308 military brass

[gator378]

Looking for some advice on how is the best way to size lake city or other military brass Ive got rcbs full length dies ,Lyman full length, and I've ordered a lee collet full length dies I'm having trouble getting any of this to go all the way in the sizing die I'm hoping the collet die will help it 7.62 x51mm thank you in advance for your help

I use Redding dies with all the M80 brass I use. No problems full length sizing. I have to make sure I lube them fully. I use Hornady one shot lube and have no problems

 

[30calyooper]

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.

Yes sir, I have run into a some 7.62 that worked out better by following the 3-step process described by BHP9. I prefer to start by decapping and thoroughly cleaning in a sonic cleaner first though. It does get a bit tedious but if you also re-anneal the necks nd ream the flash holes between the trips through the regular and then small-based dies, your brass should last awhile and give you reasonably consistent performance. Of course it goes without saying that you'll need to trim as well, but I draw the line at turning necks on mil-spec brass. It can make it more usable in many hunting rifles, but I've never found civvy 308 brass so hard to come by that I would take this extra step. If you do you might as well weight-sort the brass too and that's hardly worth it - unless its true match-grade brass like the IMI Match. No point trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear!

 

[mikepos]

how did you do this again ???

how did you do this again ???

I was doing hundreds of cases and going fast. With the rcbs swagger you have to hold the case up in the die when raising the press piston... it's faster to use a finger under the case and pull it out just as the piston comes up with the pocket swagger in it... got a good rhythm going until I didn't get my finger out of the way before throwing the press lever to drive the swager pin into the primer pocket

 

[DUSTY NOGGIN]

I was doing hundreds of cases and going fast. With the rcbs swagger you have to hold the case up in the die when raising the press piston... it's faster to use a finger under the case and pull it out just as the piston comes up with the pocket swagger in it... got a good rhythm going until I didn't get my finger out of the way before throwing the press lever to drive the swager pin into the primer

ouch . took a chunk with iit

 

[warboar21]

Yes sir. And WHEN you stick one. Remove the de-capping pin, and pound the case out from the top with a punch. Light taps with a dead blow hammer. It's the only thing that ever worked for me. That's why I stress tumbling over night to remove all grit. Not room for friction error.

Next time you get a stuck case try throwing the die in the freezer overnight. The brass will shrink more from the steel and you can usually pull it out with little effort. Doesn't work on nickel plated brass though.

 

[GUNNNN]

I got one stuck yesterday even with the imperial case lube didn't have a stuck case remover so I took a half inch drive socket and placed it over the case I took a 1/4 " by 20 tap after drilling the primer pocket out ran a 3" all thread bolt with a heavy washer and nut it backed it right out

 

[gator378]

ouch . took a chunk with iit

Dillion swagger

 

[30calyooper]

Yep, Dillon swager is the way to go. Can be a little tricky to get just enough swaging done with some of the foreign mil-spec (without ending up with pockets that allow the primer to flatten out so much that you cannot reliably see pressure issues) but it really does save time - and no such thing as a stuck case or a bent rim.

 

[gator378]

I use Redding dies with all the M80 brass I use. No problems full length sizing. I have to make sure I lube them fully. I use Hornady one shot lube and have no problems

Also use Redding dies with all M80 brass. No problems and I also use Hornady one shot.

 

[gator378]

Yes sir, I have run into a some 7.62 that worked out better by following the 3-step process described by BHP9. I prefer to start by decapping and thoroughly cleaning in a sonic cleaner first though. It does get a bit tedious but if you also re-anneal the necks nd ream the flash holes between the trips through the regular and then small-based dies, your brass should last awhile and give you reasonably consistent performance. Of course it goes without saying that you'll need to trim as well, but I draw the line at turning necks on mil-spec brass. It can make it more usable in many hunting rifles, but I've never found civvy 308 brass so hard to come by that I would take this extra step. If you do you might as well weight-sort the brass too and that's hardly worth it - unless its true match-grade brass like the IMI Match. No point trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear!

I just full length resize trim it load it and shoot it. No problems so far.

 

[30calyooper]

I just full length resize trim it load it and shoot it. No problems so far.

Glad it works out! Are you using the mil-spec for blasters or for hunting ammo?

By re-annealing I have been able to keep on re-using some older surplus brass - you know you have to when firing the cheap 40-yr-old surplus starts yielding cracked necks. Doesn't always work out for the bolt action hunting hardware, but it definitely feeds the CMP-eligible launchers for practice sessions.

 

[Justice1327]

When I get a hold of LC 308 brass I do the following.
Tumble the hell out of it. It's dirtier inside, than you think.
Anneal it prior to re-sizing.
Lube the hell out of it, especially inside the case neck.
Ensure your dies are clean inside, no grit, old lube. I use brake cleaner and scrub it clean after disassembly.
I've never used a small based sizing die. I reload for M1A, and have never needed to use one.
LC brass is thicker, resulting in smaller case capacity, work up loads accordingly.
I have had to run the ram twice, back to back, to get the case to resize and fit into a gauge.
I use a 45 degree chamfer tool in my dewalt drill to remove primer pocket crimp.

I would swear you copied my checklist until I saw the M1A.

 

[Justice1327]

I've heard good things about several auto lubes and Imperial wax. But, when I picked up my RCBS gear about 40 years ago, I also got some RCBS Case Lube and I'm still using it. Maybe not the latest and the best, and it's slow, but it still works for me.

Your case lube is 40 yrs old? IMHO, I have never found a case lube that works better than Imp wax or Lanolin spray.