poor mans 375 ruger brass, thoughts? case head cross section pic

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Not being able to find 375 Ruger brass I looked into other easily available cases in which to form some brass for light loads.
I would like to hear any constructive critism on my process or whether or not this would be an unsafe practice.

Here's the details.

-Neck 300 win mag to .338
-neck from .338 to .358
-run through 375 ruger FL sizer die and bump shoulder back a bit until bolt closes snugly
clean up case mouth, leave a bit long
-fireform with a starting load. I used 63 gr. W748, 270 Speer BT, WLRM
3.340 COL

Seemed to work well. Feeds and functions smoothly.
Brass comes out a bit short and not cosemetically perfect above the belt as the varying brass thickness there form at different rates, otherwise perfect. Primers look fine, no signs of excessive pressure on the case head.
 
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bcsteve said:
What happens to the belt?
Click to expand...

The belt is still there as its the same dia. at .532 as the ruger case head.
Brass is .510 immediately in front of the belt and slopes back up to .530 approx .060 further up the case. from that point on, looks perfect.
 
Here is what the formed brass looks like.

I'm sure 375 Ruger brass is becoming more available; but I haven't sourced any locally and this was free to do as I had lots of 300 WM brass around.

02137.JPG
 
Ahhh Gawd that's a pile of brass to move in the web region!

I wanna know how the brass life is.

I view this process with great trepidation.
 
Well this brass is on the 5th firing and still going strong. :ar15:

I was concerned as well about the brass above the belt but there is still no pressure ring aparent using the paper clip test and still looks the same on the outside as in the above pic.
Accuracy is pretty good too, around 1.5 @100.
 
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cross section pic

Well here is a pic of the case head cross section after the 5th firing. Case walls above the belt seem to be holding up...crappy pic I know

http://
002_-_Copy_4_.JPG
 
Apparently doing this sort of thing wasn't uncommon "back in the day" when belted brass was pushed into service for really hard to get brass. If you had photoshoppd out the lines where the belt is in the picture, I woudlnt' have been able to tell it from RUger brass:)

Looks like the brass is holding up, too.:)
 
Are you not losing case capacity by leaving the belt on that case.

I thought that was the advantage of the Ruger case, no belt, fatter case, more powder.

You must have a lower case capacity than a true .375 Ruger case, so are you reducing your powder charge accordingly.

If not, you should be experiencing higher presures with Ruger load data.
 
[

liberty said:
Are you not losing case capacity by leaving the belt on that case.

I thought that was the advantage of the Ruger case, no belt, fatter case, more powder.

You must have a lower case capacity than a true .375 Ruger case, so are you reducing your powder charge accordingly.

If not, you should be experiencing higher presures with Ruger load data.[/QUOTE

Please consult post #1, yes case capacity would be reduced but I am not looking for max performance, just a cheap supply of yeoman service brass until proper brass becomes readily available at my local supplier. And it will....
Click to expand...
 
Another myth busted.

I have no experience making brass for the 375 Ruger, but I have with several other rounds (e.g. 8x63 Swedish from 30/06, 8x58RD from 8x56 Hungarian), and I have had similar success. In those cases, I had guys jumping all over me warning that a 0.015" bulge was "dangerous!" - a sure recipe for case head separation. Never had one to this point after five full-house firings, and there is no sign of one about to happen (i.e. incipient case head separation).

Here's the process to convert 30/06 to 8x63 - note the bulge in #4 (#5 is a factory 8x63)

Cartridges1.JPG


The brass only stretches on the first firing, just like elsewhere on the case (for those who neck-size). When you resize, it is not sized back to its origional diameter so there is no working of the brass which is causes failure. When you use this method capacity will be a bit smaller, so it's a good idea to measure the capacity of a fired case and compare it to a factory 375 Ruger case so you're in the know on how much. You might find that it falls within the normal lower range of the 375 Ruger brass you have in hand, or it might be a grain or two smaller. Nothing to make a big deal of - if you use the same load as the slightly larger case, the pressure will be a bit higher, but not "hand grenade" levels like some would have you think. Drop the number of grains you use if that will make you more comfortable.

Some will still disagree despite the demonstrated proof contrary to their warnings, but it's good enough for me.
 
For a case that is so popular and held in high esteem and that has been around for almost 3 years why is there no brass available for reloading?....I think this famed .375 Ruger Cartridge is as doomed as the RSAUM line...

About the same theory as the traditional belted mags becoming extinct because of the WSM:rolleyes: even though manufacturers purposely downloaded the .375 H&H case based magnums and hot loaded the ShortMags to make it look like they outperformed them in the end the 7mm Rem Mag and .300 Win Mag are still as popular as they ever were.
 
I have been using belted mag cases to make 280 Ross cartridges for years, bras life is not a issue, lasts as long as if used in parent chambering. I never had a case head separation, usual case failure is neck or shoulder splits but I had factory ammo do that.
 
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