.308 problems

[DizzyJ]

LC 89 match once fired brass, 168 SMK and IMR 4064

Primers and powder charge?

 

[Cannonman]

I hate it when the hole is tiny and its hard to insert on the downstroke.

Snicker! Thx!

 

[Cannonman]

LC 89 match once fired brass, 168 SMK and IMR 4064

Thx! Great sharing. How are you shooting? As in, rest, bags, some kind of device. Or my money is just standing there in a 20 MPH breeze from 200yds back. Nice shooting Ron, Aw nix that, Awesome shooting!

 

[ron]

Thx! Great sharing. How are you shooting? As in, rest, bags, some kind of device. Or my money is just standing there in a 20 MPH breeze from 200yds back. Nice shooting Ron, Aw nix that, Awesome shooting!

Just shooting off of sandbags. No lead sled. I hold the rifle tight and do not ride the bag like a lot of other people do. I have some groups at 200 yards that are half inch. Powder charge of 4064 is near the starting point on the charts. I have since improved the rifle with a better quality Leupold scope. I thought she deserved better glass.

 

[tac]

This is a typical three-shot spread at 100m with 155gr Lapua Scenar bullets over 44gr of 4060 -


This is the tool that does it, over and over and over again..........1986 Krico 650S with 8-32x56 NSX.

 

[bbbass]

what is the advantage of cam over ? compared to dead stopping the shell holder on the die before reaching camover.

The advantage is one way is doing it right, and the other isn't.

How does a user know that he is actually stopping in the same place every time? Even if you can see it hitting the plate, is it with consistent pressure? What amount of pressure is correct?

Every instruction I've ever read says to push the lever until you have cam over... that makes sure that you get full length resizing because if the dies are made expecting the user to achieve cam over, and one only kisses the die, one is not getting the shell all the way into the die the way the manufacturer intended. It's a minute diff, but it's there.

 

[BigDog67]

As well as taking up any play in the linkage.

 

[WTC]

I have reloaded 308 for many years. Type of case lube makes a big difference. In the olden days RCBS
lube pad was the only method. Having used Hornady and Dillon lube I much prefer the home made lanolin
and alcohol. Much easier to clean off. To clean off the lube after sizing mist with water and roll in a bath towel.
As others said you have to let it dry a few minutes. https://ultimatereloader.com/2017/05/09/make-your-own-case-lube/

I am going to have to dump this 308 Savage now. Maybe I can get $100 for it???I didn't know 6.5 BleedMore RULES.
5 shot groups at 100 yards
View attachment 821518

So you hit the four corners and keyholes one through the middle?

 

[homeuser6]

How does a user know that he is actually stopping in the same place every time?

As well as taking up any play in the linkage.

lots of mechanical aptitude here

 

[bbbass]

As well as taking up any play in the linkage.

Good point!!!

 

[bbbass]

lots of mechanical aptitude here

Why, thank you!

 

[plain ol Bill]

Time for an update (such as it is). Lubed cases using the alcohol and lanolin mix many of us use. Readjusted my dies this morning, sorted cases by headstamps, took a few pics and here we go. Took the Hornady and Winchester cases thru the full size dies without any problems. I double struck them, rotating the case about 180 degrees for the second stroke.
I ran about ten of cases marked LC thru the full size dies again double striking. Some passed the Sheridan gage headspace. The 2 or 3 that did not drop into the gage I moved to the small base die and restruck them. They did drop into the gage after this.
I did notice some of the FC cases were marked up on the base and I presume this was from a loose headspace and the bolt marked them. This was likely thru a machine gun that needed some attention.
Did not try any of the cases marked FC (Federal). But will update again in this thread as I get further into the LC and FC cases.

 

[orygun]

That impact mark looks like brass flow through an ejector groove in the bolt head. The primer doesn't look smashed, but I couldn't get a good view on that pic.

 

[DizzyJ]

Time for an update (such as it is). Lubed cases using the alcohol and lanolin mix many of us use. Readjusted my dies this morning, sorted cases by headstamps, took a few pics and here we go. Took the Hornady and Winchester cases thru the full size dies without any problems. I double struck them, rotating the case about 180 degrees for the second stroke.
I ran about ten of cases marked LC thru the full size dies again double striking. Some passed the Sheridan gage headspace. The 2 or 3 that did not drop into the gage I moved to the small base die and restruck them. They did drop into the gage after this.
I did notice some of the FC cases were marked up on the base and I presume this was from a loose headspace and the bolt marked them. This was likely thru a machine gun that needed some attention.
Did not try any of the cases marked FC (Federal). But will update again in this thread as I get further into the LC and FC cases.

View attachment 823589 View attachment 823591 View attachment 823593 View attachment 823594

How are the primer pockets?

 

[ma96782]

I did notice some of the FC cases were marked up on the base and I presume this was from a loose headspace and the bolt marked them. This was likely thru a machine gun that needed some attention.

FC = Federal Cartridge (BTW, I've also seen Frontier Cartridges in FC marked brass)
LC = Lake City

So then.....I would not expect that FC ammo was shot out of a MG. And, the 308 on the headstamp is also an indicator of commercial ammo.

Of course, I could be wrong about all of this.

Aloha, Mark

PS......also note the "Primer Crimp" method used for military ammo while commercial ammo will not usually have a primer crimp at all.

 

[plain ol Bill]

Pretty frustrating day really. Question asked yesterday about primer pockets. The LC brass is military crimped and meets a Ballistic Tools go/no go gage after decrimping. FC marked brass is NOT crimped and meets the gage w/ easy insertion and the no go gage will not fit in.

Started working on the Lake City brass this morning and ran into problems getting many of them to fit the Sheridan gage. Hanging up on the case rim. Leads me to ask more questions of you folks.
What is your acceptance level for cases dropping into a case gage? Drop in (ka-chunk)? Press in with finger pressure? Or???

 

[DizzyJ]

Pretty frustrating day really. Question asked yesterday about primer pockets. The LC brass is military crimped and meets a Ballistic Tools go/no go gage after decrimping. FC marked brass is NOT crimped and meets the gage w/ easy insertion and the no go gage will not fit in.

Started working on the Lake City brass this morning and ran into problems getting many of them to fit the Sheridan gage. Hanging up on the case rim. Leads me to ask more questions of you folks.
What is your acceptance level for cases dropping into a case gage? Drop in (ka-chunk)? Press in with finger pressure? Or???

I use my actual rifle chamber as the gage.

 

[Retired Guy]

I wanted to go back to that picture of your fired FC brass with the primer still in. That looks like some primer cratering. I'm thinking that the round was pretty hot.

As for using the cartridge gauge, I use Wilson gauges. Their instructions say that the brass should "drop in". Be sure that all of the lube is removed before you gauge the brass as that will affect how easily it drops in.

Reloading can be complex and go down the rabbit hole rather quickly. Having said that, at times it's frustrating but I do enjoy investigating why something isn't working right. Figuring it out is very satisfying. After 40 years of reloading, I'm still learning (and relearning). A lot of knowledge on this board and different experiences. I hope you're having fun!

 

[2ndtimer]

Pretty frustrating day really. Question asked yesterday about primer pockets. The LC brass is military crimped and meets a Ballistic Tools go/no go gage after decrimping. FC marked brass is NOT crimped and meets the gage w/ easy insertion and the no go gage will not fit in.

Started working on the Lake City brass this morning and ran into problems getting many of them to fit the Sheridan gage. Hanging up on the case rim. Leads me to ask more questions of you folks.
What is your acceptance level for cases dropping into a case gage? Drop in (ka-chunk)? Press in with finger pressure? Or???

Sounds like your primer pockets are fine which would rule out over pressure hot loads. As for the military brass hanging up on the rim, that adds to the suspicion that it was fired in an automatic or semi auto weapon. They frequently chew up the rims of the cases. This is when you need to check them in your rifle to see if they reliably chamber fully. If they don't, then you might be able to file the offending burrs or scrap them to the local recycler and chalk it up to experience. I count myself fortunate that my PA-10 .308 AR is kind to my brass, and once resized, they fully enter my Lyman gauge.

 

[plain ol Bill]

Got out the magnifying glass and looked at the case rims. Rough to the feel and they are chewed up enough that many will not drop in the case gage. Hmmmm - dug out the old Dremel tool with a little stone on it. That works but not really satisfied with it. Hmmmm - went over to my 2x72 belt sander w/ a 320 grit belt, turned the speed down, chucked a case into an elec drill (lightly) and touched up the rim. I can live with how that turns out and now the cases drop right into the Sheridan gage. Another problem solved.