Peterson Brass Belted Mag Basic Unprimed Box of 50

[Calvin45]

A deep socket spun in an electric drill and a propane torch ain't fancy but it works.

Annealing is highly likely to improve the success rate of case forming, measured in case life and fewer lost to early splits. You don't have to be perfect, just 'good enough.'

1. Start spinning the case and aim the inner, lighter blue part of the flame just below the shoulder / body junction.
2. Heat until the part in the flame begins to glow a dull red. Anneal in a mostly dark room so you can see this.
3. When the glow begins, dump the case into a catch pan. An disposable aluminum baking pan works. Water isn't required, the case cools quickly and unlike steel, quenching has zero effect on how the brass turns out.
4. No need to over do it though the time and temp range is relatively broad. Getting a dull (not bright red) glow indicates you're softening the brass.
5. Reaching that dull red glow should take 3-6 seconds. That's slow enough to be controllable. If it happens in 1-2 seconds, try turning the flame down some or holding the case further out of the flame.

The number of cases you lose to trial and error will almost certainly be less than the number lost to early splits caused by the combined stress of un-annealed forming + firing.

I built an induction annealer for under $200 but it's powerful (heats quickly) so a learning curve is involved. IME, flame annealing is a) proven and b) controllable. A ton of different experiences, information and misinformation is on the Interwebs. This guy is a metallurgical engineer and a shooter, has a series of vids on annealing. Of all the stuff I've seen he has the most sensible approach and info.

Cool approach, might have to try that sometime.

 

[Bghunter338]

Good work.

Can't wait to see how they turn out. Looking forward to the before and after pics from fireforming. Hopefully they group well for you during fireforming.

What's the neck diameter on your finished round?

.309

 

[Bghunter338]

Good work.

Can't wait to see how they turn out. Looking forward to the before and after pics from fireforming. Hopefully they group well for you during fireforming.

What's the neck diameter on your finished round?

@eshorebwhntr
The shoulders formed nicely. The neck thickness is right at .014 all the way around. The base right above the belt is .510. The one thing I did learn is trim the brass long. I trimmed them to 2.840 like the book said and after fireforming they came out to 2.820-2.824. Next time I'm going to trim them to 2.850

 

[eshorebwhntr]

That's awesome man. You have my respect for jumping into that. Good job and thanks for sharing for the rest of us.

The trimming lesson is one I learned a few years back the same way you just did. No biggie but good to mention.

I've heard good things about peterson brass but haven't had the opportunity to use it. Hopefully it lasts you 6-8x cycles.

 

[Bghunter338]

That's awesome man. You have my respect for jumping into that. Good job and thanks for sharing for the rest of us.

The trimming lesson is one I learned a few years back the same way you just did. No biggie but good to mention.

I've heard good things about peterson brass but haven't had the opportunity to use it. Hopefully it lasts you 6-8x cycles.

I'll let you know as these 5 are my test subjects lol I'm hoping to at least get five firings out of them.

 

[josh_127]

Definitely should do better than five reloadings...I'm on my 6th firing with nosler brass in the stw and ive only lost a few, so far, to loose primer pockets...I run peterson brass in two other calibers and it's my favorite brass by far. I do think if you annealed before every step in the forming down it'd probably help with ease of forming and the longevity of the case.

 

[powermax]

I'll let you know as these 5 are my test subjects lol I'm hoping to at least get five firings out of them.

Bghunter338 how did this project work out?
I have enough brass to hold me over for a few years but always on the lookout for 7stw brass, this has my attention just not sure I have the patience for all the steps needed to take the belted mag brass from A-Z

 

[Bghunter338]

Bghunter338 how did this project work out?
I have enough brass to hold me over for a few years but always on the lookout for 7stw brass, this has my attention just not sure I have the patience for all the steps needed to take the belted mag brass from A-Z

Good so far. I'm going to see how many firings I can get on them. If they hold up good I'm going to get a die and cut back on the steps.

 

[eshorebwhntr]

I'm thinking about making a few pieces myself while I have some time. Would you recommend anything different for your process? Or did the 375 H&H to 8mm Rem to STW work ok for you.

 

[Bghunter338]

That is correct, if I had access to a anealer that probably would help a lot but I don't as of now. There is a guy I found that will make a die that will do this to that I'm told makes it easier but I haven't done that yet. So the three steps are correct, lots of lube and go slow as possible. You will mess a couple up getting the hang of it, but don't get discouraged keep going.

 

[eshorebwhntr]

Yup. I figured as much. Buying the dies for this venture so wanted your thoughts before I bought the 375 and 8mm dies

 

[eshorebwhntr]

Started playing last night late. Ran through a few last night and this morning. I added a 416 Rem step in the beginning.

416, 375 H&H, 8mm Rem, Anneal, 7 STW, trim to 2.850. 73.0gr H1000 with 183 SMK fire formed very nicely. Shrunk to 2.837 on first shot.

Reloaded that same charge 7x and fired it after full length resizing. Primer pocket is still holding strong, feels excellent.

I'm going to work up a ladder and see where top end is with this combo and then see how it does for accuracy and case life.

One thing I noticed is that the 375 H&H sizes the body down a lot more than necessary. Something other than the H&H in 375 to neck down would probably mitigate the amount of fire forming necessary. Might look around and see what other dies are available.

Thanks again Bghunter338 for the tutorial.

 

[Bghunter338]

Started playing last night late. Ran through a few last night and this morning. I added a 416 Rem step in the beginning.

416, 375 H&H, 8mm Rem, Anneal, 7 STW, trim to 2.850. 73.0gr H1000 with 183 SMK fire formed very nicely. Shrunk to 2.837 on first shot.

Reloaded that same charge 7x and fired it after full length resizing. Primer pocket is still holding strong, feels excellent.

I'm going to work up a ladder and see where top end is with this combo and then see how it does for accuracy and case life.

One thing I noticed is that the 375 H&H sizes the body down a lot more than necessary. Something other than the H&H in 375 to neck down would probably mitigate the amount of fire forming necessary. Might look around and see what other dies are available.

Thanks again Bghunter338 for the tutorial.

That's awesome, I didn't think to add the 416. So you shot same brass 7x?

 

[eshorebwhntr]

That's awesome, I didn't think to add the 416. So you shot same brass 7x?

Yes. One of the first pieces I worked through figuring everything out I reloaded 7x total. Primer pocket is still great. That is just a random load I pulled out of thin air. Stuck the magneto on for the last 6x. They were 2947, 2963 2947, 2958, 2947, 2947. I'm going to work through the rest of the brass and pull ~20 out to test with for load development.

This original barrel is pretty toasted so I'll see how it goes. North of 2k rounds on her now. Need to start planning for the next barrel.