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Pay a little more and cry once. .338 lapua, 300 WM, and 308.

S

Scorpion King

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Dec 21, 2012
103
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43
United States CA
Looking to get into reloading so I can spend more money on cheap hookers, and expensive fishing tackle and rifles. I know absolutely squat about reloading but just ordered 3 books from amazon, I'll memorize these over the next 8 days I spend on a boat and no doubt reference them weekly til' the next edition comes out. I tend to be a bit OCD and always spend a shit ton of money when I get into something. It seems like with most things, getting the best equipment from the start helps with the learning curve and allows you to hit the ground running. In long range shooting that seems to be really expensive hahaha.



I want to reload mostly for my AE 308 and AW 300 win mag. My favorite factory ammo has been the Federal Gold Medal 168 and 175 grain for the 308 and 190 grain for the 300WM. Rifles don't seem to like the Hornady Match stuff. I also am building a 338 lapua with the following components and want to work out a good 1 mile projectile. If you were building a kit from scratch for the above mentioned rifles what would be in it?

Brass:

-(1000) rounds plus 308 once fired federal brass.
-(400) rounds of Lapua Brass 338 lapua mag.
-(400) rounds of Hornady Brass 300 win mag once fired brass.

Projectiles:

-(300) sierra match king projectiles 338 lapua(300 grain)
-(500) sierra match king projectiles 308 (175 grain)
-(200) sierra match king projectiles 308 (168 grain)
-(400) sierra match king projectiles 308 (200 grain)


Powders:
VIHTAVUORI N550 - 3 LB. for 168 and 175 sierra match kings (308)
IMR 7828 - 8 LBS. for 300 grain sierra match kings (338 lapua mag)
IMR 4831 - 6 LBS. for 200 grain sierra match kings (300 win mag)

Books:

Lydman Reloading Handbook
Sierra Reloading Handbook
ABC's of Reloading
Hornady Reloading Handbook


Equipment I have:

RCBS chargemaster 1500 powder scale and dispenser
RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master Single stage press kit
RCBS Vibratory Case Tumbler 110 Volt
RCBS Collet Bullet Puller RCBS Shellholder #3 (308 Winchester, 30-06 Springfield, 45 ACP)
RCBS Neck Sizer Die Bushing 330 Diameter Steel
RCBS Neck Sizer Die Bushing 338 Diameter Steel
RCBS Formula 1 Brass Cleaning Media Walnut Hull 5 lb
RCBS Trim Mate Case Prep Center 110 Volt
RCBS Collet Bullet Puller Collet 30 Caliber (308 Diameter)
RCBS Collet Bullet Puller Collet 33 Caliber (338 Diameter)
RCBS Gold Medal Match Series Bushing 2-Die Neck Sizer Set 308 Winchester
RCBS Gold Medal Match Series Bushing 2-Die Neck Sizer Set 338 Lapua Magnum
RCBS Extended Shellholder #14 (338 Lapua Magnum, 45-70 Government, 460 Weatherby Magnum)
Imperial Case Sizing Wax 2 oz
Frankford Arsenal Dial Caliper 6" Stainless Steel
Redding Competition Shellholder Set #1 (308 Winchester, 30-06 Springfield, 45 ACP)
Redding Type S Match Bushing 2-Die Set 308 Winchester
Redding Neck Sizer Die Bushing 334 Diameter Titanium Nitride
Redding Neck Sizer Die Bushing 336 Diameter Titanium Nitride
 
Last edited:
ScorpionKing,

Just out of curiosity, which books did you buy to use as a reference? Some pretty decent ones, a fair number of not so good, and even a goodly collection of downright bad ones on the market.
 
My two favorite books are ABC of Reloading and the Lyman Reloading Handbook.

I recommend a single stage press to get started. It will usable for the rest of your time reloading. You can get started with a progressive press, but I find I still need a single stage for some operations.

Lee is good and inexpensive. RCBS, Hornady, and Lyman are good.

For progressives, I am a Dillon fan.

For a tumbler, I have a Lyman Turbo tumbler that has been running strong for some 30 years. If you want to use SS media, you need a rotary tumbler. Harbor Freight has one that is reasonably cheap and I have heard good reports.

For a scale, I am a big fan of a beam scale. For doing multiple loads it is faster than a digital as you just line up the pointer, no thinking is this number higher or lower than I want.
 
Those are all good ones! I usually recommend the Lyman. There is a ton of info on here about equipment. Try the search function and get ready to do some reading! Anyone here can give you a list that will work fine, and they will all be different! Lightman
 
Good start on the books, and they'll get you started on the reloading process just fine. I'll agree with Pinecone about the ABC's of Reloading, too. The original First Edition by Dean Grennell was a great starting point, and I'm sure they've continued in that same vein. I'd definately go single stage here, at least until you've got a few thousand rounds under your belt.
 
Forster COAX press=$275+-
RCBS Chargemaster=$300
Thumlers 15lb Wet Tumbler=$200(with media)
Forster Ultra 2 die sets are about $100 a piece so call it $200 for 308 and 300 win mag

You will then spend the rest of your money on odds and ends(bullet puller, calipers, loading blocks, ammo boxes, powder funnels, etc...).

If I was getting setup for precision today, thats what I would do. Well thats what I did do and its a FANTASTIC setup. A couple of my reloading buddies have come and checked out my setup and all are ready to completely redo their reloading setups.

To be fair I also have a Dillon 550b which will most likely now be relegated to high volume pistol reloading.
 
Suggest you start with a single stage, get the dies, Chargemaster right off the bat, don't waste money on any other powder charger. There are some great threads up in the sticky section that have more info than all the books you will buy. Still buy the books for reference but read the sticky's first.
 
I started with this stuff. I also signed up for a reloading class at my local gun club. Any thoughts?

RCBS chargemaster 1500 powder scale and dispenser
RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Master Single stage press kit
RCBS Vibratory Case Tumbler 110 Volt
RCBS Collet Bullet Puller RCBS Shellholder #3 (308 Winchester, 30-06 Springfield, 45 ACP)
RCBS Neck Sizer Die Bushing 330 Diameter Steel
RCBS Neck Sizer Die Bushing 338 Diameter Steel
RCBS Formula 1 Brass Cleaning Media Walnut Hull 5 lb
RCBS Trim Mate Case Prep Center 110 Volt
RCBS Collet Bullet Puller Collet 30 Caliber (308 Diameter)
RCBS Collet Bullet Puller Collet 33 Caliber (338 Diameter)
RCBS Gold Medal Match Series Bushing 2-Die Neck Sizer Set 308 Winchester
RCBS Gold Medal Match Series Bushing 2-Die Neck Sizer Set 338 Lapua Magnum
RCBS Extended Shellholder #14 (338 Lapua Magnum, 45-70 Government, 460 Weatherby Magnum)

got in right under $1300.00

added

Imperial Case Sizing Wax 2 oz
Frankford Arsenal Dial Caliper 6" Stainless Steel
Redding Competition Shellholder Set #1 (308 Winchester, 30-06 Springfield, 45 ACP)
Redding Type S Match Bushing 2-Die Set 308 Winchester
Redding Neck Sizer Die Bushing 334 Diameter Titanium Nitride
Redding Neck Sizer Die Bushing 336 Diameter Titanium Nitride
 
Last edited:
Forster Coax
Rcbs Chargemaster
Redding dies with competition seater
Grizzly Maple Work Bench-T10011 48" Maple Workbench
Reloading Mentor
Coffee for reloading mentor
 
Unless they have stretched the Coax in the past 40 years, it is too short in the opening for convenient loading of the .338 Lapua. I'd go with the Redding Ultramag for clearance.
 
Are you sure on your neck bushing sizes? Have you measured any loaded rounds and done the math so you end up with some neck tension?
 
Neck turner, flash hole deburring tool, primer pocket reamer, bullet comparator, OAL gage, meplat trimmer, imperial sizing wax, beam scale to check against digital scale.
 
former naval person said:
Unless they have stretched the Coax in the past 40 years, it is too short in the opening for convenient loading of the .338 Lapua. I'd go with the Redding Ultramag for clearance.
Click to expand...

it certainly works, just not the most convenient/ fastest - speed reloading for 338 lap is usually not the goal though


As far as the original post - buying once for reloading is a fantasy - if you continue in the hobby there is no way to tell from the onset what will be the right tool for the job years down the road - also starting to reload with 338 lap is not a good plan, this has been fully covered in the past
 
cutting my teeth on 308. We will see how it goes then I'll get into my Lapua stuff. I don't want to lose any digits or best case scenario ruin expensive components.
 
Recalculate your bushing sizes

cega said:
Are you sure on your neck bushing sizes? Have you measured any loaded rounds and done the math so you end up with some neck tension?
Click to expand...

I was going to ask the same thing. I am guessing Scorpion King took the diameter of his projectiles (.308 and .300) and added .030 to get these bushing sizes. Couple problems with that are 1. .300 Win Mag is still a .308 diameter projectile so the .330 will seriously overwork the brass and give way too much neck tension. 2. While some brass is .015 in neck thickness, a .338 caliber bushing will give you pretty much no neck tension. The .330 bushing will give you too much. If your brass has only .014 neck thickness your .338 bushing will be worthless.

I would recommend a .336 and a .334 for a bolt gun in .308 caliber so you can experiment a little and also account for thin brass; maybe a .332 for a semi-auto .308 if you get one as they need a little more tension.

To figure bushing size: take the neck thickness and multiply it by 2 (it is usually .014-.015) and add to that the diameter of your caliber (.308 in this case) and then subtract what you want for tension (.001-.003 is usually good for a bolt gun, .005 for a semi-auto.)

Looks like: (.015x2)=.030 .030 + .308 = .338 .338 - .002 = .336
 
McCrazy said:
I was going to ask the same thing. I am guessing Scorpion King took the diameter of his projectiles (.308 and .300) and added .030 to get these bushing sizes. Couple problems with that are 1. .300 Win Mag is still a .308 diameter projectile so the .330 will seriously overwork the brass and give way too much neck tension. 2. While some brass is .015 in neck thickness, a .338 caliber bushing will give you pretty much no neck tension. The .330 bushing will give you too much. If your brass has only .014 neck thickness your .338 bushing will be worthless.

I would recommend a .336 and a .334 for a bolt gun in .308 caliber so you can experiment a little and also account for thin brass; maybe a .332 for a semi-auto .308 if you get one as they need a little more tension.

To figure bushing size: take the neck thickness and multiply it by 2 (it is usually .014-.015) and add to that the diameter of your caliber (.308 in this case) and then subtract what you want for tension (.001-.003 is usually good for a bolt gun, .005 for a semi-auto.)

Looks like: (.015x2)=.030 .030 + .308 = .338 .338 - .002 = .336
Click to expand...

y\Yeah I figured that out after I picked them up. Never hurts having extra supplies though. I'll be doing some more shopping once the first wave of equipment gets here.

couple more newb questions. I am going with the Sierra Match King 168 and 175 recipe out of the Sierra book for my first set of load development. I don't see what primers I should be using? This has got to be a pretty popular round to replicate what have you guys used? Powder I am using is AA2520. Brass is once fired Federal Gold medal. And projectile is 175 gr sieera match king?
 
Scorpion King,

The Federal 210M is the default standard that Sierra uses for just about everything that requires a non-magnum Large Rifle primer. Start there, assuming you can find some. I thought we listed that in the manuals, but I don't have one handy right now.
 
I would rather have Forster than those Reddings for less money. Just my opinion.

The first set has a crimp die. If you REALLY want a crimp die get a LEE FCD for 13 bucks. I have crimp dies for every caliber I load for, but I dont use them too often except for if I am loading for semi auto's.
 
Not a need but sure helps:
Headspace gauge (Hornady or sinclair)
Comparator set (Hornady or sinclair)
concentricity gauge
 
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