Having had a hard time finding 7mm-08 brass I decide to make some out of 308 cases.

Well the rifle that I am making for Ruger 77MK must have a tight neck as all the 308 cases tried very tight fit.

So I decide to try some 243 cases, Win cases very hard fit RP cases ok fit FC cases the best fit feed and chambered very well.

Luckily I have 4 boxes of once fired FC cases that well do my daughter in law good until my son finds some 7mm-08 brass.

Now I'll workup some loads in the next few days and see how the rifle shoots.

I got all the 7mm08 brass I wanted by asking the local gun shop/reloader shop to order me some. He got me 500 of Remington's.


Al

I have made them from 308s for an old 788 but as you said, depends on your chamber neck dia. You would have to ream or turn them. When you say" very hard fit" I assume you mean the headspace and not the neck diameter. If that is the problem, then remove some off your full length die.

With one rifle that had a custom barrel, if I used .308 brass, I had to neck turn the results; if I used .243 brass, I didn't. With yet another rifle with a factory barrel, I could use .308 brass w/o a problem.

Are you sure that it is too-thick necks causing your problem? If the unloaded empty cases won't chamber, then it is not the neck thickness but an incompatibility of your FL die with your chamber (your die is not reducing the .308's sufficiently at some point, or is not pushing the shoulder/neck junction far enough back.)

If this is the problem, then you might solve it by grinding a hundredth or two off of your shellholder, thus allowing the cases to insert further into the die and pushing the shoulder/neck junction a bit further to the rear.

Best done in a lathe with a carbide bit and do it in terms of thousandths rather than hundredths.

I have enough federal 243 brass there's no need to take the other steps.

If I ever need to I would find a way to make the 308 brass work.

Don't need it so I won't waste my time when I have a very easy alternative.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
I have enough federal 243 brass there's no need to take the other steps.

If I ever need to I would find a way to make the 308 brass work.

Don't need it so I won't waste my time when I have a very easy alternative.

I've used 308 brass for the 7mm-08 before with no issues but one thing to be aware of when using other head-stamped brass is the possibility at some stage that ammo can get mixed up and chambered in the wrong rifle. No problem other than a bit of noise and an ineffectual shot if chambering a 308 head-stamped 7mm-08 in a 308 Win rifle but a differant story if a ham fisted individual chambers a 243 headstamped 7mm-08 in a 243 Win.

Not a very likely scenario but a reloader used to tight chambering may well achieve this and similar incorrect chamberings and discharges have been known to occur.

A little touch up with a dremel tool takes care of the head stamp problem.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Best done in a lathe with a carbide bit and do it in terms of thousandths rather than hundredths.

"A hundredth or two" is 10-20 thousandths.

Assuming his die is threaded, he can screw it into the press less if he wants less than that amount.

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Best done in a lathe with a carbide bit and do it in terms of thousandths rather than hundredths.

"A hundredth or two" is 10-20 thousandths.

Assuming his die is threaded, he can screw it into the press less if he wants less than that amount.

?????? roger

Here is some in stock.

http://www.grafs.com/retail/ca...duct/productId/18003

quote:

Originally posted by bartsche:

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Best done in a lathe with a carbide bit and do it in terms of thousandths rather than hundredths.

"A hundredth or two" is 10-20 thousandths.

Assuming his die is threaded, he can screw it into the press less if he wants less than that amount.

?????? roger

Roger, one of the early posters here suggested thinning the top of the shell holder 1 or 2 hundredths of an inch.

Then another poster, quoting that recommendation, suggested thinning it in thousandths rather than hundredths.

My point was that 1 or 2 hundredths is, at the most, 20 thousandths.

Everyone I know of adjusts their dies so when re-sizing, the sizer die just barely "kisses" the case shoulder, to assure proper headspace is achieved/maintained. Often that involves screwing the sizing die OUT of the press a little from full contact with the shellholder.

If 2 100ths proved to be slightly more than needed, thus setting the case shoulder back a hair more than desired when the bottom of the die was in contact with the shellholder, that can be cured the same way...just back the die away a red hair from contact with the shellholder.

That avoids potentially several re-cuttings of the shellholder in the lathe to get it just right when both it and shellholder top are in contact.

So, I'd shave the shellholder the two hundredths and not worry about 1 or 3 thousandths (or any other amount between .001 and .020).

quote:

Everyone I know of adjusts their dies so when re-sizing, the sizer die just barely "kisses" the case shoulder, to assure proper headspace is achieved/maintained.

That's what everyone should do, but in my observation most "reloaders" (as opposed to "handloaders") simply screw the FL die down against the shellholder and cram the empty case in to the hilt. Then they wonder why they get head separations after just a few firings.

I've only come across two FL dies which were not "short" enough for the chambers of the respective rifles they were used for. One was a .243 and the other a .308. I can't say if the chambers were short or the dies long, but one thinned shellholder works for both.

And yes, I agree that precision cutting in a lathe is a more neat and precise way to thin a shellholder, but few people have a lathe available to them while most own or have access to a simple grinder. The choice of methods is a matter of what is readily achievable, not what is "best".

It is also possible to achieve the same thing by taking a little metal off of the die itself. In an extreme example, I cut a half-inch off of a spare set of .264 dies in order to load some 6.5 Rem Magnum ammunition. But the dies are a much more expensive (and generally harder) piece of property than a simple shellholder, so the shellholder is the preferred place to "trim".

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:

quote:

Originally posted by bartsche:

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Best done in a lathe with a carbide bit and do it in terms of thousandths rather than hundredths.

"A hundredth or two" is 10-20 thousandths.

Assuming his die is threaded, he can screw it into the press less if he wants less than that amount.

?????? roger

Roger, one of the early posters here suggested thinning the top of the shell holder 1 or 2 hundredths of an inch.

Then another poster, quoting that recommendation, suggested thinning it in thousandths rather than hundredths.

My point was that 1 or 2 hundredths is, at the most, 20 thousandths.

Everyone I know of adjusts their dies so when re-sizing, the sizer die just barely "kisses" the case shoulder, to assure proper headspace is achieved/maintained. Often that involves screwing the sizing die OUT of the press a little from full contact with the shellholder.

If 2 100ths proved to be slightly more than needed, thus setting the case shoulder back a hair more than desired when the bottom of the die was in contact with the shellholder, that can be cured the same way...just back the die away a red hair from contact with the shellholder.

That avoids potentially several re-cuttings of the shellholder in the lathe to get it just right when both it and shellholder top are in contact.

So, I'd shave the shellholder the two hundredths and not worry about 1 or 3 thousandths (or any other amount between .001 and .020).

I just misunderstood the verbiage. Thought you you meant forgo the shell holder thinning and justback out the die. Silly me! roger

first load development 45grs bal-c 2 120 Nosler B tip first shot at 50 yards 2 inch left perfect elevation.

Not a bad scope mounting job.

Last group to check final zero until I can shoot further. 3 shots touching each other half inch high

Well have to crono it and shoot them at 100 but not a bad start