Forming 375 Ruger brass from 8x68s cases

[elkaholic]

That factory 8x68s needs bulked up!

Haha ya a little Shermanizing doesn't hurt!

View attachment 104305 Well we'll see how it likes it. I was hoping to have some data in a week or so but it turns out the smith needed a small tool he didn't have on the shelf so it's going to be a few weeks. I'll be in touch with what we come up with. I think we'll throat for the 285 ELDMs. The

Do you need a 338 throater?

 

[Pdvdh]

Nice. Utilize the full case length available, and you'll be serving full-blown whoop-@zz.

 

[Oldcappj7]

Haha ya a little Shermanizing doesn't hurt!

Do you need a 338 throater?

Yep. Les didn't have that on hand. He ordered one today

 

[elkaholic]

Yep. Les didn't have that on hand. He ordered one today

If that is the holdup, I'll send you one!

 

[Oldcappj7]

Mighty kind of you Rich. Thanks, I'll let Les know it will be with the reamer then....only if you charge me for the use of it.

Jace

 

[Oldcappj7]

Mighty kind of you Rich. Thanks, I'll let Les know it will be with the reamer then....only if you charge me for the use of it.

Jace

 

[Pdvdh]

Don't know if you've hunted with 338s in the past or not Jace.
The larger the game, the more emphatic their authority, compared to 308 and 284 caliber bullets.
No real need or difference on deer, but the difference becomes obvious on Alaskan moose and brown bear.
You'll be out running the 338 Win Mag by a good amount, and with a good expanding bullet, the 338s kill authoritatively compared to the smaller calibers.

It's my go to caliber for moose and brown bear. I don't like to go less than 30 caliber in grizzly country no matter what I'm hunting, after bumping into one humungous boar in 2002.

 

[yorke-1]

Desperate wildcatters taking desperate measures.

I like what yorke-1 is all about!

I've had a couple wildcats that I designed to allow multiple parent cases. The only one's I've really done anything with are based on the Ruger case and the RUM case. I designed my 375 BME around the 404 Jeffery case length but used the head diameter of the RUM. When RUM brass disappeared for a while I wasn't impacted because I could just used Norma 404 brass. the 404 Jeffery isn't going anywhere and I really doubt the 8x68 is going to disappear any time soon!

You'll be out running the 338 Win Mag by a good amount, and with a good expanding bullet, the 338s kill authoritatively compared to the smaller calibers.

I'm beating the 338 Win Mag from an 18" barreled pistol using the straight 338/375 so an improved/lengthened version should smoke the 338 Win Mag and be nipping at the heals of the 338 RUM in similar length barrels.

 

[elkaholic]

I've had a couple wildcats that I designed to allow multiple parent cases. The only one's I've really done anything with are based on the Ruger case and the RUM case. I designed my 375 BME around the 404 Jeffery case length but used the head diameter of the RUM. When RUM brass disappeared for a while I wasn't impacted because I could just used Norma 404 brass. the 404 Jeffery isn't going anywhere and I really doubt the 8x68 is going to disappear any time soon!



I'm beating the 338 Win Mag from an 18" barreled pistol using the straight 338/375 so an improved/lengthened version should smoke the 338 Win Mag and be nipping at the heals of the 338 RUM in similar length barrels.

I agree! I predict the low taper, 40 degree shoulder full length version will equal the rum.

 

[yorke-1]

Here's the results from the forming I got done today. All cases were trimmed to 2.600" and formed using a false shoulder sized for a crush fit in the chamber. Everything was fired from a 338/375 Ruger Savage Striker.

Brass dimensions are an average of 10 samples of each brand. Norma and RWS case are capacities after a single fireform load.

Hornady 375 Ruger brass
Empty case weight: 262.2gr
H20 capactiy: 100.1

Norma 8x68s
Load: 22.8gr Trailboss, 277gr MTAC, CCI BR2
Empty case weight: 282.6gr
H20 capacity: 95.5
Length after forming: 2.585"

RWS 8x68s
Load: 21.8gr Trailboss, 307gr Hammer Hunter, CCI BR2
Empty case weight: 274.6gr
H20 capacity: 96.4gr
Length after forming 2.582"

I love the fact that I recovered a couple of the bullets in the dirt bank. Muzzle velocities are around 1900 fps and the bullets obviously didn't stabilize. The interesting part was that they grouped fairly well considering they're un-stable and the group was shot by my 16 year old daughter at 100 yards.

 

[Pdvdh]

Good info. Your Norma and RWS 8x68s data matches my measurements. Norma heavier with slightly less case capacity than the RWS.

I found the primer pocket strength of the RWS slightly better than the Norma. But not a lot of difference in case head strength.

I used to form 338 Imperial cases from RWS 404 Jeffery cases. So I'm familiar with that Jeffery case. And the RWS was tough stuff. Still have those cases but they're now formed to the 338 Edge. Just slightly greater case capacity than the 338 Imperial.

 

[Pdvdh]

Here's the information I collected, measured, and weighed, comparing the RWS and Norma 8x68S casing to the Hornady 375 Ruger cases. I weighed 50 Hornady 375 Ruger cases, and weighed and measured 20 RWS and 19 Norma 8x68S cases.

Don't know why the difference in weights compared to the data from yorke-1. I'm pretty sure I weighed all of these cases after they were fire formed, trimmed to 2.581", and outside neck turned for 0.0035" total clearance in my chamber. The consistency is that the Norma 8x68S cases are heavier than the RWS. In my rifle, this translated into about 0.6 grains additional RL26 powder charges in the RWS cases, in order to obtain the equivalent MV produced by the Norma cases. This was with a 196.5gr copper monolithic bullet. Also understand that my rifle is chambered in elkaholic's 30/375 S.I. wildcatted version of the 375 Ruger, in .308 caliber.

 

[Pdvdh]

Here's what the 30/375 S.I. fire formed cases look like. From parent 8x68S case to the fire formed 30/375 S.I.

 

[Wild Monkey]

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