BRIEF steps of reloading help

[browninghunter86]

Have been looking at online sources and ABC of handloading and YouTube. Can anyone give a quick step of reloading for my 308? Will be using virgin brass and will have the Lee Precision 90030 Kit with Deluxe Die Set

[dmazur]

I'm not sure what you're asking for.

Here's one source for load data -

http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

select "Rifle", then ".308 Winchester" then click on "Get Data".

and here's a source for "The ABC's of Reloading" in eBook format

http://www.booksamillion.com/p/ABCs-...=5033125765295

So you want the steps?

1. Clean cases (except you have new brass, so skip this for initial load)
2. Lube the sides of the cases, but not the shoulders
3. Resize/deprime (usually same die)
4. Wipe off excess lube
5. Reprime (usually hand priming tool, but some do it on a press)
6. Charge with correct weight of powder (usually thrown by a powder measure and checked with a scale)
7. Seat bullet according to COL for that bullet (COL measured with calipers)
8. Box and label

But this is covered far more thoroughly in "The ABC's of Reloading"...

[oneounceload]

I also lube the inside of the case neck in addition to all of the points listed

Reloading is NOT rocket science - but it is repetitive. It is easy to catch OOPS on a single stage, not as easy on a progressive for a lot of folks, especially newbies.

Read the books, follow the directions and recipes, and you'll be good to go

[browninghunter86]

yes have viewed those sources. Do you have to Full Length Resize for new brass the first time then after firing in your rifle use only the Neck Sizing Die?

[dmazur]

Do you have to Full Length Resize for new brass...

I do, to make sure it will chamber, and to take care of any "dinged" case mouths before I try to seat a bullet.

I also check for case length. Most new brass is within specs, but a quick check only takes a few seconds and if any are too long, I trim them.

However, I've heard of folks just priming, charging and seating and away they go.

So, I believe the correct answer is you don't have to, but it's a good idea.

(Make sure you use some kind of gauge to set up your resizing die, or you'll over-resize and create an artificial excess headspace condition.)

[mehavey]

- I "re"size even new brass to ensure all shoulder standards are met, and the necks are uniformly dimensioned

- If your haven't been doing this awhile, I recommend full-length sizing for each/every reloading session

- After three or four reloading cycles (where you've got all the other steps thoroughly ingrained to the point of boringly-rote memory), then-and-only-then play with adjusting the resizer die to where the sized case just allows the bolt to close w/o significant feel. Lock the adjustment collar at that point and go from there.

- If running an autoloader, full-length resize each and every time for the foreseeable future.

[CPTMurdoc30]

I do the following. (Until I purchased Laupa Brass)

1. inspect cases
2. chamfer and debur case mouth and flash hole (if needed Not so with Laupa)
3. Tumble in corn cobb to polish up a little.
4. Spray with One Shot (I know but, it works great for me).
5. Resize
6. Tumble to remove lube.
7. Prime with RCBS hand primer.
8. add powder
9. Seat bullet
10. Tumble again. To get the finger prints off the brass.

Clean brass is HAPPY brass.

[jepp2]

A cartridge gage is something I find invaluable in reloading. It is one way to help you adjust your resizing die properly.

I happen to be a person that doesn't believe you gain anything by doing a full length resize on new rifle brass. I do run the expander through the neck to make sure they are round (since they are in the annealed state they deform easily). By dropping them in the cartridge gage you can check the overall length, confirm they will chamber properly, and you will see the shoulder is already set back an excessive amount.

With the case mouth now round I do in the inside/outside deburr. Nothing wrong with full length resizing if that is what makes you more comfortable. Just don't do the wrong thing by setting the shoulder back even further.

[Kayser]

Here's my recommended steps:

- tumble
- inspect
- lube
- resize
- Measure with calipers! Make sure it's under the max length. Trim if necessary.
- bonus. run through a Wilson case gage to measure headspace
- If it's fresh brass or 1 fired factory - chamfer/deburr the mouth. Clean primer pocket.
- prime
- bullet/powder/seat
- Measure again!

Stop after 10 rounds. Sanity check everything you've done. Shoot these and check your results before going crazy and banging out 100.


Since it's a high pressure rifle round, and you're a beginner, pay particular attention to measurements. Sanity check your scale multiple times. Measure brass length before loading and overall length after loading. Choose a load that fills the case. Get in the habit of deliberately looking inside each case as you place it in the shell holder - this will become more necessary and important when working with pistol cases where many loads fill < 50%.

[browninghunter86]

so if I have the Lee Precision kit just use the Lee Collet Die(neck sizing die) for virgin brass?

Is that the same thing as people saying expander thorugh?

If so....... this the step you want to adjust die so that case will accept the bullet with slight finger pressure?

[dmazur]

I believe most of the posts are referring to a standard resizing die, which has an expander ball as part of its design. (The resizing die handles variations in neck wall thickness by resizing the neck a few thousandths smaller than desired on the way in, then expanding to the correct ID for proper tension using the expander ball on the way out.)

If I understand the Lee collet die, it squeezes the neck against a mandrel. It is not the same design as a conventional resizing die. This is going to create the neck ID that holds the bullet, so "accepting the bullet with slight finger pressure" is way too big.

This thread might explain the Lee collet die setup a little better -

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=415426

You're going to need to use a bullet seating die, or possibly a seater/crimp die backed out so it doesn't crimp.

And, for your second loading, you're going to have to deprime. Which die are you going to use for that and how will it be adjusted?

Also, sooner or later you're going to have difficulty closing the bolt if you neck-size only, and then you're going to have to full-length resize.

Chapter 11 of "The ABC's of Reloading" covers the conventional technique, including a nice picture sequence at the end (courtesy of RCBS). It might be better to start with this as a baseline. Then you can substitute neck sizing for full-length resizing once you're familiar with the process.

[jepp2]

Just running the center rod of the Lee Collet die into the case mouth will insure the mouth is round. Since the neck (and entire case body) has already been sized, there is no need to use the collet die to size the neck.

After you have fired the cases and want to use the collet die to neck size them, I strongly encourage you to watch the Lee instructional video to correctly set up and use the die. This is one die that people have problems getting to work correctly. Once you understand it and use it properly, you will be producing cases with the least neck runout available. And all without the hassle of sizing lube. It is a joy to use once you master it.

[dmazur]

I have run into factory-new brass (Winchester) that did not have necks correctly sized for bullet seating. The ID was too large.

IMO, it is important to follow the steps without omission when you are learning.

After you understand things completely, you may want to get wild and skip unnecessary steps...

[browninghunter86]

The Lee 308 Deluxe Die Set is what I ordered. Said it includes Full Length Resize Die, Lee Collet Die, and Seating Die as the last one.

So on new brass what would be the process.


Will use the Seating Die and have seen videos on both how to adjust the dies but not sure which one to use on first virgin brass and what to use on reloads after the first shooting from same rifle and reloading to the same rifle?

[chris in va]

I will add that the inside of the case neck needs a bit of lube so the mandrel from the resizing die will not get stuck. Hornady Unique is my favorite, just pat your fingers in the tub and smear it on the case, then wipe the tip of your finger off on the rim.

[Kayser]

For your purposes, use the full length resizing die every time.

Don't worry about the neck sizing die until you're way down the line and have a lot more experience. It's esoteric for your purposes at this point.

[dmazur]

Eventually, you may want to deprime cases without using the full-length resizing die, and this is one way to do it -

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/40424-1.html

As it doesn't have an expander ball, it goes along with the idea of neck-only sizing, as it reduces working the brass in the neck area.

There's another die, called a "bump die" -

http://www.forsterproducts.com/store.asp?pid=27654

which use bushings to control neck diameter. This is a different approach to neck-only sizing than the Lee collet die.

As you can tell, there are many ways to skin this particular cat.

..have seen videos...

Yes, but do you have a reloading manual?

[browninghunter86]

As with anything.... people do it all different ways so being NEWBIE to reloading thats why I came to the forums and exactly what yall have helped me with!! What works for some may not be the best for others to try but all information helps

Thanks

[eviltravis]

The only thing I would add to the above (the others have covered the topic very well) - I like to break up the monotony of reloading by doing things in batches a few at a time. I'll come home from work and maybe resize 50 or 100 brass and be done for that day. Another day I'll measure or trim... So on and so forth. If I try to do the whole process on one sitting it gets to be a bit much. I'm a bit particular and tend to measure every case, powder charge etc. it probably takes me a lot longer to make a cartridge than most folks.

[browninghunter86]

ok so consensus thus far is to FLR which will also deprime?

[dmazur]

I'll give a cautious "Yes", provided you adjust the die correctly in the press.

There is way too much advice that starts with, "With ram up, screw die down until it touches case holder, then go down another 1/4 turn and lock it."

1/4 turn at 14 tpi is approx. 0.018", and the difference between min and max acceptable head to shoulder distance is typically 0.006".

With new brass, the shoulder may already be at minimum or below, in which case you certainly don't want to move it any further.

However, you do have to have the die adjusted enough to correctly resize the neck.

Also, the expander ball has to be adjusted correctly.

There are usually instructions with the dies (?) but I don't have the set you have, so I'm not sure if they came with instructions, or how clear those instructions might be.

ETA -

I checked the Lee web site and found a picture of the collet die set. If your collet die matches this, then it has a depriming pin and you don't need the universal decapping die.

http://leeprecision.com/xcart/COLLET-DIES-30-06.html

The Lee site suggests using a full-length resizing die first to establish factory dimensions. It is silent on having to do this again after 5 or 6 firings.

From reading about Lee collet dies on another forum, I understand this die can't be used as a "bump die" to bump the shoulder.

[browninghunter86]

havent gotten them in mail yet but from what it looks like on Lee website video and youtube videos it does not look like rocket science. FOr the Collet Die: Adjust so it kisses the case holder then do not over apply pressure and then check for the ability of a bullet to be seated using fingers so that it will barely go in the case with no/little play in it and should be ready to prime and charge the load

[dmazur]

I watched the videos.

I find it amusing that the instructor referred to the mandrel as "an expander ball, except it's constant diameter".

Hmm. Kind of hard for it to expand the neck if it's the same diameter for its entire length.

Also, the instructor said you could adjust the amount of tension, but that if you adjusted too far, you'd crumple the case.

The Lee instructions say the mandrel controls the diameter of the neck, provided you apply enough force to the press handle (25 lbs), and that you can either polish the mandrel or special order a smaller one if you want more neck tension.

Like a lot of stuff on the Internet, the video contains some truth mixed with some nonsense.

And, as a newcomer to reloading, it is going to be very challenging for you to tell the two apart.

That's why the almost universal advice you'll get on these forums is to buy a reloading manual. Then buy a textbook. Read the "how to reload" chapters in the reloading manual. Read the textbook. Then do it again.

You definitely have to have more neck tension than "seated using the fingers".

It may not be rocket science, but there's a lot more to it than you might think.

[browninghunter86]

I am going to get a copy of the Lyman Edition and local bookstore has ABC of Reloading too. Also might get a copy of loadbooks for the 308 online for $10 although I do not know how recent that book is........

[dmazur]

Outstanding. Hard to beat proven references.