Reloading necked cartridges for the first time

[xkon]

New to reloading rifle/necked cartridges. I have however loaded tens of thousands of straight walled pistol rounds on my dillon square deal b reloading presses. Looking at starting to reload rifle rounds for 223 to get the basics down and then move over to working up some 308 rounds for some benchrest shooting.

Coming from an auto indexing progressive press with proprietary dies to a single stage press with a few additional steps, what items am I missing to get started? I have a micrometer, scale, tumbler that I use for the handgun rounds that obviously can be used for this. For new equipment, currently have:

-Forester Coax Single stage press
-RCBS Chargemaster Supreme powder dispenser
-Forester Bench Rest Full Length Sizing die 223
-Forester Bench Rest Seater die 223
-Reloading trays

I am assuming a trimmer will be needed as well? A crimp die? Anything else that I may still be needing and any recommendations?

 

[Vaquero]

Trimmer
You're covered on everything else.

 

[Huntsman52]

Charging funnel if you do not have one. Cheap and makes it easy to put the powder in the primed case. Yes on the crimp die if you are shooting semi auto. Bolt gun does not really require a crimp for bench shooting. Also a neck expander die will be needed.

 

[Havok1]

You will need to lube your brass. whatever type you want is up to you.

I also use a bullet comparator for .308 in my bolt gun.

 

[alternative]

Consider a case gage. Sheridan makes nice slotted ones. Lube as noted.

 

[TexMex247]

If you're getting into semi auto bottle neck rifle cartridges, do yourself a favor and buy a brass prep station now with appropriate cutters to trim brass. Your hands will thank you later. I run mine ragged prepping 308 and 223. Still a ridiculous amount of measuring but better than most fancy trimmers and as fast as your hands can move.

Also never trust online "processed" brass. I loaded several 308 rounds only to find the shoulders weren't set back correctly. Huge downer.

 

[TexMex247]

The Lee FCD is nice to have too. I used to crimp everything but noticed I wasn't getting any setback so sometimes I forgo that step. Other times I'll do it for uniform neck tension but it's not always necessary. The Lee FCD also irons out any defects in the sides of cases as well.

 

[srab]

While you certainly can prime your cases using the Co-Ax press (I did it for years), you might want to invest in a quality hand-held priming tool.

The Hornady Lock-N-Load Headspace Comparator, or a similar device from another manufacturer, will come in handy for you when setting up your dies for proper shoulder bump.

A stuck case remover kit may also come in handy at some point.

 

[srab]

If you're serious about bench rest accuracy, you'll also probably need a good concentricity gauge.

 

[xkon]

Thanks for the feedback all! Will probably have a question or two as I get started into it.

Ordered a hand primer, charge funnel, some case gauges and some lube. Still working through which trimmer to purchase but that is next on the list. Reading giraud makes a really good one. Thinking buy once, cry once on that but don't know if that's overkill.

 

[msharley]

Thanks for the feedback all! Will probably have a question or two as I get started into it.

Ordered a hand primer, charge funnel, some case gauges and some lube. Still working through which trimmer to purchase but that is next on the list. Reading giraud makes a really good one. Thinking buy once, cry once on that but don't know if that's overkill.

 

[msharley]

CH4D...

Bought CH4D trimmer when I started reloading ('78)....

Still sharp..

A plus with this type of trimmer is the trimmer "body" gives you something to hang on to whilst uniforming the flash holes & primer pockets & chamfering the necks...

No 301 Hand Case Trimmer

No 301 hand case trimmer

www.chtoolanddie.com

CH4D makes great dies and a variety of top quality tools...

Hope this helps.

 

[Lonesome Dove]

If you're serious about bench rest accuracy, you'll also probably need a good concentricity gauge.

Doesn't matter if you don't have a bench rest rifle.

 

[robertc1024]

I like the primer seater on my Co-Ax. Yes, it's slow, but it seats the primers at the same depth every time. I've got a decent hand seater, but I just use it on lower power pistol rounds. I load everything >= .357 mag on the Co-Ax.

 

[srab]

Doesn't matter if you don't have a bench rest rifle.

I don't own a bench rest rifle. But, in my experience, making sure that I'm not loading crooked ammunition has made my best shooting rifles shoot even better. YMMV.

 

[Texasjack]

Loading necked cases does require trimming and lubrication. The trimming also requires deburring and chamfering. As was recommended, a case prep station is a wonderful addition. Be careful with the lubrication - too much will cause a lot of problems, too little will wind up with a stuck case, and that's no fun. As with all reloading, develop your loads for accuracy, not for speed.

For 223 or 308, or any calibers that have military applications, the primers may be crimped in place. So you need to have a swage or a pocket trimmer to get rid of that crimp. Swaging is good because you don't lose any brass, but I've found that sometimes you've just gotta use a trimmer.

 

[Ruark]

New to reloading rifle/necked cartridges. I have however loaded tens of thousands of straight walled pistol rounds on my dillon square deal b reloading presses. Looking at starting to reload rifle rounds for 223 to get the basics down and then move over to working up some 308 rounds for some benchrest shooting.

Coming from an auto indexing progressive press with proprietary dies to a single stage press with a few additional steps, what items am I missing to get started? I have a micrometer, scale, tumbler that I use for the handgun rounds that obviously can be used for this. For new equipment, currently have:

-Forester Coax Single stage press
-RCBS Chargemaster Supreme powder dispenser
-Forester Bench Rest Full Length Sizing die 223
-Forester Bench Rest Seater die 223
-Reloading trays

I am assuming a trimmer will be needed as well?

New to reloading rifle/necked cartridges. I have however loaded tens of thousands of straight walled pistol rounds on my dillon square deal b reloading presses. Looking at starting to reload rifle rounds for 223 to get the basics down and then move over to working up some 308 rounds for some benchrest shooting.

Coming from an auto indexing progressive press with proprietary dies to a single stage press with a few additional steps, what items am I missing to get started? I have a micrometer, scale, tumbler that I use for the handgun rounds that obviously can be used for this. For new equipment, currently have:

-Forester Coax Single stage press
-RCBS Chargemaster Supreme powder dispenser
-Forester Bench Rest Full Length Sizing die 223
-Forester Bench Rest Seater die 223
-Reloading trays

I am assuming a trimmer will be needed as well? A crimp die? Anything else that I may still be needing and any recommendations?

For that 308, get a precision mic, and a primer pocket reamer. Be sure your primers, powder and cases are all from the same brand and batch.

 

[mongoose]

Once I have fireformed my .308 brass I only neck size afterwards. My rifle likes the bullet seated up against the lands.

 

[xkon]

Starting the reloading process for the 223. This is a much slower pace than I am used to lol. Was able to resize and trim a few hundred pieces of brass. About 90% of my brass is Lake City so I'm at a stand still for priming until I get a primer pocket reamer.

I have a Forster bench rest full sizing die. Anywhere from 3-15 rounds in, the decapping pin would stay stuck in the primer and fall out. Extremely frustrating. Is there a trick to this or could it be due to the crimped primer pockets being harder to remove?

Also plan on loading berrys 55 grain BT bullets with Winchester 748 powder. The Modern Reloading manual has it at 26.2gr min AND 26.2gr as the max load at 2.165oal. Lymans 50th has it as 25.0gr min and 27.8 max at 2.260oal. Anyone have any recommendation for starting? I'm thinking to do 26.0gr at 2.260oal?

 

[cycleguy2300]

I didnt get past the first two words of the thread title before snickering...

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