Im a novice and need direction

[bensell9014]

Hey guys,
My name is Ben and I am brand spankin new to reloading. Im having some trouble. I am using a hornady lock n Load system, once fired lapua .308 brass with hornandy .308 dies. I have so far deprimed/ full resize, washed in hypersonic cleaner, trimmed, champered and deburred, and then placed new primers in the brass. This is where I need help. I have measured out my powder and fulled the brass with 40.0 grains of SW tactile rifle powder. I have followed youtube videos the entire time. I have previous reloaded using my buddies already set up stuff that worked without a problem. I have since moved across the country and acquired my own reloading equipment. I am trying to set up my seating Die and I am following instruction to fully raise case without a bullet and then put on seating dye until you get resistance and then back off one turn. I put the bullet on the powder filled brass and then bullet just falls straight on top of the powder, It wont seat properly. I am using 165-A-Max 30 caliber (.308) bullets. What am I doing wrong? Clearly the neck sizing is off. I even put some brass through the sizing die again. I feel the slightest resistance when putting the bullet in the neck of the case but when putting it through the seating dye it go all the way down. Please help diagnose this issue. I am trying to learn to reload so i can practice to work my way up to PRS (yes I know .308 isnt what I should be shooting in PRS... I will get a different caliber in the future.). Please help. I am very confused. Did i buy the wrong bullets? What am I doing wrong? it seems to me its the neck sizing but I dont know.

 

[cat-mechanic]

Do you have a caliper or micrometer? Measure the outside diameter of the bullets. Make sure they are 308 and not undersized. If they are 308, then look at your size die. Make sure it is what it is supposed to be.

 

[bensell9014]

Yes I do have calipers. The outside diameter is flucates between round 0.342-.344 and book says .343. The dies are .308 I just double checked. Diameter of bullet is .308.

 

[b6graham]

what dies? bushing dies without a bushing?

does the bullet fall into a fired(and unsized) case the same way?

 

[cat-mechanic]

Think we found your problem. My 308 sized has an OD of .333. I know that will fluctuate a little, and I only full length size, not just neck.

 

[b6graham]

Think we found your problem. My 308 sized has an OD of .333. I know that will fluctuate a little, and I only full length size, not just neck.

book brass likely SUPER thick compared to what OP is using. 17-18 thou is pretty thick necks

 

[cat-mechanic]

Just measured some of my fired brass. It's all in the .343 and .344 range.

 

[cat-mechanic]

Just pulled out some of my loaded Lapua brass like OP says he is using. Loaded OD at the case neck is .3375 - .338.

Ben, your neck is not sized. Do like b6graham said. check your die. Is there a bushing in it.

 

[diggler1833]

Yep, my bet is that the neck was not resized during the sizing process.

 

[cas6969]

(you shouldn't clean them that fast)

 

[AllenOne1]

First build a cartridge without any powder or primer in it. This allows you to check all of your dimensions without worrying about anything getting out of hand.

If you are feeling resistance when you put a bullet on the case, can't just push it into the case, I suspect that your seating die is set so deep that it is just pushing the bullet all the way through the neck.

If you have a loaded factory round use it to adjust your seating die. Just back the die out a long way raise the bullet into the die and then screw the die down until it just touches the bullet.

 

[Mike Casselton]

what dies? bushing dies without a bushing?

does the bullet fall into a fired(and unsized) case the same way?

That's immediately what I thought.
Now I gotta go back up and read the rest of the thread to see if I'm correct.
Wish me luck

 

[lash]

@bensell9014 needs to let us know which HornyDaddy dies he has. What does it say on the box? Description and number.

 

[b6graham]

also...aside from not sizing necks at all. that sizing die setup is meh at best for proper shoulder bump

 

[lash]

While he should probably look for a better sizing die, for now he can solve his pressing problem with a neck sizing die or even a collet die (low budget option).

308 Winchester Collet Neck Sizing Die

308 Winchester Collet Neck Sizing Die by LEE RELOADING PRODUCTSLee 308 Collet Die only. Sizes just the neck and needs no lubrication,

www.midsouthshooterssupply.com

It sounds to me that he’s finding out the same way many of us did. No mentor or class, just research and trying things. It’s a healthy approach and will serve him well as he’s asking questions and learning by doing.

 

[straightshooter1]

Yes I do have calipers. The outside diameter is flucates between round 0.342-.344 and book says .343. The dies are .308 I just double checked. Diameter of bullet is .308.

Like other have said, it sounds to me like there's just no sizing being done . . . base on those numbers. I would guess you have a bushing sizing die and no bushing installed. .342 - .344 OD is pretty much what one would see on a fired case before sizing. The outside diameter after sizing should be somewhere around .334.

FYI: Keep in mind the neck thickness can vary by as much as .002 and so a variation from .342 - 3.44 isn't really so unusual.

 

[fpgt72]

First build a cartridge without any powder or primer in it. This allows you to check all of your dimensions without worrying about anything getting out of hand.

If you are feeling resistance when you put a bullet on the case, can't just push it into the case, I suspect that your seating die is set so deep that it is just pushing the bullet all the way through the neck.

If you have a loaded factory round use it to adjust your seating die. Just back the die out a long way raise the bullet into the die and then screw the die down until it just touches the bullet.

That is also a good idea (the dummy cartridge) for working on click no bang type drills. If it is an automatic and if you have a couple mags mix in a dummy here and there and mix up the mags so you don't know where that dummy is. I generally use my "test cartridge" for something the pin gets to hit. Snap caps are a good idea as well, but I have had good luck with just using a case that was fired with just a bullet added so it looks the same.