3 questions for the masters

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KSAR TECH

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Hey folks,

Looking for some more advice.

1)Looking to pick up 6 boxes of 165gr .308 accubonds and a couple pounds of Varget. Anyone have a preferred supplier? Will things like powder/bullets clear the US boarder? Located in Kamloops but have people stretched from Cranbrook to FSJ if a good deal is to be had somewhere.

2)Primers....notice a big difference between primers? Are they all created equal? Go with what is cheap or should one spend the extra money. Any personal favorites? Loading the above mentioned bullets.

3)Lastly, I have a friend who reloads for target shooting his R700 sps tactical in .308 (same model I hunt with). He says he narrows the neck to .306 and seats the round with no crimp. I assume that since I am building a hunting round and which will take quite a bit of physical abuse I should be putting a crimp around the bullet once its seated. My question is typically how much does this effect the pressures one builds with a load, crimped vs not crimped? Is it possible to over crimp?

Thanks and I appreciate the advice.
 
Congratulations. Load away!! Bear in mind that what you are loading is not what your friend is loading and many steps he will take are not necessary, not useless for you, but not necessary to produce accurate hunting rounds.

1. Chance are slim that you can get bullets across, depends o nt he day and the person checking. Not on the Candaian side, but the US. You can absolutely forget about getting powder across. Buy it here. If you need to do so to get lower prices, buy surplus from higginson's for under $20 per pound, I do and use it exclusively in all of my hunting rounds.

2. I have observed no meaningful difference in my hunting rounds with different primers. I use Winchester because they have always been locally available wherever I was. But I have no absolute brand loyalty.

3. I crimp using a Lee Factory Crimp Die mainly to ensure consistent tensions. Your friend probably turns both the inside and outside of the neck to ensure consistent thickness, then sizes to give consistent neck tension.
For a hunting round, there is really no need to crimp if you are happy with your neck tension. However, varying neck tensions will give inconsistent groupings and depending on your individual requirements you may want smaller groups.
Personally, any rifle of mine used beyond 200yds MUST group Sub-MOA. Anything between 100-200, MUST group under 2" at 100yds. Close brush guns ie: 50-100yds can have 3" groups (that allows me to use even my worst SKS with Mexican Match ammo for a brush gun)
 
"...powder/bullets clear the US border..." Hi. Nope. No components without the U.S. export permit. Reloading equipment is ok, including presses, but not components.
Primers can make a difference, but you won't notice it in a hunting load.
"...narrows the neck to .306..." A .308" bullet will not go into a .306" hole without excessively stretching the brass. If it works for him, he's work hardening the necks for no good reason. In any case, he's not sizing 'em to .306" with a standard die.
"...possible to over crimp..." Yep. Another thing you won't notice though. Just means the gases have to work harder to overcome the crimp. Can effect accuracy. Any crimp can do that. You don't need to crimp .308's anyway. Neck tension is enough.
 
sunray said:
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"...narrows the neck to .306..." A .308" bullet will not go into a .306" hole without excessively stretching the brass. If it works for him, he's work hardening the necks for no good reason. In any case, he's not sizing 'em to .306" with a standard die.
Click to expand...

As usual, Sunray, you speak without knowledge of the subject.
In Fact, most expander buttons for 30 cal chamberings are .3055 - .306in diameter, so that would NOT be stretching the brass any unusual amount.
Added to this is the fact that many .308 bullets are slightly under size, makes the .306 dimension just about perfect for hunting ammo.
Get your facts straight, PUHLEEEEZE!
To the OP....you do not need to crimp your hunting loads for your application. Eagleye.
 
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