SWThomas
Member
So I have a GA Precision GAP-10 that I'm going to start reloading for. I've got plenty of Nosler brass, Mil brass, Black Hills brass, and some headstamped RP. I got some Sierra MK 175g HPBT bullets for punching paper and some Barnes 180g TSX bullets for hunting. I'll load the Barnes bullets later. For primers I got the CCI #34 military primers. I'm planning to use Varget for my loads but I also have some IMR 8208 XBR. I finally got all the gear I needed to load up some test rounds and here's how it went.
I decided to start with the batch of Black Hills brass (which bites be in the ass later). All of this brass has been fired in the GAP-10 so it's formed to its chamber.
- I used my bump gauge and set the sizing die on the Dillon to bump the shoulder back .003-.005. I did everything in accordance with the instructions and sized a batch of 50.
- Next I trimmed all of the brass to 2.005 and deburred/chamfered them. I also use a primer pocket cleaning tool and cleaned out all the pockets.
- While I tumbled the case-lube off, I figured out my seating depth.
- I used a comparator and sorted all the Sierras in groups within .005 of each other.
- I got the GAP-10 out and used a seating depth tool to get me on the lands. The measurement on the tool was 1.643 and the average bullet length on the batch I chose was 1.250. This meant that 2.893 OAL put the ojive of the bullets right on the lands.
- I assembled a dummy round. The neck tension is plenty tight so I did not crimp the bullet. I chambered that assembled dummy round with the force of the bolt and it chambered and extracted just fine. No change in OAL so it wasn't too long.
- Next I checked to ensure it would fit in the magazine, and low and behold, it did not. I was expecting this. I had to seat the bullet deeper to an OAL of 2.827 to get it to fit in the magazine. So the comparator sorting and seating tool were pretty much a waste of time. But they'll come in handy when I load something for a bolt rifle.
- Next I get the Dillon set up for large primers and get it loaded up with 50 of the CCI #34s. I got the Varget and the powder trickler ready and got the brass out of the tumbler.
Unfortunately, this is where I stopped. I found out the hard way that Black Hills crimps their 308 brass and I couldn't seat any primers. The Noslers and RP brass are not crimped but I ran out of time. I haven't gotten a tool to swage pockets yet so I couldn't go any further. But once I do I think I got it all figured out.
Is there anything you see here that I did wrong or have any advice for a beginner?
I decided to start with the batch of Black Hills brass (which bites be in the ass later). All of this brass has been fired in the GAP-10 so it's formed to its chamber.
- I used my bump gauge and set the sizing die on the Dillon to bump the shoulder back .003-.005. I did everything in accordance with the instructions and sized a batch of 50.
- Next I trimmed all of the brass to 2.005 and deburred/chamfered them. I also use a primer pocket cleaning tool and cleaned out all the pockets.
- While I tumbled the case-lube off, I figured out my seating depth.
- I used a comparator and sorted all the Sierras in groups within .005 of each other.
- I got the GAP-10 out and used a seating depth tool to get me on the lands. The measurement on the tool was 1.643 and the average bullet length on the batch I chose was 1.250. This meant that 2.893 OAL put the ojive of the bullets right on the lands.
- I assembled a dummy round. The neck tension is plenty tight so I did not crimp the bullet. I chambered that assembled dummy round with the force of the bolt and it chambered and extracted just fine. No change in OAL so it wasn't too long.
- Next I checked to ensure it would fit in the magazine, and low and behold, it did not. I was expecting this. I had to seat the bullet deeper to an OAL of 2.827 to get it to fit in the magazine. So the comparator sorting and seating tool were pretty much a waste of time. But they'll come in handy when I load something for a bolt rifle.
- Next I get the Dillon set up for large primers and get it loaded up with 50 of the CCI #34s. I got the Varget and the powder trickler ready and got the brass out of the tumbler.
Unfortunately, this is where I stopped. I found out the hard way that Black Hills crimps their 308 brass and I couldn't seat any primers. The Noslers and RP brass are not crimped but I ran out of time. I haven't gotten a tool to swage pockets yet so I couldn't go any further. But once I do I think I got it all figured out.
Is there anything you see here that I did wrong or have any advice for a beginner?