240 Weatherby from 25-06 Brass

[YYC338]

Do you reload for your 240 wby? Are you as tired as I am with taking it in the shorts when it comes to the price of brass? There appears to be a solution.

CH4D (Mt. Vemon, OH) makes a die that you run .25-06 brass through and it comes out partially formed (belt included) for your .240 Wby die. After running it through the .240 die it's ready to go.

The double radius shoulder looks like it would benefit from fire forming. They chamber fine in my rifle.

From the attached picture left to right:

1. New, unsized .25-06 brass (Winchester)
2. .25-06 brass after removal from the CH4D die - note belt.
3. .25-06 brass after running through .240 full size die
4. New, sized .240 weatherby brass

I'll post an update once I've loaded and fired a few.

[marxman]

Originally Posted by YYC338

Do you reload for your 240 wby? Are you as tired as I am with taking it in the shorts when it comes to the price of brass? There appears to be a solution.

CH4D (Mt. Vemon, OH) makes a die that you run .25-06 brass through and it comes out partially formed (belt included) for your .240 Wby die. After running it through the .240 die it's ready to go.

The double radius shoulder looks like it would benefit from fire forming. They chamber fine in my rifle.

From the attached picture left to right:

1. New, unsized .25-06 brass (Winchester)
2. .25-06 brass after removal from the CH4D die - note belt.
3. .25-06 brass after running through .240 full size die
4. New, sized .240 weatherby brass

I'll post an update once I've loaded and fired a few.

Cool

[Pioneer2]

The .240 WBY was certainly propriety as far as cartridges were concerned. A 30-06 bolt face and a belt so you had to use WBY ammo or brass.I guess you will see what the lifespan of the 25-06 brass is PDQ.......Harold

[fps plus]

Interesting ??!! Should be an interesting project

I found loaded wby 240 ammo on sale for $60 (?) per box a 2 years ago . I was not so much interested in the ammo as the brass . I have enough to last quite some time .

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by fps plus

Interesting ??!! Should be an interesting project

I found loaded wby 240 ammo on sale for $60 (?) per box a 2 years ago . I was not so much interested in the ammo as the brass . I have enough to last quite some time .

Treat your brass right and it will last a long time.

Grizz

[eric2381]

Would you have an update on this? Thanks

[bobinthesky]

Over the years I've messed around trying to form one case or another from donor brass but this project doesn't really make a lot of sense to me other than giving a guy something to do in the shop.
It's my understanding that the CH4D dies were $70+ bucks 4 years ago so you can bet they have gone up a bit, then pay $1.38 exchange plus shipping and your'll well over a hundred bucks and haven't formed a case yet, then add the cost of the 25-06 brass if that's what you want to use and maybe one comes to the realization that he's not really doing this to save money.
I'm told this is how the die works. It uses a shell holder without the slot, essentially a flat platform to push the case into the die. A rod is used to tap the case out. It take's a lot of pressure to swage a 25-06 case into a .240 case and the belt is formed by squeezing the case body. There is usually a ring of sheered brass to be pealed off the newly formed belt. The process doesn't fully form the shoulder and fire forming is needed to complete the new case.
I've heard of using 30-06 cases as well but they have to be stepped down once or even twice before running into the 240 die, (maybe 270 to 25-06). If I were doing it I'd be tempted to use 280 brass since the shoulder is further ahead than the 30-06 and it's other offspring are.
I've also read about using ordinary dies with varying levels of success, apparently Lyman dies work well.
I haven't completely ruled out the notion of forming 240 brass yet but I've found it to be relatively easy on brass so the life is good and I think I'd just sooner put the aforementioned expense into the factory formed brass.

[double gun]

I think this is a awesome project, and thank you for showing/telling.

Case cost/availability is the reason I chose 6mm-06 over the 240 when I was on my high speed 6 kick a year or two ago. This opens the door to the 240 again especially the vanguards and ultra light Mark V if a guy doesn't want to go custom.

[bobinthesky]

The 240 may be expensive to buy brass for but the 240 I own, and it's the only one I've had personal experience with, is extremely accurate and flat shooting. My rifle isn't a Wby though, it's a highly modified Winchester M-17 with a Dayton Traister speed lock, Timney trigger and heavy 26 inch Douglas Premium barrel. Not exactly a carrying rifle because of the weight but it's a real gas to shoot although I'm not so sure it's faster than the 6mm-06.

[32-40win]

Would be interesting to see sectioned cases, from the various stages of the forming and fireforming process. Moving a lot of metal.

[Prophet River]

we sell loaded 240 wby ammo for 54.99 a box so nit really that much to buy and have brass

[bobinthesky]

Originally Posted by Prophet River

we sell loaded 240 wby ammo for 54.99 a box so nit really that much to buy and have brass

Good to know! Thanks.

[double gun]

Originally Posted by bobinthesky

... although I'm not so sure it's faster than the 6mm-06.

You would be correct. The 6mm-06 holds roughly 5gr more than the 240 - probably not enough to actually see a difference though. I was just shooting book 240 loads in mine.

[1prohunter5]

Originally Posted by Prophet River

we sell loaded 240 wby ammo for 54.99 a box so nit really that much to buy and have brass

Can't find any load 240 Weatherby on your web site for $55 a box?

[cody c]

Originally Posted by 1prohunter5

Can't find any load 240 Weatherby on your web site for $55 a box?

I seen some for $114 a box
http://store.prophetriver.com/weathe...rnes-tsx-20ct/

They do have some 224 wby for $55

http://store.prophetriver.com/weatherby-1/


I wonder if he made a mistake there

[YYC338]

Originally Posted by eric2381

Would you have an update on this? Thanks

I've done some loading with the formed brass and it seems to work well. At least as accurate as some .240 brass I have.

I don't have multiple loads on the reformed cases so I can't speak to longevity of the brass yet.

I have found that once fired 25-06 brass seems to form a little easier than new brass for some reason. It's pretty easy to find once fired 25-06 brass for $20-$30 for 50. Just ran an ad in the buy and sell here.
Everybody can do there own economic evaluation but at $25 for 50 vs $50-$60 for 20 .240 brass (if you can find it) or ammo (that you don't want to waste time shooting off), I can see a payout in this.

[bobinthesky]

Did you get the CH4D dies and how much did they cost?

[roger]

Fyi there's a weatherby box of 240 wby at canadian tire in wetaskiwan for $76.00 as of a few minutes ago.
and 257 wby 117gr for $117😃umm nope!

[cody c]

Did the OP ever find a good deal on ammo?

[1prohunter5]

Originally Posted by roger

Fyi there's a weatherby box of 240 wby at canadian tire in wetaskiwan for $76.00 as of a few minutes ago.
and 257 wby 117gr for $117😃umm nope!

Thanks Roger for the info. Checked the couple Canadian tires close to me and picked up the last few boxes of factory loaded 240 Weatherby for $55 a box It's as cheap as buying factory Weatherby brass. It will work just fine for sighting and breaking in the barrel when I get it back from Gunsmith once it's built.

[YYC338]

Originally Posted by bobinthesky

Did you get the CH4D dies and how much did they cost?

Yes, if you read the original post you'll note I show pictures of the CH4D die results. The kit was $85USD