[Whatsinaname181]

Yeah, reloading was getting to be a real pain (mostly because of an inconsistant scale) and i have barely touched it over the last year. Well, shot my M14 this morning and remembered how much i loved that damn thing so here i go again.

Bought a wilson gauge a while back for reloading this rifle. My question is this- if my resized .308 case drops down nice and neat and is sitting flush or below the little top part of the gauge, i am good to go on sizing etc, correct?

A caviat to this- I am using winchester WLR standard large primers. This is also good to go for the M14, correct?

 

[RAMMAC]

Yeah, reloading was getting to be a real pain (mostly because of an inconsistant scale) and i have barely touched it over the last year. Well, shot my M14 this morning and remembered how much i loved that damn thing so here i go again.

Bought a wilson gauge a while back for reloading this rifle. My question is this- if my resized .308 case drops down nice and neat and is sitting flush or below the little top part of the gauge, i am good to go on sizing etc, correct?

A caviat to this- I am using winchester WLR standard large primers. This is also good to go for the M14, correct?

Yes on the cartridge fit in the Wilson Gauge.

As for the primers, I don't have a problem with them but some people claim that they are dangerously sensitive (slam fire possibility)...but then some people say the same thing about Federal primers too, the same ones that the military uses for the M118 Long Range cartridge. DI5 To be perfectly honest, the M118 LR was really developed for the M24 bolt action rifle, from what I've been told, but it is used very successfully in the DMR M14s too.

Here is my opinion, the CCI 34 was built for the military semi-auto rifles so it would probably be the most reliable in regards to not having a slam fire. But I've used WLR and Federal 210M primers almost exclusively in my 30 years of reloading my M1A rifles and have never had a slam fire. Also, the CCI 34 is equivalent to a magnum primer and that much energy isn't needed to ignite the powder in a .308 case. In fact, bench rest shooters and Palma shooters use cases that use small rifle primers rather than the usual large rifle primer because some of them feel that the larger primers produce so much energy that it tends to make the powder burn inconsistently, they like the magnum primers even less. I liked the WLR because they were fairly cheap and plentiful and they are standard grade primers, not magnums. I switched to Federal 210M because I got tighter groups.

 

[mineralman55]

Bought a wilson gauge a while back for reloading this rifle. My question is this- if my resized .308 case drops down nice and neat and is sitting flush or below the little top part of the gauge, i am good to go on sizing etc, correct?

A caviat to this- I am using winchester WLR standard large primers. This is also good to go for the M14, correct?

Yes and yes.

With the case gauge, occasionally you'll get a properly re-sized case that slightly protrudes above the edge of the gauge. Don't despair. It might be due to a burr around the rim. Either push it down (you'll hear a "click") or remove it and gently run a file around the rim to remove the burr.

I've used the WIN LR for over 20 years in the M14 and M1. Never had a problem. Loaded properly they're just fine.

 

[charlie98]

Just watch your primer seating depth... any primer seated too high has the potential to slamfire. I've used the Winchester primers as well (in fact, I still am in the AR) and have never had a problem.

To that end, along with inspecting each fired case for case head separation, I also hand prime each case, in that way I KNOW each primer is seated properly and, in the case of a loose pocket, gets set aside and marked as such.

 

[Whatsinaname181]

thanks gentlemen.

 

[hammer 1]

I hand seat all primers and run a fingertip over it to make sure its seated, Ive used the 34's, WLR, and finally settled on FED primers. I also got a RCBS Chargemaster a few years ago for powder dispensing, you can use the digital scale seperate for weighing. I also settled on all Hodgdon powders, for me, it simplifies life. Ive used a single stage press for all my rifle reloading.

 

[Whatsinaname181]

I hand seat all primers and run a fingertip over it to make sure its seated, Ive used the 34's, WLR, and finally settled on FED primers. I also got a RCBS Chargemaster a few years ago for powder dispensing, you can use the digital scale seperate for weighing. I also settled on all Hodgdon powders, for me, it simplifies life. Ive used a single stage press for all my rifle reloading.

Im actually seating primers as-we-speak. Im reloading federal brass on its 5th and final reloading (yay, not have to collect my brass this time out!)

my question is- ive got about 5 here that seemed TOO EASY to seat primers into. are they safe? ive fired ones like it before, but someone here just mentioned loose primer pockets...

and i hate my digital scale, i always seem to get funky readings from it. i was thinking about making a scoop for exactly 44gr of varget....

 

[hammer 1]

If you feel the empties are loose seating primers, dump em. I feel its better to error on the conservative side. I think its Lee that has the yellow scoops , you use a chart to find the right scoop for the powder and measure wanted. They are also relatively cheap. Hope it helps.

 

[charlie98]

If you feel the empties are loose seating primers, dump em. I feel its better to error on the conservative side. I think its Lee that has the yellow scoops , you use a chart to find the right scoop for the powder and measure wanted. They are also relatively cheap. Hope it helps.

You can use the Lee scoops, or just make one yourself out of an old cartridge case trimmed down to the proper size (.45-70 cases are my favorite.) Just understand... it's not a very precise way of measuring.

What I would do is dump the digital scale and get yourself a RCBS 5-0-5... use the scoop to get to 98% charge weight and trickle up the rest, or just bite the bullet and get a decent volumetric powder measure. The key to either of those is to practice with it and get your technique down so you can be consistent with what you do. Uniformity. And, if you will remember from Basic... "Uniformity is the Key to Success!" ...or so the DI's told me. GI1

 

[Lakeray]

Ok, so my fired cases (SA Super Match, headspace 1.632) plop right in the Wilson gauge. Just neck size then?

 

[D308FAM]

Ok, so my fired cases (SA Super Match, headspace 1.632) plop right in the Wilson gauge. Just neck size then?

No. Do NOT "just neck size". Reloading for semi-auto means full length sizing every time.
....
For standard chambers a standard resizing die typically works fine.
If a special reamer is used.....get whoever reams the chamber to use that same chamber reamer to ream a second chamber into a short piece of barrel and if a cartridge resized with a standard resizing die doesn't drop easily into that "extra chamber" THEN consider trying a "small base" resizer die.
....
If the entire cartridge case is not resized you risk having a cartridge slow down or just stop while in the process of getting chambered with the resultant increased possibility of an out of battery slam-fire occurring.

 

[tokiwartooth]

Just watch your primer seating depth... any primer seated too high has the potential to slamfire. I've used the Winchester primers as well (in fact, I still am in the AR) and have never had a problem.

To that end, along with inspecting each fired case for case head separation, I also hand prime each case, in that way I KNOW each primer is seated properly and, in the case of a loose pocket, gets set aside and marked as such.

I've purposely taken cases I have only primed, some set some high, some low, use Federal, some squashed due to unreamed primer pockets, used CCI, and have tried and have 100% failed to get them to fire in my rifle via slam fire.

 

[Whatsinaname181]

No. Do NOT "just neck size". Reloading for semi-auto means full length sizing every time.
....
For standard chambers a standard resizing die typically works fine.
If a special reamer is used.....get whoever reams the chamber to use that same chamber reamer to ream a second chamber into a short piece of barrel and if a cartridge resized with a standard resizing die doesn't drop easily into that "extra chamber" THEN consider trying a "small base" resizer die.
....
If the entire cartridge case is not resized you risk having a cartridge slow down or just stop while in the process of getting chambered with the resultant increased possibility of an out of battery slam-fire occurring.

Ive always used the RCBS .308 full length resizing dies.