308 reloading tips/advice needed

[problemchild]

Hi

I have been reloading for 20+ years but only handgun cartridges. I have never reloaded rifle ammo. I have a dillon 650 press and all the goodies including dillon carbide dies.

I just ordered a case gage from dillon this week. I have a book with the specs I need to reload. Im using LC once fired reamed brass and military ball ammo. I will be shooting the ammo in a POF 308 semi-auto.

So I guess what Im asking is what dont I know here? What is the difference between handgun reloading and rifle reloading with regards to tricks/tips etc? Im open to any and all advice.

Thanks for taking the time......

[Hans Gruber]

Small points that'll probably be expanded/corrected by those more in the know than I.

- You'll need to lube your cases even if you have carbide dies.

- You might want to take it slow on the 650 at first and make sure that all of your dimensions/powders are in order. I'd recommend building your workup loads on a single stage press probably. Not even sure how one would build workup rounds on a progressive.

- Using LC brass (military brass) means that 1) your max load will probably be a grain or two below the max presented in the load books and 2) you'll probably have to remove the primer crimp before priming the brass.

After that, I guess the question to you is, what is your objective for this ammo? Do you want to build Match+ grade ammo or just blasters? That'll determine where the rest of the tips come from re: case prep etc.

[Beelzy]

With rifle cases, more attention to case length as well as making sure you
brush and lube the inside of the case mouths.

[rksimple]

Instead of using a case gauge, get a comparator. I like the rcbs precision mic. Measure them in the mic after firing. Then adjust your sizing die to only bump the shoulder .002"-.003". Otherwise you can be oversizing and not even know it.

[f4tweet]

rksimple's
Veteran Member

"Instead of using a case gauge, get a comparator. I like the rcbs precision mic. Measure them in the mic after firing. Then adjust your sizing die to only bump the shoulder .002"-.003". Otherwise you can be oversizing and not even know it."

+1, The only way to set your dies to YOUR chamber. The case gauges are SAAMI spec. Brass sized incorrectly to your chamber can still look fine in the case gauge. Thanks to all the Calgunners who enlightened me.

http://www.huntingtons.com/measurementtools.html

__________________

[Jonathan Doe]

For gas guns, I just resize to SAAMI spec. For my bolt guns, I fire once and just neck size it. It seemed to work well for me. But then, I use Forster chamber gauges and precision mic to measure the exact chamber dimension of my rifles first.

[popeye4]

Check out these articles: http://www.zediker.com/downloads/m14.html

Reloading for gas guns requires more attention to detail than loading for bolt guns. I'm not familiar with the POF but some of the M14 concerns may apply.

[f4tweet]

Check this site also:

http://www.jarheadtop.com/

http://www.jarheadtop.com/articles_Handloading.htm