Fireforming .280 AI from .280 Remington brass or .270 Win brass?

[Alibiiv]

I have read a number of threads here about fire forming brass for the .280 Ackley Improved. I have been reloading for many years and have done some fire forming, however not a whole lot. I am about to have a .280 Ackley Improved (SAAMI) built for me. I've found that regular, unprimed brass is quite expensive (Nosler @ 1.75/round) and the factory loaded ammunition even more expensive. I have found loaded .280 Remington ammunition ($30 for 20 rounds) to be about half the price of the .280 Ackley Improved, unprimed brass. I believe that I have read in one of these threads that it is possible to shoot the loaded .280 Remington brass in the .280AI Chamber and get fireformed brass from this process. To me this is not a bad deal if one considers priming, and powder and a bullet because if I am going to fireform brass from any other caliber, .270/30-06, I will have the expense of priming, and powder and a bullet. Is annealing recommended prior to fireforming? I am planning on Whidden dies made to the specs of the chamber reamer. I've read a lot of information in all the the threads on this site, however asking again in an effort to get as much information that I can in one posting.

 

[dok7mm]

It'll work fine, may take 2 firings to fully form. I wouldn't use 06 brass as necks are too short. If you use factory ammo, you may not get brass that will last very long, unless you can find Norma-cased 280 loads.

If you're gonna start from scratch, I'd start with RWS .270 brass for longer life. Other option would be Nosler a.i., good brass life and simple, "buy once, cry once".

 

[jjmp]

Annealing with make Everything go smootherr n Better .

 

[Alibiiv]

On the annealing. My old school experience has been to place cases in a pan of water and fill the pan to about 3/4 of an inch from the shoulder, heat the necks up to almost red and tip them over into the water. I've read where there is a temperature crayon that can be used to mark the brass and anneal, but not familiar with the process?? And......I do know that there's a very expensive annealing machine that does everything for you once set up; that's not in the budget!! Thanks for your help.

 

[KyCarl]

I read that shooting 280 Rem. in a 280 AI is OK also?
Is it true?

 

[MudRunner2005]

I read that shooting 280 Rem. in a 280 AI is OK also?
Is it true?

Yes, but you run the risk of splitting necks running full-power loads while forming. This is why I always recommend running about 5-10% less than a book starting load. It might take the 2nd firing (at full pressures) for the shoulder to 100% form, but it will be 95% formed after the first firing (light load), the edges of the shoulders just might be not as sharp.

My initial fire-forming gets me 95% there, and once they're formed the very next (2nd) loading is starting my load development. During this shooting process is where the shoulders sharpen up 100%. 3rd loading is once the load development is done, and they're all loaded to the same charge for shooting.

 

[jjmp]

OP sent you a pm .

 

[Rich Coyle]

I never heard of next splitting when fire forming .280 to .280 Ackley improved. I fired lots of .375 H&H in a .375 improved never even had a shoulder rupture.

 

[Catbird]

Has anyone tried the Whidden case forming dies to get the cases started without fireforming? I have not ,but they seem to be a good idea.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I never heard of next splitting when fire forming .280 to .280 Ackley improved. I fired lots of .375 H&H in a .375 improved never even had a shoulder rupture.

I had it happen when forming factory .300 Wby (Wby brand) ammo to .300 Ackley, and that's not even a big jump for the shoulder, like going from .280 Rem to .280 AI. The necks were splitting right above and below the neck/shoulder junction. After that, I stopped shooting factory ammo for it, and bought some Nosler brass, and started loading light for forming, and no more issues.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Has anyone tried the Whidden case forming dies to get the cases started without fireforming? I have not ,but they seem to be a good idea.

You talking about the hydroforming dies? My smith uses them, and likes them. Says they're a mess, so you need to have a setup outside or in a garage where the water can splash or drip out on the floor. Other than that, he likes them.

 

[KyCarl]

OK then so other than maybe messing up some brass it's safe for me and my rifle?
I was thinking about using some factory 280 ammo to break in a barrel and save
the fire formed brass to reload? But I would rather spend a few more bucks
than mess something up and just buy 280 AI ammo.

 

[MudRunner2005]

OK then so other than maybe messing up some brass it's safe for me and my rifle?
I was thinking about using some factory 280 ammo to break in a barrel and save
the fire formed brass to reload? But I would rather spend a few more bucks
than mess something up and just buy 280 AI ammo.

You won't overpressure because you're forming to a larger diameter chamber, if anything you will drop chamber pressures. The only issue is that your brass stretches so much, and when pushed to that high a pressures, it expands too rapidly, and can cause the brass to rupture. Every time brass cracks open in your chamber and all the pressure is concentrated into one spot, that is like putting a tiny little plasma torch to the wall of your chamber, and will permanently scar it.

It's your call man, your rifle, your money, your method. Go with whichever method you see has more validity for your needs, and whichever methods works best for you. There's more than 1 way to skin a wildcat. The only wrong way, is the way that causes an issue.

 

[turkn8r1]

I always use "cream of wheat loads" for fire forming. I don't own any semi autos. But in my bolt guns and single shots I do.I read a thread on here a long time ago that described it. Pretty straight forward and works well. Like others have said it will not set the final dimensions but it will get it close and is a lot less stressful on the brass. I always use new reloading brass. Prime, load 3/4 load of powder, fill remaining case capacity with cream of wheat and cap with bees wax. Just what I do but i have never had any issues and firearm clean up is a breeze. This is just my method that I adapted from that thread. As an added bonus it takes very little cream of wheat for this process so plenty left over for many breakfast to come.