And my .30 WCF is a .307 bore too. Most, if not all, bullets for it are .308.

When you start reloading you will be starting at the lower level of the powder charge tables in your manuals. This and watching for over pressure signs will determine when you have reached maximum powder charge. Keep in mind that when you start to see over pressure signs in a rifle you may have exceded maximum pressure a ways back. They don't show up as fast as in handgun cases. You will need to really read several times the section on what is a over pressure sign for rifles in your various manuals. Weigh every powder charge you drop in a rifle case...DON'T GUESS...

Bushmaster wrote:

Weigh every powder charge you drop in a rifle case...DON'T GUESS...

AMEN and dont think just because the last one was on the money this next one will be too!!

Pumpkinslinger wrote:

Oh!! D, I mounted my case trimmer to a short length of 2x6 board and then clamp it to the bench when I need to use it. That way it isn't cluttering the bench when not being used.

Mike,

I mounted mine to 2 pieces of aluminum angle, which are bolted together. This allows me to mount it in the small woodworkers vice that is bolted to the bench when I need it.

Mr D.
Beside the books,
You may want to invest in quickloads too.. definitely great to workout the starting points of new loads.

Also, before you make up a "live" load, you may want to practice making some "Dummy loads" with different COLs, mark them up so you can use them in the future to setup your dies with the particular projectile.

Take it easy and slowly .. it is an immensely enjoyable task

Gelan,

The Die set I have now has a "dead length" seater, so its going for the COAL regardless of what I want it to be. Lee's Full size reloading dies come with a dead length seater so there is no adjustment on the die for seating depth as far as I know.

Dimitri

If your dies are 7/8-14 thread there are shims that you can buy that would allow you to adjust OAL.

Set them up in the middle and add or subtract them for adjustment.

Skip's machine die shims- I know you can get them through Sinclair International

Now I remember why I did not buy lee's dies..


.308 cal are very popular because they have tremendous amount of projectile designs and weight to fit everyman and his dog.
Why limit yourself to the "main stream" loads only?


IM (not so educated) HO,
Fixed COAL is good only if you are using a fixed projectile design.
If you vary your projectile, you may then run into problems.

Viz.
Shorter projectiles may seat further out, thus creating larger cartridge space thus may need more powder to fill up safely, which means increases the pressure on your gun or giving all wrong velocity that make it unstable and do not deliver the required payload efficiently (*breathe* - thats a mouthful - I my became a lawyer yet )
OTOH.. longer projectiles bla bla bla bla......

I reckon you could also uses mechanic gap feelers to adjust for the depth.

I only ever really planned to load 168gr SMK's so it didn't seem like such a bad idea.

Dimitri

D, you aren't planning to hunt with that rifle? With a few exceptions match bullets are a poor choice for hunting.

I have never heard of non- adjustable seating dies. Lee or any other die manufacturer.

Dimitri...You are about to find out that even within a manufacturer that the ogive will be a bit different from batch to batch. If you really do have a non-adjustable seating stem you might consider replace that die with one that does.

Gelandangan a lawyer? Oh yeh...Like me being a doctor. Hey. That's right. I AM a Doctor [of Motors] and I have a certificate to prove it...

Mike,

Reason I want to get into reloading is cause I want to do Service Rifle (different from the American way) up here. Hence I'd like cheaper decently accurate loads.

The box of hunting ammunition for comparing my "match" loads to the hunting to make a comparative drop chart and a box another box of Factory Remington will last me a long while.

Bushy (Mike Sr),

Lee's Seating dies are called "dead length bullet seating die" because I thought they were fixed, however I was looking through Lee's site and I found a vedio that shows how to adjust seating depth.

Dimitri

Well, that certificate definitely looks better than my "Certified Hammer Wielder" certificate for demolition

Where did it go now? hmm..

Gelan,

You know a mere 8 months after Bushy got that certificate Perfect Circle was bought out by Dana.

Dimitri

I believe that they still do or did until recently anyways make piston rings under that name. I have used them many times over the years in rebuilds.

"D" I agree, get a new adjustable die.

1895,

Dana still uses that brand name as far as I know, production in the original plant ended apparently in 1995. I was 8 at the time.

As for the die, its adjustable, I just messed up on what "dead lenght" meant I guess.

Dimitri