Hi,
I just started with reloading, and wow, is it fun.. loaded 50 .308 rounds for my new Tikka T3 (yes, yes, it's the non-exploding kind ) . I'm using a Lee Dipper since i'm loading for consistency and practice rounds for now - it is just so simple to use, a Lee turret 4-station press (neck sizer -> charger -> bullet seater -> crimp die). 38.46 gr of H4895. Sierra 168gr MK bullets, Black Hills cases from my first (and hopefully only ) 3 boxes of factory ammo.
I'd like to thank all the contributors on this forum, for all the very interesting info I was able to pull up while lurking.. great stuff, I learnt lots..!
I do have a question.. here's what i figured is the fastest and safest way for me to reload - comments, suggestions welcome on how i can improve on this
1) I setup 3 bins for the bullets. first bin is only for dirty used brass.
2) I de-prime, neck-size, do a quick check to make sure neck is tight enough - so no loose bullets. I had a few in my first batch.
3) Then I clean the primer pocket, fix brass to zip-trim: then trim, chamfer, clean inside of neck, then polish with some scotch brite.. (love those shiny bullets ) Put brass in second bin.
4) I do this for all brass. Now I can put away the dirty brass bin.
5) On a clean benchtop, I hand prime all cleaned sized brass with the Lee hand prime. It goes pretty quick, and lets me focus on just priming, so i can count the primers in the tray, no powder or fouling or brass chips lying around. All primed shells now go in third bin.
6) After putting primers away, I charge each shell with the dipper, letting the powder flow into the cavity, then use a business card to cut it. Then I seat the bullet, crimp, and put each finished cartridge away in the shell box. I do weigh the charges every so often, just to make sure I'm not too far off the mark.
I figure this way, I get the hard work (cleaning, sizing) done in one batch over a few days if need be. I dont have to worry about primers/powders etc.. Priming by hand just feels safer to me, and I do it without any powder present. Then charging and bullet seating just seemed to be one natural activity.. besides, the lee turret (originally bought for my .357) doesn't auto-index well with the long .308 case.. go figure!
So how am I doing so far in my procedures..? I figure there's folks on this board reloading since before I was born, so this is nothing new to most.
I just started with reloading, and wow, is it fun.. loaded 50 .308 rounds for my new Tikka T3 (yes, yes, it's the non-exploding kind ) . I'm using a Lee Dipper since i'm loading for consistency and practice rounds for now - it is just so simple to use, a Lee turret 4-station press (neck sizer -> charger -> bullet seater -> crimp die). 38.46 gr of H4895. Sierra 168gr MK bullets, Black Hills cases from my first (and hopefully only ) 3 boxes of factory ammo.
I'd like to thank all the contributors on this forum, for all the very interesting info I was able to pull up while lurking.. great stuff, I learnt lots..!
I do have a question.. here's what i figured is the fastest and safest way for me to reload - comments, suggestions welcome on how i can improve on this
1) I setup 3 bins for the bullets. first bin is only for dirty used brass.
2) I de-prime, neck-size, do a quick check to make sure neck is tight enough - so no loose bullets. I had a few in my first batch.
3) Then I clean the primer pocket, fix brass to zip-trim: then trim, chamfer, clean inside of neck, then polish with some scotch brite.. (love those shiny bullets ) Put brass in second bin.
4) I do this for all brass. Now I can put away the dirty brass bin.
5) On a clean benchtop, I hand prime all cleaned sized brass with the Lee hand prime. It goes pretty quick, and lets me focus on just priming, so i can count the primers in the tray, no powder or fouling or brass chips lying around. All primed shells now go in third bin.
6) After putting primers away, I charge each shell with the dipper, letting the powder flow into the cavity, then use a business card to cut it. Then I seat the bullet, crimp, and put each finished cartridge away in the shell box. I do weigh the charges every so often, just to make sure I'm not too far off the mark.
I figure this way, I get the hard work (cleaning, sizing) done in one batch over a few days if need be. I dont have to worry about primers/powders etc.. Priming by hand just feels safer to me, and I do it without any powder present. Then charging and bullet seating just seemed to be one natural activity.. besides, the lee turret (originally bought for my .357) doesn't auto-index well with the long .308 case.. go figure!
So how am I doing so far in my procedures..? I figure there's folks on this board reloading since before I was born, so this is nothing new to most.