Brass sizing question

[SSN Vet]

I load 7mm-08 by sizing fire formed brass (factory ammo fired in my Savage) with the Lee collet die (which only neck sizes).

Some time ago I picked up a bag of Winchester brass and am just getting around to loading it. But I don't have a 7mm-08 full length sizing die.

Should I be able to load the factory brass without sizing it?

I guess I could load a couple cases and see if they chamber and call it good, but I know a lot of folks say they size factory new brass first.

I'm a brass hound and rarely buy brass, but this is one cartridge that I never find on the range...

(I know you can resize .308 down, but I don't want to have incorrect head stamps on my re-loads)

Thanks in advance for any helpful advice.

 

[rcmodel]

If they will chamber in your rifle, and you have good case neck tension on the bullet?

They do not 'have' to be full length sized first.

rc

 

[243winxb]

I check to see if 5 brass out of a bag of 100 will chamber in the bolt action. Win & Rem brass, in 243 win have for me. Load a boatail bullet. If the mouth is out of round a lot, i bump it with the tip of the expander. Other wise, the bullet is the expander.

 

[jwrowland77]

With new brass, normally the only thing that needs to be done, is run say your neck sizer through them just to make sure the necks are rounded.

 

[GLOOB]

You don't have a 308 sizing die, by any chance?

 

[243winxb]

Do check the trim length on all before loading. Any over maximun by a few thousandth, need trimmed.

 

[SSN Vet]

Thanks for the tips guys...

No .308 dies...

I've been trying to find a 7mm-08 full length sizing die on the cheap for an initial sizing for some time, but all I can find are complete sets, and I have no intention of crimping and already have the bullet seating die, so 2 of the 3 dies in the set would be wasted.

 

[Clint M]

You can normally buy a two die set for the price of a full length die. I also have a 7mm-08 and if you are going to shooting hunting loads in it you will need a full length die to size your brass so it will function in your rifle. I would take a look at Hornady they have a nice seating die in the full length die set, and if you are on the super cheap Lee makes a full length die set with just the dies that's about as cheap as you will get.

Good luck, 7mm-08 is one of the better cartridges available in my opinion that and 260 rem, dang fine parent case the 308 has been !!

 

[bush3755]

For many years, the most accurate bottleneck ammo has been made with a full length sizing die with its neck diameter about .002" smaller than that of a loaded round. No other die keeps case necks centered on case shoulders. And case life is longer as there's no expander ball.

Forster laps theirs out to your specs for a few extra dollars.

 

[Clint M]

Agree with bush as well, from my understanding a fired case and Forester will hone your dies to match your chamber neck diameter (you can tell them what you want as well) for full length die set Forester makes the best and for very little more money the seating die makes the rest look like sub par engineering. Hornady also makes a better than normal seating die for regular priced dies.

I have used lee neck die and redding body die it's double the work, and more money for very little increase in accuracy, yet in some rifles I have seen a nice increase in accuracy using the lee collet neck die along with redding body die... All said and done give me a Full length die set every time, I set my die up to size the shoulder around .002" on hunting ammo and run out is not enough to worry the least over. It does not hurt to check run out along the way when sizing brass, seating bullets etc, it's just in order to use the so claimed lee collet die you really need a redding body die to size the case every time. It cost more to neck size, I think they have done a shoddy job of ramming/advertising neck dies down our throats as well. Sorry rant over....

 

[bush3755]

Yes, neck sizing dies, in my opinion, were marketed and thought best to better center the bullet better in the barrel because their bodies' diameters were closer to chamber body ones and therefore position case necks and bullets more aligned with the bore. All were ignorant of the fact that case shoulders center in chamber shoulders from firing pin impact as their mating angles are virtually the same. And the case body is clear of the chamber body except at its pressure ring as it's pressed there opposite from the extractor. Even .243 rounds' center their bullets in the bore if loaded into a .358 Win chamber.