308 military brass

[Mrkdiver]

I've got a rock chucker press do you think that will be sufficient

Yes, I have thousands of pieces of LC brass, a lot came from M60, shot a lot of it myself lol, some M14. I use a Dillon 550 with RCBS SB dies or just regular 308 dies. Lube it good on a lube pad and push it in. Use a Hornady primer pocket reamer, on Amazon for 5-6$, chucked in a electric drill to remove crimp. Fast easy, should be drama free, if you want it to be.

 

[mikepos]

I've resized hundreds of IVI and LC cases without issue in a Hornady LnL, never had a stuck case. Wet tumbled, sprayed with One Shot, pockets swaged with RCBS swager. I do know none of it was from full auto. Only problem I had was when swaging, photo a couple months after the incident

 

[capona]

And don't forget to clear out the crimp in primer pocket.

 

[Wrenches]

Like others above have said, I have thousands of rounds of 7.62 X 51 brass from many different manufactures both foreign and domestic. I resize in Redding FL die with Imperial sizing die wax, and have never stuck a case in my die. I do not use SB dies and they are not necessary in my opinion. Stuck cases in SB dies come into my shop all the time and I remove them with a shop made stuck case remover.

 

[Valek]

I've got a rock chucker press do you think that will be sufficient

I use my ancient Rock Chucker press and it does the job fine. It does take a bit more pull. I see that some are using a small base die; I haven't tried that. My only .308 is a bolt action so never gave a small base die a thought. Would appreciate commentary on why to use a small base die for a bolt action rifle.

 

[Frank Kalisz]

Clean thoroughly
Anneal
Use any good FL die with imperial sizing wax
Rockchucker or any other heavy duty press is perfect - expect to use lot of force for initial sizing.
no need for small base die
Be prepared to trim a lot off the brass (like 20-30thou).
swage the primer pocket crimp
Neck turning is helpful as with any brass
Work your loads up separately for each headstamp and year

 

[GUNNNN]

I use my ancient Rock Chucker press and it does the job fine. It does take a bit more pull. I see that some are using a small base die; I haven't tried that. My only .308 is a bolt action so never gave a small base die a thought. Would appreciate commentary on why to use a small base die for a bolt action rifle.

Small base is for AR 10 or other semi auto

 

[30calyooper]

I usually run 7.62 military brass through a small base die. Some of the brass you are having trouble with may have been fired in an M-60 or M-240. The brass I have that was fired in machine guns takes some muscle and a liberal dose of lubricant to resize.

If it is really hard I pull it and trash it rather than have it get stuck in the die.

Good luck!

Amen to this! I use a lot of surplus brass for both 7.62 and 5.56 and believe that using the small-base die for full-length sizing (at least the first time after I get the brass) is the only way to go...and someone mentioned Imperial sizing wax. As quoted above, it takes a fair amount of both lube and muscle the first time. Afterward, as long as you keep your brass sorted by the weapon it was fired in, a standard sizing die every other trip seems sufficient (neck sizing after the shots in between.)

Of course if you are running loads up to max pressure you might need to full-length size them every time, and certainly should consider it if you are loading for more than one rifle at a time. My AR-10 seems to handle everything, but my bolt guns are a bit more finicky - in fact I have one that just does not like mil-spec brass period. It's a tack driver with civvy 308 brass but forget it if mil-spec brass is involved.

 

[BHP9]

With MG brass, doing it in 3 stages would be good.

Stage 1 - Lots of case lube (not on the neck) and run through a regular sizing die and decapping.

Stage 2 - Lube and run through a small base die.

Stage 3 - Swag/ream primer pocket.

I only use the small base die now for my regular reloading.

 

[Wrenches]

Small base is for AR 10 or other semi auto

I own a Rock River LAR-8, and two Navy Trophy Rifles, Plus Six Navy conversion M1's all in 7.62 X 51. Never needed a SB die for any reason. In my opinion SB die over work the brass and shorten it's life. Same goes for all the AR-15 the wife and I own. I do not own any SB dies nor have I ever needed one.

 

[Dogface369]

Would appreciate commentary on why to use a small base die for a bolt action rifle.

As others have said it is usually because of the chamber of the gun you are reloading for. Bolt guns were seldom a problem. I reloaded for a few guys who had Remington 760 pumps and 742 autoloaders. I always used the small base die for those in both 30/06 and 308 to prevent any chambering problems while in the field or hunting. Not all but some of those guns have tight chambers and the pump / auto action does not provide have enough mechanical advantage to lock the bolt.

Most of the 7.62 brass I have now was fired in rifles. Years ago most had been fired in MGs. The small base die brought it back closer to the original dimensions. After that I used the regular die or neck sized depending on the rifle I was loading for.

 

[Laelkhunter]

I use a Lee depriming tool, it's just a steel rod with a hardened pin in it. You use a hammer to punch the primer out. As others have said, make sure you have extra decapping pins if you try to deprime with your sizing die. And Imperial Sizing wax is the best I have found for jobs like this.

And I forgot to add: remember to remove the primer crimp before you attempt to reprime the case.

 

[Frank Kalisz]

Don't waste your money on a small base die unless you're into AR stuff. Small base dies will just result in looser fit in your chamber and accuracy will suffer

 

[Wrenches]

I deprime my GI 7.62 brass with a Redding decapping die. Next I tumble it with liquid and stainless steel pins to remove range grim. I don't want to scratch the inside of my dies. Then I swage the primer pockets with a Dillon Super Swage. Then I resize with a Redding Full Length sizing dies using Imperial sizing die wax. Back in the liquid with SS pins to remove the lubricant. Primer pockets are now totally clean. I then let them dry for three days before loading or storing for later. Never have I had any problems with chambering in any of my dozens of 7.62 auto loaders.