The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > Handloading, Reloading, and Bullet Casting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old November 17, 2012, 04:30 PM   #1
JROD82
Junior Member
 
Join Date: March 8, 2009
Location: Lake Jackson, Tx
Posts: 12
308 neck sizing / coal question

Just reloaded a batch of 308 rounds that were neck sized for my bolt gun and noticed an issue with the COAL. The casings in question are once fired Lapua that I Full Length resized for the first reload so I could fire form them to my chmaber. When I reloaded them using the Full Length I seated the bullets at 2.800 which I understand that it will vary +/- .005 depending on the tip of the bullet it self. Now that I neck sized the same casings and loaded them up......I noticed that the COAL is 2.808-2.817. Is it possible that I have to re-adjust my seating die now that I'm Neck Sizing???? I double checked my seating die using a dummy round that measured 2.800 and it was right on the dot. Kinda new to the whole neck sizing thing so any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
JROD82 is offline  
Old November 17, 2012, 07:47 PM   #2
Bart B.
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 15, 2009
Posts: 8,927
Once a bullet seating stem's set and locked, there should be no difference in OAL regardless of how the fired case was sized. This assumes there's no interference between either case and the seater die body's dimensions.

My guess is the seating die wasn't screwed all the way down. If it was and you just screwed the seating stem down on your test round and stopped when the least contact was made, that might have caused the difference.

Last edited by Bart B.; November 17, 2012 at 08:01 PM.
Bart B. is offline  
Old November 17, 2012, 11:56 PM   #3
Jimro
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 18, 2006
Posts: 7,097
COAL is 2.808-2.817, which is 2.8115 +/- 0.0035

You are fine.

Jimro
__________________
Machine guns are awesome until you have to carry one.
Jimro is offline  
Old November 18, 2012, 11:21 AM   #4
tobnpr
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 1, 2010
Location: Tampa Bay
Posts: 4,556
What Bart said.
Unless you've changed bullets, the seating die doesn't know anything about the brass under the bullet.
tobnpr is offline  
Old November 18, 2012, 11:40 AM   #5
oneoldsap
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 16, 2009
Location: I live in the foot of the Green Mountains of Vermont
Posts: 1,602
Uniformity

I didn't see anywhere where you trimmed all brass to the same length . It's important to have all brass the same length , when neck sizing . I usually trim brass that I'm going to neck size , .010" shorter than recommended trim to length in the manuals . Depending on a few variables , you should be able to get 5-10 reloads before needing to trim again !
oneoldsap is offline  
Old November 18, 2012, 12:28 PM   #6
Bart B.
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 15, 2009
Posts: 8,927
I don't think even a .015" spread in case length matters. It'll cause a tiny spread in neck tension on bullets that is well masked by other variables.
Bart B. is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:30 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.04416 seconds with 10 queries