8X57 up to 9.3X57.. I have a set on back order to neck .308 up to .358 Win.... I might add that LEE dies work well if you use an intermediate step also...Right now I am using LEE 8X57 and .358 Win dies to neck up .308 brass......
:)
 
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I've reloaded for the .35 Whelen for about 15 years and all I've ever used is once-fired .30-06 brass of various makes.

Just lube the .30-06 cases and run them through a .35 Whelen FL die. The RCBS die I use came with a tapered expander.

The end result is a .35 W case that is slightly shorter than the .30-06 case. IMO there is no need to fire-form as a separate step. Load up full power rounds ad enjoy.
 
I made 35 Whelen brass out of 30-06 years ago, before it was commercially available. I used RCBS dies , but had to buy a few extra expander balls to size it up in stages. When I tried it in one step, it would quite often crush the necks......Ken
 
I havent bought any 35 Whelen dies yet so I figured if I need a certain type I'd find out before I bought the wrong ones.

I tried making some 257wby with 7mm rem mag brass and it didnt turn out too good.
All the shoulders were dented in.

Sounds like the next step is to buy a set of RCBS 2 piece FL dies (same as all the other ones I own). Give the case a good lube with some redding resizing wax (which I currently use anyways) and just give'r.

Might sound like a stupid question, but how do I lube the inside of the neck? Just use a Q-tip or something with some sizing wax on it?
 
Anneal the necks, lube well, and use a die with a long tapered expander ball. That should do the trick.

I use Lyman spray lube, and like to give the inside of the die a shot of lube as well.
 
I've tried forming nickel plated .30-06 brass for my Whelen with the Hornady New Dimension dies and it would split every single one of them. I had to anneal them first for it to work. Seem to be a different result that most guys had here. Maybe it had something to do with being nickel plated? I just use properly stamped .35 Whelen brass now.
 
It's going to be at least a few months until the gun is ready so I figure I have pretty much all winter to fool around with getting some brass ready.

I looked last night and I probably have 2000-2500 pieces of Federal previously fired 30-06 brass. I'll probably just fool around with necking the brass up with some odd head stamped pieces I have. Once I get it figured out, I'll sacrifice 1000 pieces of 30-06 brass to make some 35 whelen brass.

I dont do much shooting with my 30-06 anymore since I've aqired some other guns.
 
bcsteve said:
I've tried forming nickel plated .30-06 brass for my Whelen with the Hornady New Dimension dies and it would split every single one of them. I had to anneal them first for it to work. Seem to be a different result that most guys had here. Maybe it had something to do with being nickel plated? I just use properly stamped .35 Whelen brass now.
Click to expand...

It has everything to do with the nickel plated brass. I stay as far away from that #### as possible, as it's a total PITA to reload.
 
Mad_Mikee said:
I havent bought any 35 Whelen dies yet so I figured if I need a certain type I'd find out before I bought the wrong ones.
Click to expand...


If you haven;t bought dies yet, you can order the RCBS dies with a tapered expander. The regular RCBS expanders aren;t that great.
 
I just found a note from RCBS. Looks like I should be okay with a new set of dies.
Im not worried about the RCBS trim die. I'll just buy a hand held lee cutter like I use for my other calibres.

Im off next week goose hunting in Sask. I'll let everyone know how I make out in resizing when I get back.
---

.35 Whelen from .30-06

Case forming dies not required if full-length sizer die is equipped with a tapered expander ball - beginning April 1983. For dies sold prior to April 1983 order a #09823 expander-decapping unit, .35 Whelen, for installation in the sizer die. A #30765 trim die, .35 Whelen, may also be needed.
 
Mad_Mikee said:
I havent bought any 35 Whelen dies yet so I figured if I need a certain type I'd find out before I bought the wrong ones.

I tried making some 257wby with 7mm rem mag brass and it didnt turn out too good.
All the shoulders were dented in.
Click to expand...

Dented shoulders usually indicate excessive lube. Sizing wax should be used very sparingly. Small dents will fireform out on the first firing.
 
Fireform them

Here's a thought , why not consider fireforming them?... Thats what I did many times for my custom Whelen...
Yes , it's more involved than just resizing them - but I was never really satisfied with the results just leaving it at that. Even after resizing the '06 case to 35 Whelen , they still need to fill out for a good fit in the chamber SO THEY DON'T STRETCH when fired with a normal high pressure reload....
Remeber , the Whelen has a small shoulder - but the case still headspaces on it , so you want it just right...
You will get more reloads from the brass if you fireform first - then resize & reload...
10 grains of Bullseye powder , no wad . then fill the case with Cornmeal tamping down with a corect sized wood dowel piece once when half full , then again when almost full , leaving 1/4" to 3/8's" space , and top with a small tissue paper wad..
Take them out to the range and shoot them off - done!... This will make a perfect fireformed brass case with beautiful a well defined shoulder , and it's perfectly fitted to your rifle's chamber - and you will get longer case life this way!

Something to think about..


Bob
 
I'm with nrut on liking Hornady's tapered expander - best there is IMO. I think they may sell tapered buttons assemblys that fit RCBS dies (??) - look into it.

Been necking up all kinds of 35Whelen brass for decades - usually 30cal to 35cal in one bump (also 307 to 356, 308to 358 and lately 300WSM to 350WSM). Almost never have problems with once fired or virgin brass.
I just lube inside of case mouth not outside of neck. I find a little daub of lee case lube (comes in a tube like toothpaste and looks like crisco) placed in a few spots around the inside mouth is all it takes. The expander ball spreads and carries the lube down into the neck as it opens it up. Go a little heavier for the first few cases to get things slicked up with lube. I don't let the lube dry out. If full length sizing then I lube the body too but not the shoulder or outside of neck. So far never had a stuck case ever (knock wood).

I use lots of nickel plated too. I bump up nickel plated 300WSM to 350WSM and it works fine too. Any brass - nickel plated or not - must be annealed if brittle. as soon as you begin to notice a cracked case mouth or two, then immediately anneal the lot - don't wait.

Hornady make a very useful universal neck sizing die. It works great for opening up just the neck of most all 35cals. It's not too much $$$ and won't touch the shoulder when set up correctly. I can use mine for all my 35s except the WSM cat (too fat). I especially like it for my 35Whelen AI and suprisingly my 35 Rem lever.

Case necks are more concentric when I fire form - not sure why. But I usually don't bother for my hunting guns.
 
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