.308 Brass

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djwalker60

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Hi Everyone; We'll I went to shoot my first .308 reloads and only 50% worked. One half were ok from a known source that the brass was only fired once. Second half were supposedly fired once also.

But... Here's the problem. The rounds from another source would get stuck in the chamber. Very difficult to extract, I tried several rounds but still all rounds did stick. I'm thinking I messed up with the resizing or the neck was incorrect. So can anyone point me in the right direction as to 1: What I did wrong and 2: what is the best way to resize .308 brass.

Thanks
Dan Walker
Seattle
 
Need to know more about what equipment you are using??

If you have a press and full-length die set, you didn't have the sizing die screwed in far enough.

If you have a neck sizing die, you bought the wrong dies to recondition brass from some other rifle.

Tell us more and we can probably help you.

rc
 
Hornady Lock-n-load with lee deluxe .308 Dies. I load .223 with no issues, but the .308 rounds are a bit more tricky. Tried Hornady Die set but didn't give me good luck with the resizing, plus I noticed I need a lot more case lube than I use on .223. I appreciate any help oh no neck resizing die.. do I need a separate one for that?

Dan
 
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I assume these cases will chamber AND extract easily if NOT fired. If they do extract easily, there is a strong possibility the cases are over length and need to be trimmed.

Just a thought

Chris
 
actually they DO NOT extract easily even NOT Fired. So it appears I messed up by not checking the length of the case. Guess I need to buy a case trimmer.. best tips/advise about .308 case prep?
 
Measure a sized case.
If it is 2.015" or shorter, case length is not your problem.

Now take one of your sized cases, and color it all over with a black magic or Dry-Erase marker or candle smoke soot.

Now carefully chamber it, and take it back out.
Where the ink or soot rubbed off is what is tight where.

We will go from there when you get back to us.

rc
 
A standard 2 die set should have done everything you needed for resizing the .308. I can't help but think you didn't have the resizing die screwed into the press far enough. .308's aren't that hard to load.

Screw it in so it touches the shell plate when the ram is clear up. If you still can't chamber an empty round after resizing, check your overall length of the case. If it is over length then trim it like the others said.

The over all length of the case should be 2.015" according to Lymans 47 edition which is the newest manual I have.

If you don't have a case trimmer you will have to buy one. There is no way around that.

If this doesn't work you will need to check the diameters of the resized shell against what your manual says and go from there.

The only other thing is that you aren't seating your bullets deep enough and they are hitting the riflings in the barrel when you try to close the bolt.

Over all length in my manual for .308 is 2.800". If your rifle has a tight or short chamber leade you may have to seat your bullets accordingly. (deeper)

Just make sure they are resized correctly before resorting to this.
 
With the brass not fired from your gun you must do a FL size to insure that they will chamber. To make sure after sizing test in your gun. If the bolt closes tight or with resistance you will need to turn the sizer die down some more, 1/16-1/8Turn. Then retest. Normally you trim brass after sizing, so now's the time. For setting the shoulder once the brass chambers easily, no need to go any further. RCBS Precision Mic can be used to measure the shoulder. Nice if you have more than one gun in the same caliber so you can shim the die.

You commented that a loaded round extracted hard. This can be a couple of things. The bullet is contacting the rifling. You can actually pull the bullet out driving the bolt back if the bolt is really forced. Brass being to long can cause problems too.

I use the LNL too but I use Imperial Sizing Wax. I very seldom load more than 50 at a time. I use it when I size my 308 and Rem 7mm Mag. It makes the effort like sizing a 357mag round.
 
If you are buying a trimmer, pick up a case gage too. Since most of my .308 is shot from a semi-auto rifle, it must be trimmed and full length sized. I also run every case through my Lyman case gage which mimics a chamber. If it goes in the gage then it will go in my rifle. Cool thing about this is I can check it immediately after resizing so I know if I resized it correctly. The case gage is about $15 at midwayusa.
 
Could those be military cases fired in a Machine gun? You may need a small base die to get them back in spec.
 
fired from a springfield M1A .308... Ordered some more brass and when I get the brass I'll resize and see what happens from there..

Thanks Again..
 
Pretty sure you didn't adjust the resizing die all they way down or you didn't push the case all the way up when sizing (until the shellplate touches the die).

Take one of your "resized" cases that doesn't chamber and color it with a magic marker. Then try to chamber it and close the bolt or stop before the bolt jams up on you.

Look to see where the marker rubs off. I'll bet it's on the shoulder.

Put a thin even coat of lube all the way down and around the case wall (not the shoulder) and be sure you size all the way until the shellplate touches the die. Now see if that case chambers properly.

After you size, be sure to measure the length of the case. You'll probably need to trim them.
 
You also may want to check the shells that came out of the M1A and see if they have a pretty good ding in the side of the case.

This happens on ejection and is inherent to most brass that comes out of an M1.

If you are not full length resizing them then that may be the culprit. Look at the middle of the case and see if there is a lateral crease in the brass.
 
Are they sticking before they are fired? If they are not sticking or aren't difficult to extract prior to firing them, then the problem is very likely high pressures. Other wise it is probably something in your resizing process causing the problem.
 
Are you using the same brand of die and shell holder? Sometimes there's a little bit of difference in the dimensions of different brands.

Also I'd highly recommend getting a case gauge. I wouldn't reload rifle ammo without one.
 
My guess is you either did not FULL SIZE the once fired brass (you must do this for brass fired out of other guns, after that you can neck size) or you did not have your full sizer die set up correctly. I screwed this up once and was not pushing the shoulder all the way back. It took me a couple hours to pull 100 rounds and resize and reload.

To set your full sizer. Make sure to raise your ram all the way up(with the shell holder in place). Screw the full sizer down until it makes firm contact with the shell holder. Lower the ram and turn the full sizer 1/2 turn. Raise the ram to hold the die in place then tighten the lock ring. This will get you on business and help have the die square I the shell holder.
 
Thanks for all of informative replays. The rounds got stuck BEFORE Firing... Would NOT extract Cold..

I ordered a guage and some more brass once I get both I'll make some dummy rounds and see what happens.. Maybe I'll also try the just the brass after resizing to be sure the brass is seating right this time. Now I need wait for UPS..

Thank You
Dan
Seattle

To bad there aren't reloading classes ..... :eek:
 
Every loading manual out there has all the information/instruction you would get from a reloading class. That said, if you know someone who reloads perhaps he/she would watch while you reload at least one box of ammunition and offer suggestions. There are also several books available that provide detailed instruction, such as the A B C's of Reloading put out by DBI books.
 
djwalker60 said:
To bad there aren't reloading classes ..... :eek:
Click to expand...
Check out this article:
http://www.zediker.com/downloads/14_loading.pdf
..and this article:
http://www.loaddata.com/articles/PDF/Reloading Semiauto Rifles.pdf

They are both good articles on reloading for M14/M1A/semi-automatics, but there does seem to be some difference in opinion between the two. One recommends small base sizing and the other full length.

I personally use a Lee two-die set for .308 (full length). I have been loading once-fired LC brass and use a Wilson case headspace gauge. If it fits the gauge (as shown in the Zediker article) it fits and extracts from the chamber.
 
Head space is the problem and in the M1A it MUST be right. Use the case gauge. Fire a factory bullet, check it's length with the case gauge. Set your die to make fired cases match. You may want to push the shoulder back (more HS) a few thou. to compensate for a dirty chamber. Make sure the bolt easily closes on a round to avoid slam fires. Don't roll crimp the cases. After you get HS set, load some dummy rounds to check bullet seating, too far aout and it jams into the lands and causes high pressure. You can pull the bullets and dump powder from the unfireable ones, resize and reload em.
 
a kind of similar problem here only

I know what's causing the cartridge to not chamber...

This is an old FR8/ Spanish Mauser, action and bolt worked and trued and with a stainless fluted bull barrel, the chamber/leade is so tight that the only thing I can load is spire point jacketed bullets as every one of my lead bullets cram themselves into the lands hard unless I seat well below the case neck.

My question, can you safely seat a gas cked bullet to where the ck itself is past the neck into the case? I've had different answers locally so I thought I'd ask here. I do crimp them on with the sizing die not just pushed on but it still seemed like a problem waiting to happen to me...Hopefully I'm wrong and it's safe as there's a couple designs I'd love to try out of this rifle....It's very accurate with the LC 173g Match I have, good with standard milsurp, but is so tight even the 300yd 190g match rounds won't chamber......
 
Maybe I'll also try the just the brass after resizing to be sure the brass is seating right this time.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I do with each case in my bolt .308. Yes it takes an additional 10 seconds per round, but it's worth it.

Have you resized a case and made sure the die touches the shellholder? You should not be able to slide a sheet of paper between the shellholder and the die. If you did fully resize the case they should all chamber properly and allow the bolt to close. Be sure to use calipers to ensure the sized cases are also the right length and not too long.
 
I've been down this road. You should size the brass fired in the M1-A with a small base die, it's diameter just above the web may be your hang up. I just went through several hundred LC LR brass that I had to back up and resize with a small base die to get them to work.
 
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