Reloading Resources (.308)

M

MilitaMatters

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I need information on reloading ammunition for my dads old .308 caliber rifle. He recently gifted it to me and I was wanting to make my own ammunition from spare brass I find or buy.

My problem, however, is I don't know the first thing about bullet manufacturing. I have a background in melting lead and casting objects with lead, but never bullets. Any references to web pages or advice on products I should purchase for a bare bones starter kit? Where would I find information on loading charts and what kind of powders I should use?

Any assistance is greatly appreciated,

-MM
 
Are you wanting to cast your own lead bullets, or just load with commercially available bullets? Most do the latter, very few cast bullets for 308. It is more common with larger caliber black powder caliber rifles. Unjacketed lead bullets don't work as well at faster speeds in modern rifles.

I can't help with casting your own lead bullets, but there are lots of sources for load data online or you could buy a hardback loading manual.

This is one of the better online manuals.

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/
 
Best place to find info on amunition reloading besides the Lee, Lyman, Hornady manuals and of course the reloading section of the forum.
 
[RE]

I have a way of copper jacketing my projectiles using chemical and electrical plating. Used to be kinda into chem-lab. :D

I am gonna check out those links, thank you all.

-MM
 
If you have no previous knowledge of reloading, I suggest you begin with a reloading manual from Lyman and READ it thoroughly. In addition, my advice is start with name brand off the shelf jacketed bullets until you have some experience with the process.
Trying to begin loading with "homemade" projectiles would be a frustrating process.
 
I would recommend getting the Lyman 49th Edition Reloading Manual.

Actually as many manuals as possible, the reason I suggest the Lyman Manual is that it covers cast bullets.

The 308 is rather easy to load for and have endless possibilities regarding components and its good for hunting any thing in North America.

Not to mention its one of the most accurate rounds out there.

I wouldn't hesitate using cast bullets in a 308 (or any other cart.). If money is tight, you can always find lead. Lube is cheap or you can make your own. As mentioned you don't normally push cast bullets as fast as jacketed bullets, but that's not a huge problem.

Most cast bullets in a 308 exceed the velocities of the 30-30. Some get into the 30-40 Krag class. A good example from the Lyman manual is using Lymans 200 gr. bullet, #311299. Lyman says 27 gr. of 5744 at 2016 fps as the most potentially most accurate.

A 200 gr bullet @ 2000 fps is the standard load for the Army's 30-40. This round has been used to take just about any animal in NA and Africa in the early years.

With care cast bullets can be fairly accurate. When I use to shoot High Power for the AK NG, to keep in shape I used cast bullets in my M1 and M1A in the winter, shooting indoor ranges on NRA 50 ft small bore targets.

As to jacketed bullets, there are endless choices out there, just find one that shoots best in your rifle.

The 308 doesn't need hyper velocities, to the contrary. There is no reason a 308 has to exceed 2600 fps. Lower velocities may be more accurate but I chose that number as a comformise in accuracy and velocity.

Pretty much all the info you are looking for can be found in good reloading manuals. If you want cast bullets, again, the Lyman manual will cover your needs.
 
Also, you might try to find someone in your area that you could hook up with to show you the basic reloading process itself, along with your own study of the many manuals available. That would go a long way to get you started properly, and correctly on your new experience. Reloading's a lot of fun, but doing it safely is the most important part (IMO).

Personally, though I've cast literally thousands of projectiles for muzzleloaders and B.P.C.Rs (mixing alloys, too), I've never had a thought as to making jacketed bullets for a center-fire rifle myself (way too advanced for this old kid). I like the Hornady stuff just fine.
 
Even if it is fascinating, I would not recommend you to start reloading with cast bullets.
But 308 cast is something I also want to try.
 
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