Newbie to reload 308win

AHHHHH......So.
I have been reloading 9mm for a few months now because I will save money!!
(you can stop laughing and get off the floor now)
I have a Savage 308 and have decided I am going to load for it. Really. to save a little cash and it is an good hobby. Better than my other hobby of eatting everything I can get my hands on!
Here are my questions.
1. I have purchased some factory brass that came pre-loaded and will unload it using my gun. If I only load brass that was shot though my gun do I need to do more than neck size?
2. I assume I will still need to trim brass?
3. (can of worms about to open) Power, Bullet. this is to punch holes in paper. Normal range is only 100yrd but can reach out to 300 every now and then.

Thoughts. Comments

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Originally Posted by gaakwalch

AHHHHH......So.
I have been reloading 9mm for a few months now because I will save money!!
(you can stop laughing and get off the floor now)
I have a Savage 308 and have decided I am going to load for it. Really. to save a little cash and it is an good hobby. Better than my other hobby of eatting everything I can get my hands on!
Here are my questions.
1. I have purchased some factory brass that came pre-loaded and will unload it using my gun. If I only load brass that was shot though my gun do I need to do more than neck size?
2. I assume I will still need to trim brass?
3. (can of worms about to open) Power, Bullet. this is to punch holes in paper. Normal range is only 100yrd but can reach out to 300 every now and then.

Thoughts. Comments

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1. Yes you could neck size, but it all comes down to personal preference. I anneal my .308 brass every couple loadings and FL size when I do.

2. Better to be safe than sorry. I through them on my trimmer every time.

3. I only use my Savage .308 for FTR comps, so at this time, I only shoot Sierra MatchKings out of it. The powder I use is IMR4895. A lot of folks use Varget and there's several others out there. I go through a 8lb keg a year of IMR4895, plus it's good across several calibers. I load for my daughters .223 as well.

Over on accurate shooter.com there always seems to be bullets for sale. I run 175 matchkings. I like h4895 and varget. If you could find some aa2520 use it,imr4007ssc use it. Be better suited getting a good ful length die and set it to bump the shoulder on your brass enough to chamber easy. Neck sizing your brass WILL get tight. 308 is a pretty easy round to load for as long as your components are matching for your barrel/twist rate

Me personally I go the other way. I neck size with a Lee Collet die every time until it gets stiff (normally about 10 firings) then I anneal and FL size and start over again. Been running on the same 100 brass for the last 6 years since I bought my 12FV 308.

As to bullets and powder, my barrel really likes the 155 Amax and the 150 SST both from Hornady. Put either bullet over 45.0gr of Varget and she will shoot under 1/2" @ 100 yards every time. The 155s do better for groups than the 150 SST, but I use the SST's for hunting deer so 1/2 MOA is plenty good enough for me. I have shot groups out to 400 with A-Max and it holds the 1/2 MOA out there, and I have killed deer out to 450yds with the SST, DRT every time.

Some people prefer heavier bullets with the 308, but I find that the 150-155 works great out to the 400+ yard mark and that's about all the further I can normally shoot in my neck of the woods anyway. If I were going farther then I would probably consider a 175+gr bullet.

There are several good powders to choose from. My advice is to use the powder that you can get your hand on. If you develop an awesome load for a powder that can't get, the load is useless. I tend to stay away from Varget for this reason. It's not that varget is inferior to other powders, (It's one of the most consistent powders I've ever seen) it's just that I can't seem to find it. It's been that way since 2008 with no signs of returning to the shelf.

agree with everything everyone said here so far--especially the part about powder--the "good" stuff for 308 is especially hard to get these days (varget, 4064, 4895, RL15) and if you find some score big! The good news is that 308 win is the most versatile and easy-to-load-for caliber there is (IMHO)--the powder/bullet combinations are almost infinite.

If you're not going to trim--you still have to check case length before loading--and if you have to do that you might as well have it on the trimmer set to the proper case length : )

One thing that's often left out in these discussions is that what you are REALLY looking for is that special combination of powder, bullet and seating that hits the harmonic sweet spot for your individual rifle. I'd highly recommend getting OAL guage, comparator and modified case so that you can find that sweet spot. You don't necessarily have to have this gear to accomplish the lands settings for your loads--but I find it's the quickest and most precise way for me. I tend to look at reload manuals and drift toward powder/bullet combinations that stay well under max or compressed loads as their recommended most accurate ones. But that's just me--there are many who push the boundaries with no ill effect. My loads are primarily for hunting--but these days even the hunting loads can be spectacularly accurate.

Looking for powder look at 3rdgss.com
Kep an eye the first week of the month. Also on Natchez, they had varget 2 weeks ago I think. I got 8lbs from 3rdgss 2 separate times. Another good powder is xbr8208. It's on the shelf at a local outdoor stood. Cabellas had some powder for me local as well as sportsmans warehouse

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If you go right now to 3rdgss,com they have imr4007ssc,imr 4064 and several others. Not much on the hogdon side

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Originally Posted by nastynatesfish

Looking for powder look at 3rdgss.com
Kep an eye the first week of the month. Also on Natchez, they had varget 2 weeks ago I think. I got 8lbs from 3rdgss 2 separate times. Another good powder is xbr8208. It's on the shelf at a local outdoor stood. Cabellas had some powder for me local as well as sportsmans warehouse

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They got good stock of 4064--If I already didn't have a good supply I'd jump on it right now!

I was able to get some Varget at LGS. They had a bunch on the shelf and thought about buying several pounds. The Boss was with me......But, I now have, brass, primer, bullets, powder.