Guys, this is a fairly elementary question, so please forgive my naivety. I am just getting back into this game after a lengthy time away from regular shooting/loading.

I just got all my shit together for my new .338 Win Mag. I've never owned a belted magnum before, and I want to know how to resize properly for brass longevity and accuracy.

I presume I should FL resize the virgin brass, but what about after the initial fire forming in my chamber? Is there anything I need to do differently to neck size only? (different than my non-belted cases)

By neck sizing, is the cartridge now headspacing on the shoulder as opposed to on the belt? I presume this is much better for brass life. Is there a point in time when I should FL size again (maybe only when the bolt is difficult to close??)

The rifle is a M77MKII Ruger. Should I seat out way long to get close to the lands or is there a recommended OAL I should just try to abide by? If seating out far, how close to the lands is appropriate?

tks, it's been a while!

Mike

For extended brass life you should headspace off the shoulder. In loading for that caliber I fireform and neck size for 4 or 5 reloads at which point chambering gets a bit sticky and I full size, setting the shoulder back .001"-.002". I routinely aneal the necks at this point, trim if necessary and go on reloading. It's always wise to check for head separation with either a bent paper clip or a dental pick. When you feel a slight bump inside carefully examine the outside for the first signs. If you don't full size more than once or twice you can expect anywhere from 10 to 15 reloads before you'll see the telltale sign of separation, at which time you dump and start all over again. The initial fireforming is what strectches the case the worst.

For several years now I've been using 358 Norma Mag brass for 338 Win Mag. It's a bit more expensive but it's also about .040" longer in the body than the 338 Win Mag. When you initially size it to only set the shoulder back .001" you eliminate that initial stretch. The first lot of these cases I made are still functional for me after 18 reloads and there's no sign of separation yet. My only reason for disposing of them soon is that the primer pockets are beginning to loosen.

You've got the rest of it down pretty well. I don't full size initially. I usually just run the mouth of the case into the die to straighten it out and fireform.

Red Label: Congratulations on your new rifle. The .338WM is one (if not "the") most popular cartridges in Alaska. It is my favorite all around cartridge, too.

I usually run new brass through the full-size die, and neck-size the brass after the first firing. I size my brass the same way I would size non-belted cases, so it head spaces at the shoulder instead of the belt. Since .338 brass is not expensive, I reload the cases three to five times, and throw them away after that.

I adjusted and locked the neck die using fired-once (or twice) cases as follows: I dipped the head of a fired once case in powdered graphite, then ran it through the neck sizer one time. I looked at the graphite line left behind around the neck, and kept dipping the case in the graphite and running it through the die until the line moved down "exactly" between the neck and the shoulder. When the graphite line has moved between the neck and the shoulder, then turn the die "down" 1/16th of a "thread turn".

I forgot to mention that I always lubricate the inside wall around the neck down to the shoulder, and also the case's body below the shoulder. The lube inside the case prevents stretching the case during the sizing process.

[ 04-16-2003, 07:33: Message edited by: Ray, Alaska ]

Sorry to jump in here, but I always have to FL size my 300WM after firing, or it wont chamber smoothly....should I have my rifle checked out by a gunsmith, or is this typical of Win. brass???
I would like to just neck size.....sakofan....Thanks!

I can only add that I think the advice given above is excellent, and pretty much my procedure.

Well, I neck size practice/varmint ammo for my 7RM and full size (only bumping the shoulder ever so sligthly) big game ammo, so I know there will be no hiccups if I need to shoot twice(has happened, you know....:-))

I also start with a longer case and reform for the 7RM (.308 NM or .300 WM) so I avoid the inital stretch. My chamber is tight but a little long and pretty rough, so after firing full power loads I need the FL sizing for my rounds to chamber smoothly.

Tron

For hunting loads for big game I still full length resize the case. It give me a measure of confidence to make sure it goes into the chamber. If you shoot the brass alot the neck sizing or partial resizing will give longer brass life. Great advice from the guys

Hcliff

Thank you all. It proves again that there is a great wealth of knowledge on this board.

Mike

Red Label, you've gotten your answers, and all of the advice is good. I don't think Hcliff is doing anything wrong by FL sizing his hunting loads, but I'd point out that if a round chambers smoothly, it is irrelavent how much undersized it may be. So I don't FL size my hunting loads, but I do go to the trouble to test-chamber each fininshed round to assure no problems.

Sakofan: If your rifle is a Sako, it is not necessarily immune to an egged chamber, but it would be very uncommon among Sakos. The only other answer for difficult re-insertion of a once-fired case would be excessive pressure swelling the case in the web area. Have you ruled out this possibility?