Help - First time reloader

scrun63

Well-Known Member
been puzzling over this for a few days and then I thought of the untapped knowledge on here and thought someone must know where i'm going wrong.

I've got the standard Lee kit and have read the Lee Modern Reloading 2nd ed (LMR)through a few times. I thought I was happy with the procedure. HOWEVER..........

When I come to weighing with the Lee scales or throwing a load with the Lee volume dispenser I end up with a case full up to the shoulder with powder ( yes i referred to the book before I used the term shoulder). This doesn't look right to me. I'm weighing 46 grain and throwing a 3.33 charge both of which give identical measures, give or take .02 grain.

I'm loading a .308 Norma cartridge with a 150g Nosler BT bullet. The LMR says start at 46grain and work up to 50g for a max charge with the Hodgdon H4831 powder i'm using. It does say that 50g is a compressed charge.

After looking at the charge I decided to try it in a case that had not been neck resized so i could allow the bullet to fall into the case. Just resting the bullet on the charge means that it is proud of a factory loaded Norma Nosler .308 round by a few mill.

Can anyone give me any advice whether this is correct ? Should this situation arise? If not what am I doing wrong ?

Also is anyone in the Midlands area willing to provide me with some practical experience ? I can bring my kit over to you and you can show me where i'm being stupid :doh:. Then I can buy you a pint or two:drool:

Thanks in advance

Andrew
 
On the face of it, that sounds OK. You're throwing a less than max. charge and getting a less than full case. The extra 4 grains sounds like it would take you up to the base of the bulle, plus a bit of compression. However, when you say "the shoulder", do you mean the bottom of the shoulder where the case body ends, or the top of the shoulder where the neck begins?
 
Your using a very slow powder for the .308. H4895, Varget, BLC-2 and even H335 are probably better suited to 150 grain bullets in the .308 case. I used to use Reloader 15 in mine ;).

Oh yes the slower the powder the more you need and yes I would expect a slow fairly bulky powder like H4831 to fill up the case. I use H4831 in the .270 and 25-06 which are larger capacity cases.
 
Oh yes the slower the powder the more you need and yes I would expect a slow fairly bulky powder like H4831 to fill up the case. I use H4831 in the .270 and 25-06 which are larger capacity cases.

This is a good point. I used 4831SC in my .25-06. It is slow for the .308. There is not one load in my Hornady and Nosler manuals for .308 using the H4831 powder in any bullet weight. They must feel there is better suited to this calibre.

Is the powder designated as SC (short cut), because if it's not the longer grains of powder may allow more 'space' around them and thus take up some of the volume of the case causing it to appear full to the neck.
 
Your using a very slow powder for the .308. H4895, Varget, BLC-2 and even H335 are probably better suited to 150 grain bullets in the .308 case. I used to use Reloader 15 in mine ;).

Oh yes the slower the powder the more you need and yes I would expect a slow fairly bulky powder like H4831 to fill up the case. I use H4831 in the .270 and 25-06 which are larger capacity cases.

If he's shooting the 308 Norma (Magnum) then he is fine with his powder choice. But...I just reread the post... since he said 50 grains is the MAX, then it must be a 308 on a Norma case! I have used 4831 in my 308 but with heavier bullets in the 180, 190 grain range. Worked fine.~Muir
 
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On the face of it, that sounds OK. You're throwing a less than max. charge and getting a less than full case. The extra 4 grains sounds like it would take you up to the base of the bulle, plus a bit of compression. However, when you say "the shoulder", do you mean the bottom of the shoulder where the case body ends, or the top of the shoulder where the neck begins?

Hiya mac

Thanks for the reply

At 46g the charge is just at the bottom of the shoulder ie furthest from the neck and mouth. 50g takes it half way up the neck ! Surely thats too much. I cant see how it can be compressed to fit the bullet in ???

After a little more digging around last night I found that the useful case capacity for a .308 case is 3.43 cc and the 46g charge equates to a volume of 33.3 cc. Do you know a way of working out the volume of the 50g charge ?

Cheers

Andrew
 
Your using a very slow powder for the .308. H4895, Varget, BLC-2 and even H335 are probably better suited to 150 grain bullets in the .308 case. I used to use Reloader 15 in mine ;).

Oh yes the slower the powder the more you need and yes I would expect a slow fairly bulky powder like H4831 to fill up the case. I use H4831 in the .270 and 25-06 which are larger capacity cases.


Cheers Brithunter

I was advised on H4832 because it would load all the calibres I wanted to load ie 308, 7mm Rem Mag and .303. I was told that would make it easier to start off with and then to change if I wasn't getting good results.

So i suspect that 4831 will be good for the 7mm, but not so good for the others. I'll bear your recommendations in mind when I move onto other powders - thanks

Re "filling up the case" tho, should the max 50g charge really sit half way up the neck ? With the bullet loose, sitting on the charge, it's projecting a further 6mm than the factory loaded cartridge and 5mm more than the 46g load

ATB

Andrew
 
Muir,

I did not considerer the .308 Norma Magum as 50 grains of H4831 is way too light fort hat case. Just looked and 70 grains is the start load for the .308 Norma magnum and a 150 grain bullet with that powder. Anyway I still think that the OP would be better off with a faster burning powder. something in the Varget or H4895 realm.
 
This is a good point. I used 4831SC in my .25-06. It is slow for the .308. There is not one load in my Hornady and Nosler manuals for .308 using the H4831 powder in any bullet weight. They must feel there is better suited to this calibre.

Is the powder designated as SC (short cut), because if it's not the longer grains of powder may allow more 'space' around them and thus take up some of the volume of the case causing it to appear full to the neck.

Morning Jamross

Nope, the powder is stated as being, plain, everyday bogstandard, H4831. But i can see the logic in your query. Would compressing the load make much difference in the actual volume in the case ?

I have done some more digging around and found that the useful case capacity for a .308 case is 3.43 cc and the 46g charge equates to a volume of 33.3 cc. Do you know a way of working out the volume of the 50g charge ?

Also I've now filled a case with 50g of charge. the bullet, resting on the charge, sits some 6mm higher than the factory cartridge. However the difference between the factory and 46g load is only 1mm, which doesnt sound so bad, or does it
?

Thanks for the reply

Andrew
 
Cheers Brithunter

I was advised on H4832 because it would load all the calibres I wanted to load ie 308, 7mm Rem Mag and .303. I was told that would make it easier to start off with and then to change if I wasn't getting good results.

So i suspect that 4831 will be good for the 7mm, but not so good for the others. I'll bear your recommendations in mind when I move onto other powders - thanks

Re "filling up the case" tho, should the max 50g charge really sit half way up the neck ? With the bullet loose, sitting on the charge, it's projecting a further 6mm than the factory loaded cartridge and 5mm more than the 46g load

ATB

Andrew

Hmmm unless you using an Improved 303 case then that also does better with faster burning powders. 4350 is about as slow as you want to go with the std case according tot eh reloading manuals. I will suggest here that you get a couple of them and compare what they suggest. Now the most accurate load I found that works in a lot of .303's is 38.4 grains of H4895 behind the Hornady 180 grn RNSP bullet. of course that was developed before the stupidity of the section five bullet :rolleyes: however it was found to shot very well and give tight grouping from a lot of .303 Le Enfield's. If the rifle has stock sights it will shoot high left compared to the std MkV11 ball. Hmmm or was it High right? Cannot remember now which rifle shot it where as I also tested it in a Century arms sporterised P-14 with new barrel and the twist is opposite direction( i.e right hand twist) compared to the Enfield's.

Anyway the medium burning powders give better velocity in the medium sized .308 Win and .303 case size.


Oh you can never have too many reloading manuals ;) :D

I'll bear your recommendations in mind when I move onto other powders - thanks

as you will not get that many loads for a 1lb tub witht eh 7mm RM then may i suggest you keep that H4831 fort hat cartridge and obtain a more suitable powder for the .308 Win and .303. it will actually work out cheaper in the long run as you will get more loads from the tub this way :D.
 
If he's shooting the 308 Norma (Magnum) then he is fine with his powder choice. But...I just reread the post... since he said 50 grains is the MAX, then it must be a 308 on a Norma case! I have used 4831 in my 308 but with heavier bullets in the 180, 190 grain range. Worked fine.~Muir


Hi Muir

yeap, bog standard Norma .308 case. If you wouldnt mind having a look at my replies to the other responses, i'd appreciate your veiws too.

Re your using H4831 for 180, 190g bullets in .308 - how many grains / what volume were you using ?

Thanks for your comments so far

Andrew
 
There is not one load in my Hornady and Nosler manuals for .308 using the H4831 powder in any bullet weight. They must feel there is better suited to this calibre.

forgot to mention - the load was from the Lee Modern Reloading 2nd edition
 
[



as you will not get that many loads for a 1lb tub witht eh 7mm RM then may i suggest you keep that H4831 fort hat cartridge and obtain a more suitable powder for the .308 Win and .303. it will actually work out cheaper in the long run as you will get more loads from the tub this way :D.[/QUOTE]


Brithunter

Good point mate - thinking out of the box and all that crap :D - now where did i put those 7mm dies :rolleyes:
 
whilst Richard lees' book is a mine of information on Handloading the actual data appears to just be taken from other sources. I don't think the Lee's did any of the development work at all. For load data I much prefer other sources but that just a personal thing. I still morn the fact that Hodgdons stopped their load manuals and in book form. I never brought the loose leaf one they did and perhaps should have. The new Hodgdons Annual reloader magazine is not easy to get here in the UK it seems. A nice chap in the US sent one one and I had no data for Varget at all. i still prefer books though.
 
Scrun63
i have not used Hodgdon H4831 in my .308 win ...but when i go the .308 i searched on the net and found loads of good results for Varget powder

i started at 45gr and increased in 0.5gr amounts ,i made up three rounds of each up to 47gr

using a 150gr bullet got an acceptable 3/4" @ 100m with 46.5gr of varget (46gr gave 3/4") i believe if i get the awful trigger on the A bolt to the 2lbs mark i could get 1/2" groups
 
Hiya griffshrek and Rangefinder

Thanks for the advice about good powders. But I'd already bought some H335 on Brithunters recommendation. However i'll squirrel away your recommnedations and if i dont get on with H335 i'll try yours too

Cheers

Andrew
 
Just to round this off here's the reply from Lee Reloading

Thank you for choosing Lee Precision. Your letter threw me off a bit as I was looking up load data for the 308 Norma Magnum - but you are referring to the 308 Winchester cartridge....
What you describe in your letter sounds appropriate for the cartridge/powder combination you have chosen. A simple way to gauge load density is to compare the charge volume with the useful case capacity listed on the line drawing. In this example, you can see that the start charge volume is 3.33 cc's, and the useful case capacity for the 308 Winchester cartridge is 3.43 cc's, a difference of one tenth of a cubic centimeter. Very nearly a case full of powder.

It seems I managed to confuse everyone with Norma/Norma Magnum :doh:

Thanks to all for their help and advice

Andrew
 
Just to round this off here's the reply from Lee Reloading

Thank you for choosing Lee Precision. Your letter threw me off a bit as I was looking up load data for the 308 Norma Magnum - but you are referring to the 308 Winchester cartridge....
What you describe in your letter sounds appropriate for the cartridge/powder combination you have chosen. A simple way to gauge load density is to compare the charge volume with the useful case capacity listed on the line drawing. In this example, you can see that the start charge volume is 3.33 cc's, and the useful case capacity for the 308 Winchester cartridge is 3.43 cc's, a difference of one tenth of a cubic centimeter. Very nearly a case full of powder.

It seems I managed to confuse everyone with Norma/Norma Magnum :doh:

Thanks to all for their help and advice

Andrew


Hmmm what I actually said was:-

Your using a very slow powder for the .308. H4895, Varget, BLC-2 and even H335 are probably better suited to 150 grain bullets in the .308 case. I used to use Reloader 15 in mine

Even H335................................... BLC-2 would have been my choice of ball powders but H335 will work. I use it in the the 30-30 with Hornady 130 grain bullets. So far I have not found that it requires anything but std primers despite the warnings often seen about ball powders being hard to ignite with std primers. BLC-2 is also a ball powder an again I used std primers. We await the reports eagerly :D
 
Hi Muir

yeap, bog standard Norma .308 case. If you wouldnt mind having a look at my replies to the other responses, i'd appreciate your veiws too.

Re your using H4831 for 180, 190g bullets in .308 - how many grains / what volume were you using ?

Thanks for your comments so far

Andrew

A compressed load: around 48 grains depending on the exact bullet weight..~Muir
 
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