308 FL sizer

[Life Member]

Hi
I've been reloading pistol rounds for quite a while on a Dillon SDB. Just bought a bolt action 308 and want to load for it. Can you raise a FL sizer way up and use it for a neck sizer? I'll be loading on a Dillon 450. Also are the large pistol primer magazine and primer cup what you use for large rifle primers?
Thank You

[dbosman]

If you're reloading for just one gun, sizing may not be necessary.
Try some dummy rounds (no powder) to see if neck tension is sufficient to hold the projectile. You may find you need to bell the case mouth just tiny bit to seat your boolit. Or not.

[1hole]

Necking with an FL die rarely works well on cases like the .308 with nearly straight side walls. Nor does it usually matter, necking is vastly over rated, just properly adjust your FL die so the shoulders aren't set back too much and use that.

Rile and pistol primers are the same size in diameter. (Ditto small.)

[Life Member]

So, it's possible to get away with no resizing of the case at all, if I'm only shooting the ammo out of one gun? The case mouth does not expand after being fired and need to be sized down to hold the bullet? Thanks for the primer info. Glad to hear I don't need to buy more press parts.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

There used to be a reloading manual that came out about the same time as the ABC's of reloading that described in detail how to use a full length die to set the shoulder back a couple thousandths. You'd need chamber measuring tools and a case gauge tool wise and keep good records. You wouldn't want to use those loads in another rifle.

If you have other .308 rifles, I wouldn't suggest shoulder bumping, as the chance over time to use those cartridges in another gun increases.

[Larry Gibson]

The .308W case has minimal taper and attempting to NS with a FL die most often is impractical. By the time you've moved the die up enough to not squeeze the sides in, which bumps the shoulder forward preventing bolt closure, there isn't sufficient, if any, neck tension to properly hold the bullet. A standard NS die will work fine as will the Lee Collet die. Best of all is the Redding Bushing die with which, using 3 - 4 bushings .001" apart, you can tailor size the neck for proper neck tension on j and cast bullets w/o over sizing and then expanding back up.

Larry Gibson

[Alvarez Kelly]

... I'll be loading on a Dillon 450. Also are the large pistol primer magazine and primer cup what you use for large rifle primers?
Thank You

Yes. Large primer parts are good for either large rifle OR large pistol primers.

[Love Life]

Just use a properly adjusted die, and FL size your brass. I did an experiment with LC LR brass to see how many loadings I could get on brass that was FL sized. With the dies adjusted to bump the shoulder back .003 I got 9 full power reloads before I started to get neck splits. Whether or not that translates across all 308 brass I have no idea, but with a proper annealing those cases would still be used today unless the primer pockets expanded.

Depending on the use of your rifle, FL sizing is usually more than adequate in the accuracy department, while ensuring that your ammunition will chamber every time.

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Life Member,

With bottle neck brass, always and forever size brass fired in your chamber and sized in your dies to minimum that will allow proper chambering after sizing.

This can only be found by trial and error using your gun and equipment.

I am speaking here of using standard dies such as RCBS, Hornady, Lyman etc. and not those from Redding such as Larry G. refers to.

Standard Full Length sizing dies will do fine in almost all situations, providing you properly set those dies up to match your chamber.

Yes, I have used Neck Sizing dies and have never found them to be an advantage over properly adjusted Full Length dies.

Part of this issue is the manufacturing tolerance we all must live and deal with.

I have addressed this issue so many times that I finally made up a document which I will gladly send to anyone who requests it and sends me a P.M. with their personal "E" address.

Optimum adjustment for one set of dies and one chamber may or may not work optimally for another rifle's chamber, again because of the manufacturing tolerances within which the products are made.

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot