RELOADING SERVICE- Is there somewhere that offers this?
- Thread starter Romeo Sierra
- Start date
Generally speaking - no. There are commercial reloaders that you will find, but they reload large batches. You might find an individual that will do it for you, but charging/paying to reload brass is normally a no-no, just because of the liability issues. If you reload your own - fine. If you buy reloaded/remanufactured ammo from a retailer - fine. Or if you get a friend to do it for you - all good. But when it becomes a business transaction, the insurance and liability issues create a problem.
This^^
Not to mention licensing issues! Ammo manufacturing (including commercial reloading) requires a separate class of commercial licence under the Firearms Act.
Nope. The easiest way for you is to sell those 800 brass on the EE then buy 800 new ammunitions.
Agree'd.
You have two options - sell it or buy reloading gear to roll your own.
If you wait for a sale you can probably get set up for $200 or so. $99 for a press, $30 for a scale, $40 for dies, then a bit more for incidentals (a funnel, a hand primer if you want one, some lube, etc). Hell, I bought my RCBC Partner Press kit from Cabelas for $99, and it came with a scale (you can prime on the press), lube pad, and funnel, so really add a set of dies and you'd be ready to go!
You could go even cheaper with a Lee Reloader Press or Hand Press. My Hand Press was like $35 on the EE.
Is the 1F brass from your rifle? If not, not worth having it reloaded. I wouldn't bother even if it were from my rifle. IMO and experience, Lapua brass is the way to go. I wish it wasn't so, but it is.
That being said, if you could find yourself one of the older LEE Loader Bench rest kits, you could load your brass 1 more time and have some pretty decent shooting. You'd also learn how to reload.
I'd suggest a 155 A-Max, 41 gr of 4166, a F210M loaded to an OAL of 2.8" Not a moose bullet, but then again the 308 is not a moose caliber.
a
That was from my Savage 99, with a Williams receiver sight.
Found it at a gunshow, not many around. I've never used it, but from what I've read, it will work.
One of the best write ups on the 308 can be found on the ballistic studies site.
ht tps://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/.308+Winchester+7.62+NATO.html
Also, it's been said that if a hunter were to only have one rifle to hunt every species of big game on this planet, one couldn't do much better than a FAL loaded with military ammo. Yes, because the bullet will penetrate, it will kill elephant. The caveat being, must be loaded with a FMJ bullet.
When I was a pup, I'd take my empties to our local gunsmith, and he'd reload them for me. I've helped other shooters with reloading, let them use my equipment to load their ammo. After a few of my tools got broken, I stopped that.
That being said, if you could find yourself one of the older LEE Loader Bench rest kits, you could load your brass 1 more time and have some pretty decent shooting. You'd also learn how to reload.
I'd suggest a 155 A-Max, 41 gr of 4166, a F210M loaded to an OAL of 2.8" Not a moose bullet, but then again the 308 is not a moose caliber.
a
That was from my Savage 99, with a Williams receiver sight.
Found it at a gunshow, not many around. I've never used it, but from what I've read, it will work.
One of the best write ups on the 308 can be found on the ballistic studies site.
ht tps://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase/.308+Winchester+7.62+NATO.html
Also, it's been said that if a hunter were to only have one rifle to hunt every species of big game on this planet, one couldn't do much better than a FAL loaded with military ammo. Yes, because the bullet will penetrate, it will kill elephant. The caveat being, must be loaded with a FMJ bullet.
When I was a pup, I'd take my empties to our local gunsmith, and he'd reload them for me. I've helped other shooters with reloading, let them use my equipment to load their ammo. After a few of my tools got broken, I stopped that.
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There is one "loophole" though. You could get someone who reloads 308 to prep and prime the brass for you. Then all you would need would be a very cheap press (such as a Lee C-type press), a seating die and a Lee scoop (like the ones in the lee loaders) and you could give it a go.
It'll probably end up as expensive as buying new ammunition though. More expensive if you deduce the money you could get from selling the 800 Hornady.
It'll probably end up as expensive as buying new ammunition though. More expensive if you deduce the money you could get from selling the 800 Hornady.
I've been down a similar path, and the results were not good. Not disastrous, but not ideal.
Here is how my experience unfolded. A friend wanted some 308 Win loaded for his rifle. It was a new rifle, never been fired. He supplied me with a bucket of range brass. I prepped the brass, including FL sizing it all. I then loaded a well within the data load that was known to be accurate in other rifles. Coincidentally a few months later I got my own 308. My friend hadn't picked up his ammo yet, so I decided to test it in my rifle. Incipient head separation was the result.
The cause; during the FL sizing operation I did not compare a sized case to one fired from his rifle, not possible because he had never fired any ammunition. The critical dimension, in this instance, was the shoulder to base measurement, or "ammunition headspace length". I do have a tool for that measurement, a Hornady L-N-L Headspace Comparator, but without anything to compare to, I did not use it.
Because of the results, I compared the length of my ammunition to a case that had been fired in my rifle. I believe the difference was in the 0.015" region. Excessive and sure to cause incipient head separation. So I had a problem. Did I have an ammunition problem, or did I have a rifle problem. I borrowed a 308/7mm-08/243 "GO" gauge. I compared the ammo and my fired cases to the "GO" gauge. My ammunition was shorter than a "GO" gauge, and cases from my rifle were longer than a "GO" gauge, although only by a thou or three.
My brother has a 308 set @ min headspace, he shot the ammo in his rifle, and tossed the cases. Accuracy was not an issue, and with minimum headspace the brass was OK. But because of the stresses, all the fired brass was disposed of.
At the very least, before FL sizing the cases, I should have compared them to a "GO" gauge. Just because I did not have a case fired from the rifle I was loading for was not an excuse to skip this step.
Technical Note: The SAAMI specification for maximum ammunition for 308 is 1.634 - 0.007". Chamber headspace is from 1.630" MIN to 1.640" MAX. A 308 GO gauge is nominally 1.630" and a NO GO is nominally 1.634". Therefore if I had FL sized my ammo to be equal to a GO gauge my ammunition should have been OK, unless the intended rifle had excessive headspace. A new rifle should not have excessive headspace, but experience tells me otherwise. Not often, but chambers have been known to be longer than a NO GO gauge.
In addition, FL sizing dies tend to size on the short side of the MAX ammo spec, which is logical. If the die sized on the long side, there would be issues of the sized ammo not fitting in the chamber. Not all die manufactures make their dies to the same specifications, there are no SAAMI die specs. RCBS FL dies from the mid 70's are notoriously small. I got into reloading in the mid 70's and I've replaced all of my RCBS FL dies from that era for that reason. BTW, newer RCBS dies do not exhibit that problem, AFAIK.
One of the rules of reloading is: "Use new brass or brass that has been fired in your firearm." So before you shoot the messenger, I'll explain. New brass is for the most part malleable enough to be fireformed without failure even in improved chambers. Therefore, it is safe to assume that 1F brass from your rifle can be safely reloaded. If you FL size and only push the shoulder back 0.002" > 0.004", they should withstand several to many reloads. If, in your collection of range brass, you have some cases that have been fired in an overly large chamber with excessive headspace, sizing them to fit your rifle may overwork the brass. Also, not all range brass is 1F, it could have been left there by a shooter (handloader) that considered the cases to be at the end of their life. A case with a slightly enlarged primer pocket can really do a number on the bolt face of a nice rifle.
Resizing brass that has not been fired in your rifle may require a bit more than basic handloading skills and basic reloading tools, and can add additional risks. It is no longer reloading, it is remanufacturing.
Here is how my experience unfolded. A friend wanted some 308 Win loaded for his rifle. It was a new rifle, never been fired. He supplied me with a bucket of range brass. I prepped the brass, including FL sizing it all. I then loaded a well within the data load that was known to be accurate in other rifles. Coincidentally a few months later I got my own 308. My friend hadn't picked up his ammo yet, so I decided to test it in my rifle. Incipient head separation was the result.
The cause; during the FL sizing operation I did not compare a sized case to one fired from his rifle, not possible because he had never fired any ammunition. The critical dimension, in this instance, was the shoulder to base measurement, or "ammunition headspace length". I do have a tool for that measurement, a Hornady L-N-L Headspace Comparator, but without anything to compare to, I did not use it.
Because of the results, I compared the length of my ammunition to a case that had been fired in my rifle. I believe the difference was in the 0.015" region. Excessive and sure to cause incipient head separation. So I had a problem. Did I have an ammunition problem, or did I have a rifle problem. I borrowed a 308/7mm-08/243 "GO" gauge. I compared the ammo and my fired cases to the "GO" gauge. My ammunition was shorter than a "GO" gauge, and cases from my rifle were longer than a "GO" gauge, although only by a thou or three.
My brother has a 308 set @ min headspace, he shot the ammo in his rifle, and tossed the cases. Accuracy was not an issue, and with minimum headspace the brass was OK. But because of the stresses, all the fired brass was disposed of.
At the very least, before FL sizing the cases, I should have compared them to a "GO" gauge. Just because I did not have a case fired from the rifle I was loading for was not an excuse to skip this step.
Technical Note: The SAAMI specification for maximum ammunition for 308 is 1.634 - 0.007". Chamber headspace is from 1.630" MIN to 1.640" MAX. A 308 GO gauge is nominally 1.630" and a NO GO is nominally 1.634". Therefore if I had FL sized my ammo to be equal to a GO gauge my ammunition should have been OK, unless the intended rifle had excessive headspace. A new rifle should not have excessive headspace, but experience tells me otherwise. Not often, but chambers have been known to be longer than a NO GO gauge.
In addition, FL sizing dies tend to size on the short side of the MAX ammo spec, which is logical. If the die sized on the long side, there would be issues of the sized ammo not fitting in the chamber. Not all die manufactures make their dies to the same specifications, there are no SAAMI die specs. RCBS FL dies from the mid 70's are notoriously small. I got into reloading in the mid 70's and I've replaced all of my RCBS FL dies from that era for that reason. BTW, newer RCBS dies do not exhibit that problem, AFAIK.
One of the rules of reloading is: "Use new brass or brass that has been fired in your firearm." So before you shoot the messenger, I'll explain. New brass is for the most part malleable enough to be fireformed without failure even in improved chambers. Therefore, it is safe to assume that 1F brass from your rifle can be safely reloaded. If you FL size and only push the shoulder back 0.002" > 0.004", they should withstand several to many reloads. If, in your collection of range brass, you have some cases that have been fired in an overly large chamber with excessive headspace, sizing them to fit your rifle may overwork the brass. Also, not all range brass is 1F, it could have been left there by a shooter (handloader) that considered the cases to be at the end of their life. A case with a slightly enlarged primer pocket can really do a number on the bolt face of a nice rifle.
Resizing brass that has not been fired in your rifle may require a bit more than basic handloading skills and basic reloading tools, and can add additional risks. It is no longer reloading, it is remanufacturing.
I assembled loads for friends in the past. That don't happen no more for liability reasons
Now I offer to show them how to reload at the range where they can test their loads and make their own loads under supervision.
Some seem to think it is part of our friendship while one reciprocated with a great supper.
The RCBS Super kit with a RockChucker press still requires dies, powder bullets and primers but is is the quickest way to go.
Now I offer to show them how to reload at the range where they can test their loads and make their own loads under supervision.
Some seem to think it is part of our friendship while one reciprocated with a great supper.
The RCBS Super kit with a RockChucker press still requires dies, powder bullets and primers but is is the quickest way to go.
