reducing 8mm karabiner to 303

[nelsonted1]

I am trying to reduce a 230 grain 8mm Karabiner (special order lee mold from Midsouth) to .314. When I am able to get a complete reduced bullet my military Enfield shoots them like a champ. Problem is I broke a lesser RCBS press sizing them down- it takes all I have almost to push them through. I get a lot of rejects with torn off sections.

The question is how much can I soften the wheel wieghts by adding lead but still get decent boolits. I have reduced bullets directly out of the mold and they are softer but the problem is not having done bullets when I need them.

Thank you


Ted

[220swiftfn]

With the understanding of "Ya gotta do what ya gotta do" and *without* getting into the whole "You know you should be using mold X , right?" Have you tried sizing in steps? You're trying to size 'em down what, about .012? Might work better if you're only squeezing them .006 at a time (2 steps) or even .004 (3 steps).

Out of curiosity, how much longer are they after sizing them down?


Dan

[PAT303]

I size down 324366's to .317 to shoot in my 303's,I wouldn't size to .314 as that would be too small.I use olive oil and lard as a lube,it works better than any lube I have ever tried.The 303 shells look just like Mk7 military rounds when loaded with 366 boolits and outshoot all my 303 molds loaded over 12grns of trail Boss. Pat

[303Guy]

I size down 324366's to .317 to shoot in my 303's ...That sounds about right. The nose does need to be able to enter the throat, though. However, if your gun is shootin' 'em good then no need to fix it. It does seem it would be easier to size them to .317 - reduces wear and tear on the case necks too. My push through die has a rather gentle taper but even so, with harder alloys it takes some force. I use STP as lube. I wonder how that would compare with olive oil. Campher oil is pretty slippery.

Does the loaded 230 grainer fit the magazine? (Mine don't. I use 208gr HN to fit the mag).

[45 2.1]

Here is what you do:
1. Get a Lee push thru 0.314" sizer.
2. Cast a fresh batch of boolits with straight WW.
3. Gascheck, lube and size those within a few hours to about
the as cast diameter.
4. Use the Lee push thru sizer to downsize them again within
a day of casting.

You may have to adjust the time some, usually you can gascheck and lube within 6 hours of casting if the lube/sizer die is at as cast diameter without distorting the boolit. The same applies to pushing it thru the Lee sizer. You do not want uneven distortion when you do this. The whole idea is to do this while the boolit is still relatively soft without distorting it.

Now, for your original question. Either have a soapy solution or case lube on your fingers and roll the as cast boolit in your fingers, put it in the Lee sizer and it will go thru rather easily and size the boolit. You may want to gas check it if the GC shank expands any. This works for age hardened boolits pretty well.

[redneckdan]

I've done quite a bit of using the right bullet for the wrong application. I've done up to .040 in one pass. I've found the best method is to size and lube to standard dimension, then size down to desired dimension. The lube will help keep the grooves from collapsing. For this stuff you really need to have push through style dies for a reloading press. You will destroy your lube sizer.

[Larry Gibson]

I've done quite a bit of using the right bullet for the wrong application. I've done up to .040 in one pass. I've found the best method is to size and lube to standard dimension, then size down to desired dimension. The lube will help keep the grooves from collapsing. For this stuff you really need to have push through style dies for a reloading press. You will destroy your lube sizer.

redneckdan's method is what I use with complete success. I size a lot of 325471, 325470's and the GB 190 gr 8mm down to .314 without any problems. I first size, GC and lube them in a .325 H die in my Lyman 450. I then push them through a .314 Lee sizerwithout any problems. Adjust the sizer in the press so the sizing comes at maximum leverage. Phot shows a 325471 and a GB 190 gr sized down to .314.

Larry Gibson

[bruce drake]

I do the same thing with LEE's 8mm 175gr and my Herters 323180 Spitzer (copy of lyman's 323366) for my 7.7 Arisaka and beater Enfield No 4.

I lube and gascheck with my Lyman 45 with a .323 die and use the LEE push-through die at
.314 to bring it to the right size for those two rifles. I can usually keep the groups to around 2 inches at 50 yards for both these rifles.

Bruce

[nelsonted1]

I had despaired of my enfield. It shot very, very well with condom bullets then when I tried cast I hitting the target sideways. I finally in desperation tried the heavy 8mm bullet and Shazaam! what a shooter. If I can get the bullets through sizer intact I have a wonderful rifle. I have a couple 91/30s I'd like to try but the sizing is scary.

I have an RCBS Rockchucker I use. The busted lesser RCBS press was my buddies.


On another note. I have a group buy from several years ago that I was hoping would be a .375 or .376 to fit my .376 Steyr. It came at .383. trying to get them through the Rockchucker is another fiesta of discouragement. I have given up on the mold and will probably sell it. It is so discouraging since I like the mold and love to shoot the rifle. Question is same as the original how do get a ginormously oversized bullet and gas check bullet through a sizer intact?

Thank you

Ted Nelson

[JeffinNZ]

As Pat says, don't be fooled into thinking you have to go down to .314 for .303 Brit. I mostly shoot .316 these days.

[autofix4u]

One of my M44s will swallow a .325 sized bullet. It has .304 lands and .315 grooves but will chamber a .325 bullet and the inside dia of a fired case neck is .3255. So I have just been loading for this rifle with 8mm boolits, and the groups were cut in half. It now shoots a good or better than any others.
I think this just proves sometimes you have to get creative.