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6.5 Brass from 762x39 information
Hi Guys, as a new Grendel owner, I just built an AR in 6.5 and wanted an unlimited cheap supply of brass. I got 1000 pieces of range brass in 7.62x39 and sorted them by brand. I saved all the Fiocci brand for my new Grendel. I have had some experiences that I need to share based on some other people who tried to do the same thing but ran into problems as did I.
Let me share my experience and warnings too.
I cleaned the brass then simply ran it through my Lee sizing die. No worries. I trimmed every case before loading I know it needs to be fire formed next. Very Important to do this right. It was suggested to me to choose my bullet, a 123 grain A max in my case and choose the lightest load in my manual to fire form the case. I chose BLC-2 and my minimum listing was 28.8 grains. This proved to be too much. My primers were flat and shinny showing too much pressure. Duh, the Fiocci case is not the same as my Hornaday factory cases and even more diminished capacity due to fire forming the shoulders. If you fill a factory 6.5 Grendel case with water and a fire formed case with water , you will notice a difference in volume or weight due to brass thickness. This means use less powder and work up your load ( I suggest avoiding maximum loads with this brass due in part to the large primer pocket and the smaller case capacity).
I thought this was going to be easy but there are some precautions.
Now I have Hornaday brass and fiocci brass but I cannot use the same load in them!
For extended case life, skip the hot loads in your wildcat cases. In my case, the factory 123 grain Hornady A MAX factory loads grouped poorly in my bull barrel but my reduced loads did a lot better.
Epilog ; start a ladder loading procedure and work up to your most accurate load, and safest. You will find a chronograph to be helpful and some one inch sticky dots for targets.
I am following my own advice today and starting with H335 and some 123 A max bullets, I am starting low and going up .3 grains in progression. Hope this helps
Good luck and stay safe
Let me share my experience and warnings too.
I cleaned the brass then simply ran it through my Lee sizing die. No worries. I trimmed every case before loading I know it needs to be fire formed next. Very Important to do this right. It was suggested to me to choose my bullet, a 123 grain A max in my case and choose the lightest load in my manual to fire form the case. I chose BLC-2 and my minimum listing was 28.8 grains. This proved to be too much. My primers were flat and shinny showing too much pressure. Duh, the Fiocci case is not the same as my Hornaday factory cases and even more diminished capacity due to fire forming the shoulders. If you fill a factory 6.5 Grendel case with water and a fire formed case with water , you will notice a difference in volume or weight due to brass thickness. This means use less powder and work up your load ( I suggest avoiding maximum loads with this brass due in part to the large primer pocket and the smaller case capacity).
I thought this was going to be easy but there are some precautions.
Now I have Hornaday brass and fiocci brass but I cannot use the same load in them!
For extended case life, skip the hot loads in your wildcat cases. In my case, the factory 123 grain Hornady A MAX factory loads grouped poorly in my bull barrel but my reduced loads did a lot better.
Epilog ; start a ladder loading procedure and work up to your most accurate load, and safest. You will find a chronograph to be helpful and some one inch sticky dots for targets.
I am following my own advice today and starting with H335 and some 123 A max bullets, I am starting low and going up .3 grains in progression. Hope this helps
Good luck and stay safe
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