Reloading .308 using 7.62x51 brass...

[borg]

I picked up a bunch of Lake City brass the other day after a friend sent a few clips of 7.62x51 downrange with his DPM Panther. I just want to make sure that I have everything straight before reloading it.

1. Obviously I need to FL resize the first time around.
2. I should assume about 2 grains less case capacity. (This is the one I am fuzzy on.)

[Uncle Jack]

In addition to FL resizing you need to ream the primer pockets to remove the military crimp, check the OAL but that should not be a problem with once fired brass. Other than that, you're good to go. Lake City is pretty decent brass.

uj

[Balljoint]

I hardly agree, all thought if the brass was LC Match brass it may NOT be crimped

[borg]

I hardly agree, all thought if the brass was LC Match brass it may NOT be crimped


Such is my hope...I know very little about primer crimping and crimp removal.

[xhogboss]

Not to worry. It will decap just fine when you resize the brass. A primer pocket reamer takes out the crimped portion of the case without enlarging or deepening the primer pocket.

Check Midway: http://www.midwayusa.com/Search/#primer%20pocket%20reamer____-_1-2-4_8-16 That should give you a page of possibilities. You'll need a large rifle size.

[borg]

Thanks. And I finally understand what a primer crimp is after decapping and inspecting the brass.

[lomfs24]

I too picked up a bunch of Lake City Military brass. When I re-sized the primers came out just fine, and I inspected the primer pockets and there didn't seem to be a crimp and the new primers went in with my RCBS hand primer press just fine. Never had an issue. I also checked water capacity on these cases and they were identical in case capacity to my Federal brass. I haven't changed my load at all and there are no signs of overpressure at all.

Mileage may vary.

[borg]

I too picked up a bunch of Lake City Military brass. When I re-sized the primers came out just fine, and I inspected the primer pockets and there didn't seem to be a crimp and the new primers went in with my RCBS hand primer press just fine. Never had an issue. I also checked water capacity on these cases and they were identical in case capacity to my Federal brass. I haven't changed my load at all and there are no signs of overpressure at all.

Mileage may vary.


Maybe it was the aforementioned match ammo? Because in adddition to the crimp the wall thickness was clearly greater on the LC cases than on the Winchester and Hornady brass that I have.

[amadjuster]

If it is LC Match, it will say LC Match with a date on the headstamp (at least it used to). All marked "Match" have no crimps and are the same as commercial brass. I have a bunch of LC Match 71 I bought many years ago when you could buy surplus ammo (I even have a 1 lb. can of DuPont IMR 4850 with a price of $1.95 on it and I still refer to a bottle of whiskey as a fifth so I must be an old fart). I don't know about the thickness of the brass as I don't load them that hot and do not see the pressure problems one can have with regular military brass and getting close to maximum loads. I use the RCBS Primer Swage die on my GI brass and it works great.

[r0ttie1]

I hardly agree, all thought if the brass was LC Match brass it may NOT be crimped

I bought a bunch of Lake City brass from wideners. If it's not match, it's crimped. I'd be interested to hear comments about load reduction on the Lake City brass though.

[dolomite_supafly]

I hardly agree, all thought if the brass was LC Match brass it may NOT be crimped

I bought a bunch of Lake City brass from wideners. If it's not match, it's crimped. I'd be interested to hear comments about load reduction on the Lake City brass though.


It is generally accepted that LC brass is thicker resulting in less case capacity. With the less case capacity it can cause increased pressures when using the same load data as commercial brass. This is the reason why people start out with a reduced load, to keep the pressures lower until a load is worked up.

Dolomite

[Jamie]

Use the Hornady reamers they are worlds better than the RCBS one.

[r0ttie1]

I hardly agree, all thought if the brass was LC Match brass it may NOT be crimped

I bought a bunch of Lake City brass from wideners. If it's not match, it's crimped. I'd be interested to hear comments about load reduction on the Lake City brass though.


It is generally accepted that LC brass is thicker resulting in less case capacity. With the less case capacity it can cause increased pressures when using the same load data as commercial brass. This is the reason why people start out with a reduced load, to keep the pressures lower until a load is worked up.

That's what I planned on doing. I'm not foolhardy enough to start with my .308 cases load.

Dolomite

[dcloco]

Buy a Dillon swager for the crimped primer pockets and don't look back.