Sizing rifle brass ?

[RP]

Can i get some thoughts on taking some LC brass from start to finish for a round to hunt with. This is what i have done so what did i miss or over do.
weighted cases culled out over and unders for a even batch
Deprimed brass and removed crimp
wet tumbled with SS pins
loaded with trailboss and cast bullet to fire form
deprimed wet tumbled again
neck sized only and trimmed then walnut tumbled
primed and loaded 5 for testing or working up a load.
Have not deburred flash hole or annealed necks
yes i know i clean the brass alot but i did not want any problems with dirt oil and shiny brass is happy brass lol
I checked to see where the bullet engauges the lands and am starting at the bottom of the load data, What i can not remember off the top of my head is what percent do you decrease your load for military brass since the volume for the power is less due to the thickness of the brass.

Do i need to ream the necks do i need to anneal ? and i have been told fire forming with trail boss was a waste of my time but it was fun.

[M-Tecs]

For 308 or 30/06 the rule of thumb is 10%, however, my experience that is way too much. 2% to 4% is more realistic. I have worked with 308 military verse commercial a lot more. To keep the same velocity I normal see a 0.5 grain to 1.5 grain powder difference.

For 5.56 reduction is not required as LC is the same as the more common commercial brass.

Neck reaming or annealing is not required.

[runfiverun]

what are you reducing from?
if the recipe calls for Remington brass then weigh a couple of those cases.
then reduce by the weight difference percentage.

[243winxb]

Hunting ammo gets full length sized.

[atr]

I have always used a 5% reduction when using GI brass. Never had a problem even with maximum loads in either 30-06 or .308
I DO de-burr the flash hole.
I do NOT anneal or ream the neck.
I like to neck size only after fire forming and this works well in my Mauser actions, but for lever actions I full length size.

[RP]

I am using these loads in a bolt gun that is why i fired formed them. I loaded up some moving up a grain each time. Looks like the bullet i am trying is not going to be the one for me best i could do was 1.5 inch group with 5 shots at 100 yards. To reach the confront zone I am looking I like to have at .5 inch but will settle around .75 inch. My thinking when I am reaching on out this will add up to several inches going to try out a different weight bullet going from 165gr to some 150s I have on hand. Any advice is welcome.

[M-Tecs]

For fine tuning accuracy loads I work up in 0.2 grain increments. How confident are that you and/or your rifle are capable of 1/2" MOA? I don't know what range you are planning to hunt but after three hundred yards drop and wind drift will be your greatest challenges.

308 or 30/06? What powder and what bullets?

[country gent]

Is this lake city or lake city match brass? match brass may have a cannelure around the case head to id it along with headstamp. One thing I d with lafe city brass is check and sort neck wall thickness and concentricity. Neck reaming or turning isnt nessecary, deburing flash hole can make a diffrence as can uniforming primer pockets. A good deburring and chamber on the case mouth helps alot. Lake city brass is annealed when made so 1 lloading should still be good. I would size and fireform the dont push the shoulder back more than .001-.002 when sizing. IMR 4895, varget, 4064 were popular in 308 with High power shooters and bullets from 150 grains to 175 grains were the norm also. A good primer Federals were very popular along with the Standard rem large rifle match primers. Play wioth neck tension and crimp as this can affect standard deviation. What twist barrel do you have on the rifle 1-10 and 1-12 were used alot on factory rifles. For a cast bullet try something in around 170 grn to 180 grns. A jacketed 150-175. I have found with jacket the 307 tends to perform better at mid upper ends of loads. WOrk up and see what your rifle does letting it tell you what it wants.

[EDG]

Do you know that all of this neck sized brass will chamber in your rifle?
You can start out with the loads slightly reduced according to your manual but it is more important to avoid going to the max loads if you are using heavier brass.

If your brass is about the same weight as commercial brass then there will be little difference.

[RP]

I am trying a 168gr serria match king hpbt necking sizing only and imr 8202 XBR i have to double check on the number i have just gotten that powder for this rifle and its a new number to me but i am sure that is close. The data i got on that powder and bullet starts out at 39grs to 43grs FPS only changes aound 200 fps so i chose to move up a grain at a time. And this is a 308 which i have gotten groups with lighter bullets 5 shots in 1/2 inch but was thinking the heavier bullets would be less effected by any wind drift. The 168s will hold 1/2 at 100 with my SW I bolt 30/06 My sons 308 likes the 168 as well as the 150s which he is a better shot then I am heck both my boys are better shooters then me but thats another story.

[M-Tecs]

Not a big fan of 168gr Sierra Match King for hunting. Only shot two deer with them. First one performance was perfect. Second deer first shot went between the ribs and appeared not to expand at all. Second shot was quartering towards me and hit the scapula on the way in. It was very explosive. My preference is the Nosler 150 or 165 Ballistic Tip for deer.

http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=692707

http://www.shootingtimes.com/ammo/am...ullets_200909/

https://www.shootersforum.com/rifles...g-hunting.html

http://www.accurateshooter.com/gear-...s/bulletguide/

[fryboy]

annealing may help as it'd keep the neck tension more uniform ,tumbling brass or even age can harden it ,perhaps not as much as sizing and shooting it but ...
If you're going for hopefully the best accuracy I'd deburr the flash holes as well
Since every barrel/ chamber will have it's preference my serious work ups in 308 and smaller cases is 1/2 a grain steps ,if I find a node that looks promising I'll refine it, first by seating depth adjustments then in smaller charge variations,sometimes even primers can make a bit of difference,have fun !

[JWT]

I would not use that match bullet for hunting. The jacket is thinner that a hunting bullet and will give very inconsistent results. I have had very good lick with the 165gr Sierra or the 165gr Barnes. Nothing walks away from them.

[trails4u]

I would not use that match bullet for hunting. The jacket is thinner that a hunting bullet and will give very inconsistent results. I have had very good lick with the 165gr Sierra or the 165gr Barnes. Nothing walks away from them.

This ^^^^^^^

I love the Sierras in both 150 and 165. Never had one walk away....ever. And as accurate as anything else I've loaded for my hunting guns.

My guess is you've done enough for a hunting load. Seeking .5 MOA for a hunting load is admirable.....I won't lie, I do the same, because I want to know what a rifle is capable of...but is it necessary to milk every .005 out of it?? Probably not...but again, I'm guilty! Keeping it in perspective, a MOA load at 600 yds. is still MOD. (Minute of Deer).

[RP]

The Match Kings are what i have sitting on the shelf so that is why i am using them to find a good load I understand i may have to tweak them when changing to the game kings. I have had great results with rem core locks for years then i do not know what happened but the groups went away. Maybe a bad batch of bullets since then i have tried some hornady and game kings the match kings i have on hand i picked up in a deal.

What i am picking up so far is i need to consider annealing the brass because of age 1975 1974 and tumbling may have hardened the brass and deburring the flash holes surely will not hurt.
Maybe .05 for a three hole group not so much on a 5 hole group is being to picky at 100 yards but for some reason if i can not get a tight group my staying power in the stand is very weak if i even go. I strongly do not like wounding a deer hate to track one I really like it when they hit the dirt on contact.

My BIL fails to practice with his only deer rifle or invest in anything to help him shoot better. I seen deer he has shot holes in them from head to tail and alot of calls to help him track a deer to find the blood trail dries up. It is crazy to me to others call it bad luck for missing a deer he has came over to my house and handed me 8 7 mag cases and 6 30/30s I asked if he has been practicing. The answer was no I was shooting at deer ran out of bullets for his 7 mag went home got his sons 30/30 and went back and got a deer. If my shooting was that bad i stay home.
I have even went out of my way to get dies bullets and cases to reload some 7 mags for him and been talking to him about it since the end of deer season he agrees he needs to practice but so far he has not had the time. But I will bet as soon as season rolls around he will be over here in a panic wanting to reload some rounds for him to hunt with.
Thanks for the imput guys but it never hurts to get some feed back on any project everyone has been very helpful.

[nicholst55]

I would not use that match bullet for hunting. The jacket is thinner that a hunting bullet and will give very inconsistent results. I have had very good lick with the 165gr Sierra or the 165gr Barnes. Nothing walks away from them.

I've seen a lot of deer wounded with the Sierra 168 BTHP bullet, requiring 3-4 shots to finish them. Some will argue with this, but personally I cannot condone hunting deer with these bullets except for a survival situation.

[ulav8r]

Going by the "book" maximum and not paying attention to working up a load is not a very smart thing to do. Work up to a maximum load, don't start at maximum. Let your gun and components recommend maximum.

[RP]

Just a update i think i found the sweet spot with this powder and bullet 40 grains on the dot. 5 Shot groups first came in at .75 second 5 came in at the same third which i shot and chronograph came in just a tad over .05 and were 2800 fps. Loading up some to see what i can do at longer ranges thinking 200 to 400 which for me is long range shooting lol.