I have a few bags of new Federal .308 brass to work up some loads that ive been having trouble with. I don't have a neck sizing die. Loading for a aac-sd rem 700 .308 using rcbs .308 dies. Whats the best way to start with new brass to get the most loads out of them?
New brass
- Thread starter Truth223
- Start date
Set up your Full Length sizing die to where it is bumping the shoulder back no more than ~0.002" and it won't be working the brass much more than neck sizing. You want to full-length the brass just enough to where you can chamber it and the bolt closes.
If you want to get specific you can get a Hornady headspace gauge and take a measurement from the datum of the brass after you size to see how far you are bumping the shoulder.
Hornady Lock-N-Load Headspace Gage 5 Bushing Set Comparator
If you want to get specific you can get a Hornady headspace gauge and take a measurement from the datum of the brass after you size to see how far you are bumping the shoulder.
Hornady Lock-N-Load Headspace Gage 5 Bushing Set Comparator
I do have a hornady headspace kit. I will do that. Thanks for the advice. Hopefully new brass will help show some improvements over my other loads with FC brass that had 5-10 firings on them.
I've got 3 308s and one with an extra barrel so load for 4 I guess depending on what I need to take with me. So what works for me might not for you or anyone else. Anywho.
Generally speaking anneal them to increase their life. And do some prep as well. Size, chamfer, deburr flash holes etc etc. If your only using that brass in the one gun (are you?) set the die up so its not bumping the shoulder at all. Even once brass is fire formed its not an exact copy of the chamber it will shrink back slightly smaller than the chamber a couple thou. It may get a little closer each time they are used tho and bumping the shoulder will need to be done eventually. Set the die up to resize 9/10th of the neck or so is also an option to limit work hardening the brass. Pulling up short will also limit the body sizing they'll get and reduce the likelihood of web separation from work hardening the body/web area(more of an issue in a loose chamber). Which brings me to the next question. Hows the chamber for size? is it tight or loose?
Will the rounds you load up need to be fired in any other guns ever? My general purpose hunting ammo I FLS just in case they need to be used in another rifle on a hunt. Its amazing how often people can forget to take ammo for their guns. But my chambers are all tight (except the 7600 308 which I use different ammo in anyway) to the point where I see 0.1-0.2gr difference in H2O capacity after firing. So my FLS is doing near SFA body sizing and the brass doesn't get much work. And the same load shoot like stink thru everything but the pumpy whish is awefully convenient. For me if I put 0.004" shim behind a FLS case I can close the bolt with a little push. 0.002" I can feel a slight resistance. 0.006" just about needs a hammer. Like I said tho my chambers are tight. If you can get your hands on some fired brass that wont chamber, remove the expander and size them. Keep screwing the die in small increments until it will just chamber freely. Then wack a shim on the bolt face and see where its at. Doing this you an set head CLEARANCE to 0.002 give or take.
what went wrong after 5-10 rounds? primer pockets loose? Web separation issues? split cases? are your loads hot to unnecessarily shorten the brass life? Just for interests sake my mate just picked up his APRS 260AI. fireformed Lapua brass. On the first range visit with the fireformed brass he had 1 primer fall out of the case on extraction. HE is running it H O T tho so its his own fault. 75000psi or more according to quickload so serves him right. But holy canoly can that thing shoot like stink.
Possibly the best solution buy a neck die. They're not that expensive and worth the outlay as its returned on the first box of brass usually. Keep in mind most FLS dies will decrease neck size 0.010-0.012" or more under projectile size before expansion (the die I use is resizes to 0.303" on the body sizer so not a lot of work compared to some). Again this is made worse depending on your chambers neck diameter. Mine are .309-.310" after firing depending on the rifle or barrel used.
So really depends on your rifle/s and your expectations how it'll work out in the long run. Or just buy a ND.
Generally speaking anneal them to increase their life. And do some prep as well. Size, chamfer, deburr flash holes etc etc. If your only using that brass in the one gun (are you?) set the die up so its not bumping the shoulder at all. Even once brass is fire formed its not an exact copy of the chamber it will shrink back slightly smaller than the chamber a couple thou. It may get a little closer each time they are used tho and bumping the shoulder will need to be done eventually. Set the die up to resize 9/10th of the neck or so is also an option to limit work hardening the brass. Pulling up short will also limit the body sizing they'll get and reduce the likelihood of web separation from work hardening the body/web area(more of an issue in a loose chamber). Which brings me to the next question. Hows the chamber for size? is it tight or loose?
Will the rounds you load up need to be fired in any other guns ever? My general purpose hunting ammo I FLS just in case they need to be used in another rifle on a hunt. Its amazing how often people can forget to take ammo for their guns. But my chambers are all tight (except the 7600 308 which I use different ammo in anyway) to the point where I see 0.1-0.2gr difference in H2O capacity after firing. So my FLS is doing near SFA body sizing and the brass doesn't get much work. And the same load shoot like stink thru everything but the pumpy whish is awefully convenient. For me if I put 0.004" shim behind a FLS case I can close the bolt with a little push. 0.002" I can feel a slight resistance. 0.006" just about needs a hammer. Like I said tho my chambers are tight. If you can get your hands on some fired brass that wont chamber, remove the expander and size them. Keep screwing the die in small increments until it will just chamber freely. Then wack a shim on the bolt face and see where its at. Doing this you an set head CLEARANCE to 0.002 give or take.
what went wrong after 5-10 rounds? primer pockets loose? Web separation issues? split cases? are your loads hot to unnecessarily shorten the brass life? Just for interests sake my mate just picked up his APRS 260AI. fireformed Lapua brass. On the first range visit with the fireformed brass he had 1 primer fall out of the case on extraction. HE is running it H O T tho so its his own fault. 75000psi or more according to quickload so serves him right. But holy canoly can that thing shoot like stink.
Possibly the best solution buy a neck die. They're not that expensive and worth the outlay as its returned on the first box of brass usually. Keep in mind most FLS dies will decrease neck size 0.010-0.012" or more under projectile size before expansion (the die I use is resizes to 0.303" on the body sizer so not a lot of work compared to some). Again this is made worse depending on your chambers neck diameter. Mine are .309-.310" after firing depending on the rifle or barrel used.
So really depends on your rifle/s and your expectations how it'll work out in the long run. Or just buy a ND.
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Don't know how and don't have the equipment
There's places,that will steel tumble and anneal for you if you send in a bunch. I plan to do this after 5 firings. Im only neck sizing right now between firings but will FL size after the anneal .
Mitch
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Don't know how and don't have the equipment
Equipment = deep well socket, drill, propane torch, and dark room.
How = several videos available on line.
OFG
Don't know how and don't have the equipment
If you have 30$ for a torch you can do it. For the love of God, don't try Lapua first. You'll shoot your eye out
Remington brass is the best to learn on imo because you see the change much clearer. Here's some .300 Rp brass I did a while back just holding them and spinning with my fingers...
I just got back from Bass Pro and Lowes. No powder or bullets, but did grab up 2 bags of Winchester .308 brass, and a blowtorch from lowes. Im going to try my hand at some fired FC brass here later on.
When I first bought my Giraud annealing machine, I dug into my recycle bucket for some old discarded cases to practice on. That was a good suggestion, not starting on your Lapua! Annealing is not rocket science, but does require a learning curve. Lightman
Yeah, I learned on some .223 that I had which was Berdan primed. That way, I got to where I had nice consistent results on cases that I couldn't use anyway. Made the learning curve less painful...
Also, here is a goo article on annealing----It does promote one of the expensive, fancy machines, but it also tells the principles and you can learn a lot from it, even if you want to learn by hand the in-expensive way...
The Art and Science of Annealing
The Art and Science of Annealing
