Newbie 308 questions

[pspc271]

So I've been reloading pistol for several years now and want to venture into reloading rifle ammo. I will primarily be reloading 308 for my Savage. Some of the brass that I have was new ammo fired though the savage but I also have a good amount of once fired Federal GMM that I got from a buddy who fired it though his 700P. So here are a couple of questions.

1. Do I need to full length size the brass I get from my buddy or can I just case neck size it?

2. I already have a case trimmer and all the standard case prep hand tools, is there anything else that I might need other than a die set and shell plate for the caliber? (I'm considering buying a single stage down the road just for precision ammo)

3. Any tips or hits for a new rifle loader?

 

[jwrowland77]

1. What I normally do when I get new to me brass, is I'll bump the shoulder back .001" and try and chamber it. If it fits, great, I do the rest of them. If it doesn't, I'll keep bumping the shoulder back .001" until they do fit. I use a Redding body die to do this. Once they fit, I use a Lee collet neck die and size the neck.

2. Rifle will take trimmer, chamfer/deburr tool, primer pocket uniformer (optional), die set and shell plate.

3. Are you going just for like a hunting and plinking load to begin with for now? Reason I ask, is because I have other steps for my match ammo.

 

[zb338]

You can neck size if you are going to use it in the same gun. After
a few firings you will have to full length size the cases. Don't forget
to measure the over all length and trim the cases if they need it.
Something most of us don't do with pistol cases.

Zeke

 

[jwrowland77]

You MIGHT have to FL resize after a few firings, BUT depends on load. I'm on the 7th firing of some cases for match loads, and just now having to bump shoulders back.

You can feel when you chamber them if it's time to bump shoulders or not.

 

[Glockula]

I find it better to full length size and push the shoulders back the minimum that you can. Like .002". A wilson or Lyman case guage is a great tool to have around.

 

[Bart B.]

You'll need to full length size those fired cases before using them else they may not fit the chamber.

Full length sizing has always produced best accuracy with bottleneck cases. New cases typically shoot bullets more accurate than neck only sized ones.

Neck only sizing was made popular back in the 1950's when benchrest rifles were shooting the smallest groups. It came into favor because most folks thought the case fit the chamber more precisely with neck only sized cases. Didn't matter that high power match rifle competitors got best accuracy with full length sized or new cases.

Several years ago, benchrest folks finally changed to full length sizing their cases, minimum amount reducing the fired case dimensions only about .001". Their tiniest groups stayed the same size but their biggest ones got smaller.

Once one learns how bottleneck cases headspacing on their shoulders fit the chamber when fired, they'll usually understand why full length sized ones shoot bullets more accurate. They'll also need to realize that cases and chambers are not perfectly round and there can be no interference between case body and chamber else the bullet will not be centered in the chamber throat. The case body must not touch the chamber wall anywhere forward from its pressure ring (that's against the chamber wall at that point) to the shoulder.

The case body and neck are not what centers the case neck and bullet in the chamber when the round fires. It's the case shoulder centering in the chamber shoulder. And there has to be enough case head clearance to allow the bolt to easily close into battery exactly the same from shot to shot.

 

[mdi]

For my bolt guns, I full length size all the new-to-me brass. After that, neck sizing or in the case of my Garand, continue F/L sizing. I often check chambering "fit" and only worry about setting back the shoulder if a problem arises.

What kind of press are you using now? I reload 30-06 on my Lee turret and it turns out as well as on my massive C-H single stage. As long as the case w/bullet sitting in the neck will fit, it'll work.

One hint; a lot of new reloaders worry a lot about OAL/bullet seating depth. Easiest way around this is to use the OAL recommendations in your reloading manual (and if you use Hornady bullets, use a Hornady manual, Speer bullet, Speer manual, etc.).

Go slow, double check everything, and most important, have fun...