.458-.284 belted resize

[casullman]

Is it acceptable to size a belted basic or anything belted (416 rem 458 lott) down to 7mm? using several FL dies in sequence i.e. 375-338-30-28 or 416-350-323-28 would this over work the brass? should annealling be done first ? desparate times call for deparate measures.

[versifier]

It is best (easiest on the brass) if you start with unfired cases. I would anneal after unless you use fired cases, then I would do it before and after. Either way it is a pretty straightforward operation, bearing in mind that it is always more difficult to neck down than up.

[Paul B]

It is best (easiest on the brass) if you start with unfired cases. I would anneal after unless you use fired cases, then I would do it before and after. Either way it is a pretty straightforward operation, bearing in mind that it is always more difficult to neck down than up.

I play with a wildcat called the .375 Taylor, .375 Chatfield-Taylor or in the case of my rifle which is stamped .375/338 Win. mag. but they're all the same cartridge.I have made brass for the cartridge from 7MM Rem. mag., .338 Win. mag. and .458 Win. mag. The .458 was the easiest to work with, just one pass though the esizining die and a very slight trim to make the neck square.
Next easiest was of course running .338 Mag. brass through the die. The 7MM Rem. Mag. brass took several steos. First i ran them through the .338 Win. mag sizing die with a 30 caliber expander plug, then the .338 plug. I annealed the necks prior to going to the .338 expander, then ran them through the .375/338 sizing die. One more anneal and a slight trim to square up the necks. Each method made good brass and has never given me any problems.
The cartridge is a very good one that duplicates the .375 H&H magnum in a 30-06 length action. The gun and cartidge are very accurate and the ES with 270 gr. bullets is 6 FPS and with 300 gr. bullets, 5 FPS. Total package weighs 7.5 pounds with scope, sling, full magazine and one up the spout. It's a rifle to be carried a lot and shot little. Seriously, as light as that rifle is, recoil is not all that bad. My 9.5 pound .375 H&H seems to kick harder than the wildcat.
Paul B.

[casullman]

Thanks for your replies. My idea is to resize belted basic brass into 7MM STW. 416REM,350REM and 8MM REM all share like demensions in shoulder angle and body taper. In theory if I used a "step down process" would this work?

[versifier]

Yes it should.

[Paul B]

"My idea is to resize belted basic brass into 7MM STW."

Maybe I'm missing something here. Wouldn't it be simpler to just buy so 7MM STW brass and be done with it? By "basic brass" are you using .458 Lott? I'm not saying you're right or wrong but I am just a bit confused and curious. That's an awful lot of work to make brass when the proper brass is already at hand, although possibly hard to find.
That's OK as I use two headstamped milsurp 30-06 brass to make ammo for two of my .35 Whelens. The custom rifle uses Remington brass that's properly headstamped, the Remington 700 PS8 Korean issue brass (good brass BTW) and the Ruger M77 gets LC43 WW2 brass.
If you really want a fun trip, try making brass for a 7.7MM Hauck-Piasano, a wildcat based on the 7.7MM Jap cartridge. Now we're really having fun.

"In theory if I used a "step down process" would this work? "

I don't see why not. I do believe I'd anneal afer every second size down in caliber though. That's an awful lot of reworking the brass on the way down to 7MM.
Paul B.

[casullman]

In short, R-P brass is the only brass available @ $1.00-2.00 per piece, Given quality factors and cost , I prefer to use other brass (not an option at this time) or make my own. It is also in my idiom to scribble outside lines a little. Thanks for all the help.