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Thread: Ishapore .308 Survey

  1. #1
    Boolit Master

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    Ishapore .308 Survey

    Didn't want to derail RogerDat's thread...

    My 7.62 Ishapore seems to have a very fat chamber. Headpsace is OK, but the brass is swelling laterally to the point that it won't even drop into the chamber of a Mo's screw-together headspace gauge.

    This has me thinking that the brass is going to get worked so much in the sizing/shooting cycle that there's little point in reloading for this rifle, and I should use it strictly for disposal of the steel, Berdan, or heavily-crimped primer ammo that sometimes comes my way.

    Anybody else run into this?
    WWJMBD?

    In the Land of Oz, we cast with wheel weight and 2% Tin, Man.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    Just try neck sizing your brass and only shoot it in that rifle.
    I have had to do that with lots of rifles , especially my 303 Lee Enfield.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master RU shooter's Avatar
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    Yeah mine had a rather chubby chamber too as Lags said neck size only is the key .
    If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Agree. Either neck size or just back your FL sizer out a little to catch most of the neck and some of the body.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    I've a bunch of RA 7.62x51 nato brass that supposedly had been fired in a machine gun. the emptys just fall out of the chamber.I'll try necksizing first.All I have is some Hornady 147 boatails that will get first crack. No barn burners. Probably start with 40.0 grs IMR 4895 and a Winchester LR primer. That day will have to wait as most local ranges are closed due to the chinese virus. Frank

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master
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    I had a basket case junker Ishapor that would not shoot for beans. After all my various ladder tests, I'd shorten the barrel to increase stiffness, thinking that would aid in accuracy. (Pistol scope mounted in the rear sight fixture.). Long and the short of it I come up with he following:
    1)--311041 sized @.310, OAL - 2.480, 32.0 grs. 4198. Still could use a little tweaking, but it's a worker as is.

    2)--180 gr. Speer Grand Slam, OAL 2.800, 37.3 grs. 3031. Very accurate in mine.

    Going to experiment w/ 180 gr. RN's and expect somewhere in the same range to find a good combo.

    AS always, these are safe in my gun. I've never seen yours so start low, use good judgement and stay safe.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    I had a thread on here about an Ishapore with a bulged barrel right under the rear sight base, and someone referred me to Gun Parts Corp. having new barrel assemblies. I bought one. Might be worth a try.
    "You will wantonly strike a hornet's nest which extends from mountains to ocean, and legions, now quiet, will swarm out and sting us to death. It is unnecessary; it puts us in the wrong; it is fatal." Robert Toombs, Democrat of Georgia, warning of the results of the imminent attack of the Confederacy upon Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, 1861

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bigslug View Post
    Didn't want to derail RogerDat's thread...

    My 7.62 Ishapore seems to have a very fat chamber. Headpsace is OK, but the brass is swelling laterally to the point that it won't even drop into the chamber of a Mo's screw-together headspace gauge.

    This has me thinking that the brass is going to get worked so much in the sizing/shooting cycle that there's little point in reloading for this rifle, and I should use it strictly for disposal of the steel, Berdan, or heavily-crimped primer ammo that sometimes comes my way.

    Anybody else run into this?
    Bigslug,

    I have far too many .303 and .308 Enfields and reload for all successfully. Neck size the brass for each Individual rifle and Label reloads Specifically. Let Each rifle "tell" you when you have resized the brass enough by backing off the resizing die. Size just enough until you get a slight crunch fit.

    People who follow the nonsense instruction for most dies that says "turn the sizer down to the shell holder and go another half turn" will be buying much brass! I let ALL my rifles "tell" me when I have resized enough. I have a .303 MkIII that needs 1.5 turns back OFF on the resizer. Her brass gets 10 or 12 reloads before the primer pockets become too loose. Label all reloads to Each Rifle and use your money for Components rather than New Brass.

    Adam
    Last edited by Adam Helmer; 03-28-2020 at 02:48 PM.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master

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    I think, ultimately, this may end in a quest for a new barrel. The swollen cases seem to present another problem - feeding from the magazine. So this beast wants something at least closer to factory spec cartridges than a neck size will allow for. Also a bit sticky on extraction when it gets hot, so it's sadly not been the mad minute machine I was hoping for.
    WWJMBD?

    In the Land of Oz, we cast with wheel weight and 2% Tin, Man.

  10. #10
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Good luck. The Ishapor is a reliable workhorse and worth the effort. Although I hate the expense, I'm always glad I get a new barrel, stock, - whatever - to fix what somebody else has done to make a problem. Some of my best shooters are somebody else's cast off.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check