308 LC brass input

[rm1911]

Breaking my ruger American predator 308 out of jail Saturday. Been reloading '06 for garand and deer rifle for years (as well as other calibers and also lots of pistol) so know how to do that part. All I needed basically was just brass and dies.

I picked up 250 once fired cleaned, swaged, trimmed, etc LC brass from midway. I've read online about LC being thicker and all and needing to adjust charges. Using both IMR4895 and varget, with 150's and 165/8's. Have plenty of data and plan to start at start loadings. All my '06 brass is/was commercial.

I've searched online and tried to find info. Some say start at start charge, some say 10% below start. Some say don't worry about it. Some say "you'll shoot your eye out". Some say "308??? You commie puke". (Yeah that one confused me too)

Anyone have experience with the LC brass?

Just curious. It's going to be my new primary deer rifle. And sometimes range toy. I plan to get some brand new factory brass for hunting loads.

[jtake]

Once-fired LC brass is great. I use it for both 308 and 223 rifles. I purchase in bulk from places like brassbombers and clean/swage etc. myself.

Just treat it like any other brass -- start low and work up the load watching for pressure signs until you find your nodes or loads that your rifle likes.

My AI AEIII likes 42.2gr IMR 8208 with 175 smks. Velocity is about 2700fps and it groups great at 100y (from some sub 1/2 moa to about 3/4 moa).

I am on the 5th load on some of my brass (I anneal after 3 firings), and it is holding up well.

[bazineta]

I use LC primarily. In my experience the 7.62 is indeed of lesser capacity, and I typically end up with a charge weight about 5% under typical commercial. Start low and work up.

Conversely, I don't see any real reduction in capacity in the 5.56 LC vs. commercial.

[NorCalFocus]

I use it for my 223 with no issues at all. For my .308 I really prefer my Lapua brass, but it's all target precision rounds not range blaster stuff.

What I learned from someone was to do a pressure check before jumping into ladder loads. Load up one round of each charge from your lowest to max in half grain increments. Shoot them checking each piece for pressure signs. Once you see pressure on one load go one charge higher to just make it wasn't a fluke. Once you know what the max charge for your rifle is, that gives you a better range to build your ladder loads around.

[highpower790]

Breaking my ruger American predator 308 out of jail Saturday. Been reloading '06 for garand and deer rifle for years (as well as other calibers and also lots of pistol) so know how to do that part. All I needed basically was just brass and dies.

I picked up 250 once fired cleaned, swaged, trimmed, etc LC brass from midway. I've read online about LC being thicker and all and needing to adjust charges. Using both IMR4895 and varget, with 150's and 165/8's. Have plenty of data and plan to start at start loadings. All my '06 brass is/was commercial.

I've searched online and tried to find info. Some say start at start charge, some say 10% below start. Some say don't worry about it. Some say "you'll shoot your eye out". Some say "308??? You commie puke". (Yeah that one confused me too)

Anyone have experience with the LC brass?

Just curious. It's going to be my new primary deer rifle. And sometimes range toy. I plan to get some brand new factory brass for hunting loads.

You know all you need to know.ITs time to move on young grasshopper,you have learned well.

[MG34]

I use LC brass and 41.5 gr. IMR 4895 for my M1A, works great.

[17+1]

Not LC but WCC M80 ball round military brass is what I feed my M1A.

My go to load is 42 grains of varget, WCC military case, hornady 178, cci 200, load to mag length. The manual shows it as a starting load for sierra 175 but it is stout enough to knock down rams at 500 meters. I wouldn't say it's compressed but there is a bit of crunching when I seat bullets.

[G38xOC]

LC brass on my 308 are great . kinda lost count how many time I have reloaded . more than 4 times . well made stuff

[Divernhunter]

Start charge or mid level charge to start with and you will be fine.

[robert101]

It is difficult to read primers relative to pressure. Oddly enough, I'll read case wear as a better long term indicator. I shoot relatively light loads and don't size them excessively so my cases last for over 14 reloads. When loading close to max charges I do use the tea-leaf (primer) method. If my cases last only 3 or 4 loadings I start to decrease the powder charge.

[divingin]

A lot of people say that LC brass is thicker than commercial, but I haven't seen a huge difference going from LC to Federal or Fiocchi (GFL). First loads at start load should be fine; the difference (if any) should not put you over the top unless you're running a powder with a really narrow load band.

[rm1911]

Thanks for the replies. Since I'm loading for a bolt I imagine I have a little more leeway as opposed to a semi auto. I don't plan to load them too hot or anything and don't plan to make the focus to push it out to a 1000yd rifle. I got the 18" model since it's easier to carry.

I'm sure LC brass is really good and durable which is kinda why I got it. Just was curious if anyone ran into any particular problems. Seems nobody did. I just start at the start level. I have a chronograph so I can get a good idea what it does.

I also have some 130 Barnes ttsx for deer. I'll just take the normal approach to loading.

[tvfreakarms]

Once-fired LC brass is great. I use it for both 308 and 223 rifles. I purchase in bulk from places like brassbombers and clean/swage etc. myself.

Just treat it like any other brass -- start low and work up the load watching for pressure signs until you find your nodes or loads that your rifle likes.

My AI AEIII likes 42.2gr IMR 8208 with 175 smks. Velocity is about 2700fps and it groups great at 100y (from some sub 1/2 moa to about 3/4 moa).

I am on the 5th load on some of my brass (I anneal after 3 firings), and it is holding up well.

When you anneal your brass, how much longer does the brass casing last Vs not annealing? Assuming no hot loads.

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[17+1]

Thanks for the replies. Since I'm loading for a bolt I imagine I have a little more leeway as opposed to a semi auto. I don't plan to load them too hot or anything and don't plan to make the focus to push it out to a 1000yd rifle. I got the 18" model since it's easier to carry.

I'm sure LC brass is really good and durable which is kinda why I got it. Just was curious if anyone ran into any particular problems. Seems nobody did. I just start at the start level. I have a chronograph so I can get a good idea what it does.

I also have some 130 Barnes ttsx for deer. I'll just take the normal approach to loading.

I don't own a bolt action in 308 but if I did I might invest in some better brass. Because all my 308s are gas operated I don't want any brass I'm too worried about losing.

If you can find once fired M118 brass, it's really good quality and no crimps to remove so that's really nice. I got a bunch of M118 brass that shot really well.

[jtake]

I am have not reached an end point yet. I am on 4th reloads (5th firings) and my brass is still doing fine.

There are no hard and fast answers to how much longer annealing increases brass life as many factors come into play (how much you are sizing may be more important for AR10s as you may get case head separation before neck splitting).

But annealing helps with a more consistent neck tension over many firings as your brass won't be as hard as non-annealed brass.

So respond to comments that LC brass is not very good brass, or does not allow for good performance, here are some shots from today using 3x fired LC brass. I was testing seating depth for 42.2 gr IMR 8208xbr, Fed 210M primers and 175 smk.

When you anneal your brass, how much longer does the brass casing last Vs not annealing? Assuming no hot loads.

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