loads for .308 plinker

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  • Last Post 03 January 2009
DINOSORE posted this 21 November 2007

Hey guys!

Just got a great welcome from Jeff and decided to start off here with getting some help.

I have a Savage 11FNCS in .308. I don't have a chrono, so I ordered some 180 and 200 gr. round nose, gas checked, lino type cast bullets to try with reduced loads of H4895 (these CB's are rated for up to 2300 fps). I also have some Benchmark and Varget around I could use as well. Any starting load suggestions??

On a reloading note .. do cast bullets seat the same as jacketed bullets? Is there anything outside the norm I need to know when I load theses big boys up? Do I HAVE to crimp? .. I would prefer not to!!

thanks in advance!

Jeff

:)

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CB posted this 21 November 2007

Jeff,

You don't have to crimp CBs, unless they be fed from a magazine. Load length for CBs is to load them as far out as you can to touch in the throat and load.............Dan

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DINOSORE posted this 21 November 2007

OK Dan .. seat the bullet touching the lands. Will my sizer die open up the case mouth enough to put in a .310” cb without any problems? Does chamfering the inside edge to a bevel help with this?

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CB posted this 21 November 2007

Most likely not.. The good news is I read you had a Lee Collet die?? If you get the cone and mandrel for a 303 british and put that in place of the standard pieces in that die you will have something that should work well for you. I used that for 2 years before I moved up to a neck bushing sizer die. You want to size the neck to around .308 so you have a bit of neck tension. Standard dies size down to about .306, a bit much for what you want to do. You want about .002 of neck tension.

Yes you definately want to chamfer the inside edge! And don't worry about crimping it for a bolt action gun.

I think my savage model 12 did best using 4895 at around 28.5 grains at about 1800 fps. It could pound them right in there and had a nice low recoil, made the gun easy to control.

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DINOSORE posted this 21 November 2007

Actually Jeff .. My Redding die is a bushing die! What size do I need then? I can't remember how the bushings are numbered .. For my LR precision bullets, I just fired off a round and measured the neck casing, then dropped it by .002. I will have to find out which Redding bushing equals .308

I also found some plated cast bullets that are cheap, but come in 150 gr. and a max of 1750 FPS. The 4895 comes in close to that, but if I need to go a bit more to be accurate, I am exceeding the safe limit. What you have suggested will work great for the CB's I ordered from Montana Bullet works.

What load and powder can you suggest for the 150 gr. plated CB that will bring my in under 1750 fps?

I guess I need to find a good cast bullet load manual .. Is the Lee manual the one to get initially?

I always chamfer Jeff .. I just thought that if I did it more that the bevel would enable me to load the .310 dia. cb's

What is the best way for a newbie to determine if the barrel is leading up?

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CB posted this 21 November 2007

For the plated bullets I would drop down to a bit faster powder like benchmark or H322 and drop the charge down to around 23 gr for a starter.

If you are leading, when you push a brush or a patch down the barrel ( I advise taking one to the range with you), hold a piece of white paper in front of the barrel and if it is leading, you should see a telltale sign in the form of lead flakes on the paper. Or lead streaks on the patch would indicate the same.

The Lee manual is an exceptional book for CB shooters, there is most likely more info for loads in that one book than in most any other.

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CB posted this 22 November 2007

DINOSORE wrote: Actually Jeff .. My Redding die is a bushing die! What size do I need then? I can't remember how the bushings are numbered .. For my LR precision bullets, I just fired off a round and measured the neck casing, then dropped it by .002. I will have to find out which Redding bushing equals .308

 

The bushings are measured in .001 increments, examples for the 30 cal would be .330, .331 .332, ect. To find the size you need mic a few loaded round necks and subtract .002. from the smallest diameter. You'll probably end up needing a bushing in the mid to high 330s for the .308 with a .310 bullet depending on brass maker. A gas checked lino bullet isn't going to be squeezed down loading it with the die you have so the number you come up after miking the loaded rounds necks with will be good to use for ordering your bushing.

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DINOSORE posted this 22 November 2007

Thanks a ton guys! .. Pat .. would I be better off buying a different seater die JUST for my cb's and plated cb's?? What do you suggest?

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CB posted this 22 November 2007

That would depend on your available amount of time and patience to readjust the die from one bullet to the other...

If I were to get one, it would be a Lee, affordable and simple to use..

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DINOSORE posted this 22 November 2007

Would a Lee case expanding die work for this application?

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CB posted this 22 November 2007

DINOSORE wrote: Thanks a ton guys! .. Pat .. would I be better off buying a different seater die JUST for my cb's and plated cb's?? What do you suggest?

My first suggestion if the gun's only going to be used for paper work would be to seat the bullet as deep as possible with finger pressure alone and then let the throat be the final seater when you chamber it if it'll work, which it should since the neck tension will be light, and secondly just use the seater you have. No sense buying things you don't need and the bushings are cheaper than dies.

My only question about Lee dies, and it just might be my experience with them, is that mine seem to run tighter than Lyman and RCBS so the seater might be a little tight for a .310 bullet without turning the necks. I don't know if they're all like this or just the ones I have.

Like I said there's no sense buying things you don't need so try the things you have before spending any dough on things you don't.

Pat

 

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DINOSORE posted this 22 November 2007

The gun is for paper and a little varmint hunting at close range Pat .. 100 yards and under. I was thinking that I could just use what I have (standard RCBS dies) and bell the mouth with a Lee expander die. They are $12 .. I can handle that! Bushings are more than that up here and difficult to get without ordering from the US.

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CB posted this 22 November 2007

DINOSORE wrote: The gun is for paper and a little varmint hunting at close range Pat .. 100 yards and under. I was thinking that I could just use what I have (standard RCBS dies) and bell the mouth with a Lee expander die. They are $12 .. I can handle that! Bushings are more than that up here and difficult to get without ordering from the US. See what happens but it's a shame not to put that Redding die to use. Wilson and Russ Hayden are out west and the Wilson steel bushing is about 11 bucks US, don't know about shipping out of the country. If you get a bushing a couple thousandths under loaded diameter you can do away with the expander die because you should be able to start the bullet by hand.

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DINOSORE posted this 22 November 2007

and that won't shave the bullet Pat? I just put a call into my supplier up here to see what he has for bushings. The reason the cost is more is because I use the Ti nitride ones! I can't readily get the lee expander either .. I will get a bushing as you suggest.

:)

Now how about giving me a couple starting loads to try with the plated cb's (150 gr.) until I get my Lee manual! I have lots of Benchmark and H4895. I just need to keep the velocity under 1750 fps

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CB posted this 22 November 2007

4895 - 24.0 gr Benchmark - 20.0 gr. These will get youin the ballpark...

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DINOSORE posted this 22 November 2007

Great! .. thanks Jeff. How can you tell if you are pushing the limits of a plated cb??

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CB posted this 22 November 2007

Not sure, never shot a plated one... I can imagine it should be a bit tougher than a regular cast bullet. Maybe see some copper fouling, maybe a bit of lead on the patches. Take the 4895 up to about 28 and see what happens, that should be around 2000 fps..

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CB posted this 22 November 2007

DINOSORE wrote: and that won't shave the bullet Pat? I just put a call into my supplier up here to see what he has for bushings. The reason the cost is more is because I use the Ti nitride ones! I can't readily get the lee expander either .. I will get a bushing as you suggest.

It shouldn't if you chamfer the inside of the case mouth. The gas check will be acting like an expander anyway. Steel bushings will work fine and save some cash you can put towards a mould.

Like Jeff I don't know a thing about plated bullets but have some 38s I've never used. To me they just don't look right and seem like they'd be a copper fouling nightmare.

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Mike H posted this 23 November 2007

Dinosore, After champhering the necks, I like to give mine a polish with steel wool.Just get a wad of steel wool and push the case-neck into it, hold it firmly around the neck, and rotate the case.Seems to smooth the chatter marks of the champhering tool. I also have a RCBS neck expander. As long as you are carefull seating bullets, you should be able to seat without it. Better in my opion to start with what you have, and work up to more gear later, as you get more experience. A good neck flaring tool is a tapered punch, such as a nail punch. On another forum one member reccommended a pair of needle-nose pliers. They are also good. I started casting over 40 years ago, to save money. You can, as long as you keep it simple.

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DINOSORE posted this 23 November 2007

Thanks for the help Mike .. a couple extra tools are good to have. I don't mind spending a little money to make things faster or easier. The expander die is probably a really good idea. The only other thing is that these 150 gr. plated cb's might be pretty short due to the fact that they are 30-30 bullets (.308) .. is a short OAL going to be an issue?

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Mike H posted this 25 November 2007

Cannot see 150 grain bullets being too short, I have more trouble with bullets being too long.Actually not the bullet being long, but the throat being short, sometimes resulting in the bullet base protruding back into the body of the case. As I see it, this has not been a problem, apart from magazine feeding of loaded rounds, where recoil causes the projectile to push deeper into the cartridge case. To overcome this, I use a Lee Factory-Crimp die. Seat the bullet to a suitable depth, then crimp into the bullet, you don`t need a specific crimp groove on the bullet. I would be wary of the plated bullets.

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DINOSORE posted this 30 November 2007

Thanks Mike .. i am going to try the plated bullets. They appear to be of good quality. I am not going to load them into the mag .. just fire them off one at a time. I just bought a Lee crimp die for my .223 autoloader.

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Vagabond posted this 03 January 2009

Hi Gang, I'm a new member and new to bullet casting. Would 16grs. of 2400 be a good starting load for shooting cast 160gr. bullets w/gas checks? I'm looking for 1800 fps. Oh, did I mention this is for a .308 Win. bolt action rifle. Any load data I could get would be great.

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CB posted this 03 January 2009

Vagabond. I think for a 160gr cb you'd be closer starting out with 14gr of 2400 for just under 1,800fps. Maybe the Ed Harris favorite Red Dot powder at 11-12 would work also. Unique may get you close to 1,700fps with 9-10gr................Dan

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big boar posted this 03 January 2009

Dinosore, just in case you need some Lee stuff up here, Higginson Powders has a full line of their product, very good prices and are great to deal with. 1-613-632-9300

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