308 reloading for AR10: Questions

[Randee]

Hey everyone,

I got my reloading gear and I got the lee delux kit, but I was curious - the person I bought it from said he set it up for his bolt gun; he made the comment that I needed to get the small base sizing dies.

My question is for an AR10, what do I need to do to get it squared away reloading wise. I have the equipment but is there something else I need to do or pick up before I can load powder and bullets?

I already resized (full size) about 35 pieces of brass with his settings on the dies, should I not try to load these?

any help is appreciaed everyone!
-randy

[the led farmer]

small base dies size to minimum specs to ensure reliable feeding. if you run into feeding reliability problems, then you can think about them (after you eliminate all the other variables that cause same issue) but you won't know until you shoot them.

so load away!!

[FMJBT]

Just load them up with the full length sizing dies and try them out. Chances are pretty good that they will work fine just using a standard FL die. If you have issues with them chambering, immediately stop and troubleshoot.

[Pete1979]

I would just invest in a case gauge, if your full length dies are able to size the brass enough to drop in, they are fine. The small base dies are good insurance on an M1 or M1A which can slam fire or fire partially into battery and for commercial auto loaders like Remington 740/7400. You probably don't need them on the AR 10.

[huckberry668]

I've been loading for AR10 for 20 years on a set of non-small base dies. Never a problem.
You can try and chamber the sized brass. They're fine if they go into battery easily and extracts without resistance.

[five.five-six]

IME, you can't load an AR10 as hot as a bolt gun, and you need to be mindfull of OAL for feeding reasons