6,5x50 Arisaka ammo

[PerversPépère]

Hello everyone!
Just got a very nice Arisaka Type 38 and I was wondering if I could fashion some brass for it from another caliber.
Since it is a semi-rimmed design, could .303 British brass be used by turning down the rim to a usable diameter then resizing and trimming it to length?
PP.

Information

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[R005t3r]

Prvi Partisan makes an inexpensive Arisaka round. All we have to do is find some one to actually sell it. Sorta like the 7.5x55 Swiss dilemma. Oh, by the way, they make that too.

[Andy]

If you want to make your own, 220 Swift is the best starting place.

I use the Prvi stuff though.

[R005t3r]

Ok, cough it up. Where are you buying this stuff?

[Al Diehl]

Greetings,
For years I have used .35 Remington brass. I first size it in a 7.35mm Carcano sizer die (this takes the case from .358 to .300) and then re-anneal. Second, I run it in the 6.5 Jap sizer die (this takes the case down to .264) and load. (You could/should re-anneal again) The case is a hair shorter than an original but, has never caused any problem as long as you load to the recommended overall "cartridge" length. The .35 Remington case is not "semi-rimmed" but, I have never had a case fail to extract.
Failing to anneal the case will cause it to "work harden" and shorten the life of the case.
Now having said all of that, ROO5t3r gave the best advice. Graf and Sons is where I go to buy the PRVI Partizan brass. Graf & Sons - The Reloading Authority
I hope this helps.
Al

p.s. I have tried the .220 swift brass and it swelled terribly because it is just too small in the head area.

[Andy]

Greetings,
For years I have used .35 Remington brass. I first size it in a 7.35mm Carcano sizer die (this takes the case from .358 to .300) and then re-anneal. Second, I run it in the 6.5 Jap sizer die (this takes the case down to .264) and load. (You could/should re-anneal again) The case is a hair shorter than an original but, has never caused any problem as long as you load to the recommended overall "cartridge" length. The .35 Remington case is not "semi-rimmed" but, I have never had a case fail to extract.
Failing to anneal the case will cause it to "work harden" and shorten the life of the case.
Now having said all of that, ROO5t3r gave the best advice. Graf and Sons is where I go to buy the PRVI Partizan brass. Graf & Sons - The Reloading Authority
I hope this helps.
Al

p.s. I have tried the .220 swift brass and it swelled terribly because it is just too small in the head area.

I know brass varies, but the 35 Rem brass I have in front of me is 0.004" larger at the head than the 6.5x50 Arisaka brass I have (0.450" vs. 0.446"). 220 Swift is 0.002" smaller (0.444") and there was no noticeable bulge when I used it.

How did you swage down the case head of the 35 Rem to fit onto the die?

[Al Diehl]

Just using the dies I stated. Appearantly the dies (RCBS) can tolerate drawing the case down what ever the difference is. I have been doing this since about 1969 when Dad and I started loading for the 6.5 Jap I used to hunt with.(with 100 grain soft points, there is no way of knowing how many ground squirrels met there demise this way.) The only issues I have ever encountered was with case life if the annealing was skipped and occasional necking failures until I started using the 7.35 Carcano die as an intermediate step. I would still say that factory brass is the way to go though. Also, I currently have two Type38 Jap rifles and one Type38 Jap carbine and shoot both the PRVI and homemade in all 3three.
Al

[SGRAVESOK]

Graf's handles the Prvi 6.5X50 brass. I recently bought 200 cases. Seems like it runs about $40 per 100.

I've also used the .35 Remington like Al, but instead of using the Carcano die, I first resized in a .308 Winchester die. Other than that, I did exactly what Al recommeded. So far I haven't had to trim one of the cases since they are a bit shorter than the Jap.

Sam