Giving reloading a go for my .308

[dacaur]

Well, I got some extra $$ last week, so I decided to start reloading (been saving my brass...)

So I got a Lee Deluxe turret press kit, a frankford arsenal tumbler w/separator, some sierra 150gr spitzer bullets, cci 200 primers, and Varget powder.... I also got a .308 delux rifle die set and a .308 factory crimp die....

The press kit is obviously made more with pistol cartridges in mind, as the powder measure that comes with it only works with lee pistol dies. The directions for adjusting the dies leave a little to be desired, but common sense kicked in and I got it set up, go to load my first round and..... hmmm, the kit doesn't come with any way to add powder to rifle cartridges.... no funnel, nothing... So I made a little paper funnel, but weighing out each load gets old fast! So I picked up a lee perfect powder measure...

Long story short, I loaded my first 10 rounds tonight.... 42.5gr of varget with my sierra 150gr spitzers in Remington brass.... I definitely want to pick up an autoprime xr, as loading with the press doesn't seem very precise, and its a pita putting each primer in the little cup, lol....

Hopefully I can get a few more different powder weights loaded before I head to the range on Saturday....

So how did I do in picking my components? I knew I wanted to start with a turret press to make things easy, glad I did... should I get the autoprime or just get the safety prime and keep using the press to prime?

[scope eye]

Hi welcome to reloading 101 I have tried almost every priming tool and attachment out there, but I keep coming back to my rcbs hand primer, I like the way I can feel the primer pressing into the pocket, it also allows me to visually inspect my brass one more time due to the fact that I am very hard on them with the way I load the model is rcbs 90200.
Thanks Dean

[GaCop]

I also used the RCBS for years until it went belly up and I gave the Hornady a try. The Hornady is a well made tool that should last for years. For shooting a bolt action, I would refrain from crimping the loads. You'll find your accuracy will be much better w/o the crimp.

I too have the Lee powder measure and like it for production work after I have a load already worked up. I set my powder measure to throw a slightly lighter charge in my scale pan and then use a Lee dipper to trickle the charge to the desired weight.

[Balljoint]

Welcome the Reloading Fraternity me i started with a RCBS Jr press and dies for about five years when starting to shoot more ammo went directly to a Dillion 550B press and RCBS Comp Dies

[airaddict]

welcome to 308 reloading. i have a rcbs rock chucker i got as a kit back 15+ yrs ago. i upgraded the powder measure screw to the micrometer and it works great! i use the rcbs hand primer but switching between shell holder can be a PITA but it does work fine for me. i consiered getting the universal rcbs one so i wont have to change shell holders but i have decided yet.

i too use 150gr bullets (gmx, sst's, interbond, and amax's from hornady) with Varget but my load is 44.5 gr , which is a little on the light side i think, and my chrono reads them running about 2625fps at 7 ft from the muzzle. its proven very good accuracy w my factory barrel. i may have to rework my load and tweek it since i recently got a mcgowan barrel.
i do have a match load of 110gr vmax's that i push to 3175 with a 47gr dose of 3031.

i only neck size my brass and use mostly nickle plated for hunting and plain brass for matches i shoot every so often. i use an rcbs neck sizing die and plain lee dies.

im not into the extreme precision others on here are out for. as long as i can keep my rounds in the chest of a deer past 300 yrds, im happy. but i could easily shoot the spine in the neck inside 200 yrds.

good luck and keep us informed how ur loads do.

brian

[dacaur]

Thanks guys...

About crimping... If I dont use the "factory crimp die" I can easily grab the bullet and pull it out.... It wont "fall" out, but I can pull it out with my fingers... what do I need to adjust to stop that, or is that normal?

[airaddict]

dacaur,

one of my dads friends who shoots BR has his neck tension set that way. he has even extracted a live round at a match and the bullet was pulled from the case cuz it was stuck in the lands. i consider that way to light for my primary purpose of hunting. it may benefit in target shooting but not in reliable function in a hunting situation. i just neck size and not worry about neck tension. JMHO.

brian

[gotcha]

No, It isn't normal for bullet to pull out with fingers. How much of the neck are you sizing ? Using a F/L die? Correct shell holder? Have you measured your expander ball diameter? Are you using a Lee collet die? Dale

[tyler.woodard04]

your going to need a case trimmer, de-burring tool and case lube also. lube is a must. most of the reloading manuals have a good right up of getting started with the reloading process. take some time to pick on up and read it a few times.

[dacaur]

Im using the lee neck sizing die, since all my .308 brass was fired in my gun, lee says you dont need lube unless you are using the full length resizing die. All my dies are lee.

I do have the case trimmer, de-burring tool and case lube also, just not using the lube, and none of the cases I checked needed any trimming, they are just once fired (by me).

How do I measure the expander ball diameter? yes im sure i have the right shell holder... do I just need to screw down the sizing die a little more?

[earl39]

do I just need to screw down the sizing die a little more?

That might be all you need to do. Did you set the sizing die up per the instructions lee sent with it? properly set up you should have no less that .0015 neck tension with everything like it came from the factory. Unless you have vicegrip fingers you won't pull the bullet by hand with that neck tension.

[dacaur]

Yes I did it per the directions, but It says I can give it another quarter turn... Ill try that...

[earl39]

the other thing to check is did you take the collet die apart and clean it? sometimes it will have little shavings in the cutouts of the collet that will prevent it from closing like it should. be sure to lube it after you clean it also.

[dacaur]

Hey just a small update.... I took some of my reloads out the other day... we didnt bring any targets (was going to go to the range, but it was closed) but everything shot fine, cases look fine after shooting, nothing blew up, I call that a sucess.... Now I just need to shoot at some targets to see if my loads are accurate at all, heh

[airaddict]

ha.....i remember my first shot of MY reloads. i was scared, while the rifle was firmly bedded into bags I turned my head and closed my eyes and slowly squeezed the trigger and *boom*....didnt hear any wierd noises or pain from a blown up rifle.....lol

luckly ive never had an accident and hope i never do!!

brian

[scope eye]

Hey when I started reloading I said to the guy at the counter, I'll take some 223 brass some small primers some 50gr VMax's and 8 POUNDER of BMG, he says what the !@#$% I told him I was just starting to reload an wanted to play it safe, needless to say he was laughing so hard he had tears coming out of his eyes, after that we had a long talk about reloading and I ended up with varget as my staple powder, to this day he still can't tell this story with out cracking up.
Thanks Dean

[seanhagerty]

That gentleman may have done you a huge favor. First step in beinging reloading is to read everything you can get your hands on. Then sit down with some one that has reloaded for a while (to learn the process). Then go buy components.

Sean

[Blue Avenger]

Im using the lee neck sizing die, since all my .308 brass was fired in my gun, lee says you dont need lube unless you are using the full length resizing die. All my dies are lee.

I do have the case trimmer, de-burring tool and case lube also, just not using the lube, and none of the cases I checked needed any trimming, they are just once fired (by me).

How do I measure the expander ball diameter? yes im sure i have the right shell holder... do I just need to screw down the sizing die a little more?

are you spinning the brass a 1/4 turn and hitting it again with the die?? instructions say to!

[scope eye]

That gentleman may have done you a huge favor. First step in beinging reloading is to read everything you can get your hands on. Then sit down with some one that has reloaded for a while (to learn the process). Then go buy components.

Sean

Hi actually the reason he was laughing is that 50 BMG is one of the slowest burning powders out there, so no matter what case you use you can fill it to the top, performance does suffer tho I mean alot.