New to reloading...how full should 308 case be????

[JDB]

Guys,

I am new to reloading....as in today is my first day. I have done allot of research. i am loading 43.5grain Varget in .308 shooting a 168grain bullet.

I noticed that the 43.5grain Varget fills up the case almost to the neck.....is this normal??

 

[MinorDamage]

Re: New to reloading...how full should 308 case be????

It's fine. I have some loads with 155 scenars that come up to the neck even with a drop tube. Definitely a healthy crunch when seating.

Josh

 

[jimbob_walker]

Re: New to reloading...how full should 308 case be????

i use 42.5 in my 308. your fine. do you have any load books. your not even at the high side. i dont have my books in front of me but i think the recommended max varget is around 46.

 

[JDB]

Re: New to reloading...how full should 308 case be????

Yea, I am loading a little light until I get more comfortable with it. I have some load books, but none of them reference what the load should look like visually in the case using Varget.

I didn't expect it to fill the case

 

[clos9009]

Re: New to reloading...how full should 308 case be????

what case are you using? that will make a difference as I found out last night testing some loads.

 

[JDB]

Re: New to reloading...how full should 308 case be????

Remington brass

 

[gcoulsey]

Re: New to reloading...how full should 308 case be????

Crunching powder is pretty common, but it's good to err on the side of caution,
Good luck with your first loads

 

[Headgear]

Re: New to reloading...how full should 308 case be????

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I am new to reloading....as in today is my first day. I have done allot of research. i am loading 43.5grain Varget in .308 shooting a 168grain bullet.

I noticed that the 43.5grain Varget fills up the case almost to the neck.....is this normal??
</div></div>

Welcome to another addiction! If you like to research and learn, reloading can keep you busy for a life time.

My rifle likes 45 grains of Varget. I am shooting 168 Amax's at an average of 2730 fps and the cases are Lapua. 45 fills them just to the bottom of the neck. You will want to be careful as you heat them up. Cases have different volumes and pressures can get high. I was using Win brass at 45.8 and it was fine then I switched to Lapua and started popping primers at 45.5 grains.

Another thing you may want to watch out for if you are concerned about pressure is your seating depth. Read this,

http://www.6mmbr.com/catalog/item/1433308/977259.htm

and consider getting an OAL gauge and a comparator to be sure of the distance your bullet is from the lands when a round is chambered. If they are too long, touching or jammed into the rifling, pressures will be higher and can become dangerous in a hurry. I would guess that you are loading to the book OAL of 2.800 which is probably fine but all chambers are different and so are all bullet ogive's. It's good to get a gauge and be sure. For example, there is a big difference in seating depths with the same seating die adjustment between 168 SMK's and Amax's. They are shaped differently and the seating die contacts them in different places causing different seating depths. Get a gauge and find your exact chamber depth and then you will know how much room there is between the ogive and the lands. This is something that you are more than likely going to want to play with anyway when tweaking your loads to your rifles liking.

Sorry if I got off the subject and got a little long winded but I love reloading and shooting and being safe while doing both of them has to be #1

Good luck!

 

[JDB]

Re: New to reloading...how full should 308 case be????

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Headgear</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I am new to reloading....as in today is my first day. I have done allot of research. i am loading 43.5grain Varget in .308 shooting a 168grain bullet.

I noticed that the 43.5grain Varget fills up the case almost to the neck.....is this normal??
</div></div>

Welcome to another addiction! If you like to research and learn, reloading can keep you busy for a life time.

My rifle likes 45 grains of Varget. I am shooting 168 Amax's at an average of 2730 fps and the cases are Lapua. 45 fills them just to the bottom of the neck. You will want to be careful as you heat them up. Cases have different volumes and pressures can get high. I was using Win brass at 45.8 and it was fine then I switched to Lapua and started popping primers at 45.5 grains.

Another thing you may want to watch out for if you are concerned about pressure is your seating depth. Read this,

http://www.6mmbr.com/catalog/item/1433308/977259.htm

and consider getting an OAL gauge and a comparator to be sure of the distance your bullet is from the lands when a round is chambered. If they are too long, touching or jammed into the rifling, pressures will be higher and can become dangerous in a hurry. I would guess that you are loading to the book OAL of 2.800 which is probably fine but all chambers are different and so are all bullet ogive's. It's good to get a gauge and be sure. For example, there is a big difference in seating depths with the same seating die adjustment between 168 SMK's and Amax's. They are shaped differently and the seating die contacts them in different places causing different seating depths. Get a gauge and find your exact chamber depth and then you will know how much room there is between the ogive and the lands. This is something that you are more than likely going to want to play with anyway when tweaking your loads to your rifles liking.

Sorry if I got off the subject and got a little long winded but I love reloading and shooting and being safe while doing both of them has to be #1

Good luck!
</div></div>

Thanks for the advice! I did buy calipers. I trimmed my brass to 2.005" and my OAL for the TTSX's and A-Maxes I loaded are 2.810. Barnes suggested 2.810 in their information and I noticed alot of guys loading the A-Maxes at 2.810.

Do you think I will have any pressure using by seating them at 2.810??