Gentlemen,

I have bought a Winchester 88 in .308W. Should I buy standard dies or small base? RCBS suggest the latter for "some levers".

Any other loading suggestions for that rifle?

Your advice is welcome!

Regards,

Fritz

if you don't have 308 dies already i would buy the small base set. if you had a set of standard ones, i would try them first as they might size the case down enough, depending on your chamber. my friends is a little tempermental as to oal of the loaded round

quote:

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Originally posted by Fritz Kraut:
Gentlemen,

I have bought a Winchester 88 in .308W. Should I buy standard dies or small base? RCBS suggest the latter for "some levers".

Any other loading suggestions for that rifle?

Your advice is welcome!

Regards,

Fritz

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I have shot a Model 88 Winchester for many years. Standard dies will suffice. A Model 88 has more in common with bolt action rifles than it does with lever guns.

Fritz
JSG is right on, I have loaded for it as well and the reg. dies work fine. This particular rifle did .75" @ 100 yds no problem with a old 4 X scope on it.

I bought an old 88 cause it was too good a deal to pass up, took it to the range and was somewhat disspointed I was only getting about 2" with a vintage 4x redfield and factory ammo. The gun sat in the safe for a while and I finally took it down to have a trigger job done on it as it was horrible. Picked up some winchester supreme that is loaded with 150grn ballistic silver tips. groups instantly went to MOA or less for 3 shoots, I let the barrel kool for a while while I shot the CZ, was very suprised at how well the gun was shooting so I checked it one last time and fired it at one fo the 3 shot groups I had shot and it put one right in the middle of 2 shoots that where close creating one ragged hole with on shot about .5 away from the ragged hole. I was very happy so if you wanna try a good factory load try that winchester stuff BTW the trigger job made one hell of a difference in shootability, its about 4-4.5#'s now, not the best but shootable

quote:

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Originally posted by cummins cowboy:
The gun sat in the safe for a while and I finally took it down to have a trigger job done on it as it was horrible.

<SNIP>

BTW the trigger job made one hell of a difference in shootability, its about 4-4.5#'s now, not the best but shootable

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FYI, at one time, Timney made an adjustable trigger for the 88, but discontinued them around 1989 or so. Wish I bought one before they quit, but I'm of the mind that there must be a few still floating around somewhere.

As J.S. Guy says, the 88 has more in common with bolt actions than with most levers in that it has a rotating bolt head and forward lock up. 88's are not known for having "stretchy" actions, therefore you should be just fine with regular (not "small base") dies. In fact, if you want to shoot neck-sized-only brass in your 88, you likely can do so without much resistance on action closing.

As with any gun, the less you can "work" the brass and still have positive chambering, the better.

Gentlemen,

thanks for your inputs, which have been rather valuable. I finally bought a Lee 3-die set and will see if it works properly.

You all seem to load a 88 in .308W - do you have any good load or bullets to suggests?

Thankfully,

Fritz

Dont own a Model 88. Hell, I dont even reload, but I was reading OConnors "the hunting rifle, and I came across this-

"Lever actions.... lack the camming power of the bolt action to extract and seat soft, dirty, or oversize cases. They are not as suitable for handloading, as their cases stretch and when reloaded are difficult to seat. A partial exception is the Savage 99,which has a very rigid action that doesnt allow much case stretching, AND A COMPLETE EXCEPTION IS THE MODEL 88 WHICH IS SORT OF A BOLT ACTION RIFLE OPERATED BY A LEVER. iTS BREECH BOLT LOCKS AT THE HEAD AND IT HAS A CAM."

Now I have loaded a fistful of cartridges with the Sierra 180 grs roundnose before a healthy dose of Norma 203-b. I bought some cheap Lee dies from a friend, and they have worked fine - the cartridges chamber flawlessly, as you said in your answers.

I took the rifle to the range, and albeit the spongy trigger, it did put the five bullets from a magasine in about 1½ inch. With some work at the loads, I perhaps will get it even tighter. Great rifle!

Now another question: what's your opinion keep the olde Scopechiefe 3-9x or get a Fire sight with reciever sight? What do you think is the best?

Regards,

Fritz

P.S. I really like this rifle. It's darned well made, and the balance perfect. It's a keeper!

Congratulations on your success thus far, Fritz. The old Bushnell Scopechief was a pretty well-regarded scope in its day. It is somewhat "obsoleted" by newer designs and better manufacturing techniques, but it should be a serviceable scope despite its age.

Have fun with your 88. I never saw one that didn't shoot well.

Speaking of the mod 88, my father has one I belive he purchased in the early 60's. It has a Leupold 4 power scope the same vintage. It was
dropped or knocked over last fall, the scope was
damaged so I removed it and sent it ro the factory. They repaired it sent it back no charge, way cool anyway we went out and sighted it in. I couldn't belive how well it shot. Two different shooters old Herters ammo .75" group.

It can go either way depends on what stage the factory reamer was at when they cut your chamber..

some require small base dies other do not, but if I were buying new dies for a Win 88, Rem pump, or Sav. 99 then I would opt for the small base...

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
It can go either way depends on what stage the factory reamer was at when they cut your chamber..---

It seems that I had some luck with the chamber.

Regards,

Fritz

Your experience reflects mine. Loading my BLR for 30 years and a friend's M88 for the last couple, we've tried both standard and small base dies and the standard take less sizing and fit the chambers better on both pieces.

My grandson's M88 likes the Hornady 165gr Interlock bullet and a healthy dose of Winchester's 748 in some old match brass I had laying around. Heavier and lighter bullets shoot OK, but the 165gr really shines.