308 Norma Mag brass from 300 Win Mag

I hear you Eagleye. I have never used the Imperial sizing wax, but will get some ASAP. I have tried cleaning the die and keeping the lube off the neck and shoulder, but maybe never both at the same time. I have tried so many different things, given the resources at hand, that I've lost track.

I have tried Hornady, Barnes, Winchester and R-P brass and the only one that came close to an acceptable result was one of the R-P's. Although, I have only tried one of the Winchester cases as I've been saving them for after I get the technique down to use for my "keepers".

I will get some of the wax, clean the die again, lube not the shoulder and neck, and use the Winchester brass. I think that encompasses all the outstanding recommendations. Looking at that list, it almost seems like I'm starting from scratch.

I will certainly post my results as soon as I have them, probably not for a week or more because deer season starts tomorrow here so that takes priority over handloading.

Thanks to all,
Hugh
 
Just curious to know what make you are using for a shell holder in your press?
I had a Lee at one time and changed over to an RCBS.
Don't know what the heck difference it made, but it did in the way my brass was formed.
Sometimes I looky up and shake my fist.
I know them gone the far side have a bit of fun at my exspense.
I kid you not.
 
hugh manuell said:
I have tried Hornady, Barnes, Winchester and R-P brass and the only one that came close to an acceptable result was one of the R-P's. Although, I have only tried one of the Winchester cases as I've been saving them for after I get the technique down to use for my "keepers".


Hugh
Click to expand...

Keep at it, it will eventually work for you.:)

If you need more brass for working on your technique, send me a PM. In the meantime, good luck on your deer hunt!
 
Looky; I am using RCBS shell holder with RCBS dies.

Dan; I probably have enough 308 NM to last my life too, but I have an urge to find a cheaper alternative. One of my grandsons has a 308 NM that I gave him and the one I still have will be passed on some day, so my family will need ammo for some time to come.

Hugh
 
OK everyone, here is my up-date.

First of all, let me thank you all for contributing. I think I have, at last, gotten to a reasonable result and I owe it all to your suggestions.

There's no point in re-hashing everything I did, I will give you a summary of what I learned, not from my own brilliance, but from trying out the ideas that were given to me above.

It is essential to have ZERO lube on the neck and shoulder. That was the single most important thing I got from you.

It takes a great deal of force to push the shoulder back. I used my old Lyman C press. If I'd used my Lee turret that I use every day, I'm sure the press would have broken.

I live out in the country and was not able to get the Imperial sizing wax in a timely fashion. I had on hand some Lee Resizing Lubricant, some very old Lyman Size-Ezy and the RCBS CaseLube.2 that I normally use. The RCBS required notably less force and gave better shoulder form than the others. I do not understand why, since there was no lube on the shoulders or necks.

There is a fine line to be drawn on the amount of lube used. Too much and you get dents. Too little and the force required is too much.

I did get more consistantly good results with W-W brass, although, by the time I got the lube sorted out, I was left with ptetty much only W-W brass.

It is very important to keep the die clean. Any build-up of lube in the die will give dented shoulders. When I really minimized the lube, I could go for quite a few cases without cleaning, but if I used any excess at all, the dies had to be cleaned every couple of cases.

I trimmed to 308 NM length before re-sizing. I did not try re-sizing the full length WM brass.

By the time the experiments were over and I had implemented your ideas, I was putting out brass that you would have to check the head stamp to tell from genuine Norma brass.

Thanks again for the help. I am very pleased with the final result.

Hugh
 
And once you try Imperial wax you will never ever use anything but. It will make the resizing even easier!

Glad to hear you have it all sorted out!
 
hugh manuell said:
OK everyone, here is my up-date.

First of all, let me thank you all for contributing. I think I have, at last, gotten to a reasonable result and I owe it all to your suggestions.

There's no point in re-hashing everything I did, I will give you a summary of what I learned, not from my own brilliance, but from trying out the ideas that were given to me above.

It is essential to have ZERO lube on the neck and shoulder. That was the single most important thing I got from you.

It takes a great deal of force to push the shoulder back. I used my old Lyman C press. If I'd used my Lee turret that I use every day, I'm sure the press would have broken.

I live out in the country and was not able to get the Imperial sizing wax in a timely fashion. I had on hand some Lee Resizing Lubricant, some very old Lyman Size-Ezy and the RCBS CaseLube.2 that I normally use. The RCBS required notably less force and gave better shoulder form than the others. I do not understand why, since there was no lube on the shoulders or necks.

There is a fine line to be drawn on the amount of lube used. Too much and you get dents. Too little and the force required is too much.

I did get more consistantly good results with W-W brass, although, by the time I got the lube sorted out, I was left with ptetty much only W-W brass.

It is very important to keep the die clean. Any build-up of lube in the die will give dented shoulders. When I really minimized the lube, I could go for quite a few cases without cleaning, but if I used any excess at all, the dies had to be cleaned every couple of cases.

I trimmed to 308 NM length before re-sizing. I did not try re-sizing the full length WM brass.

By the time the experiments were over and I had implemented your ideas, I was putting out brass that you would have to check the head stamp to tell from genuine Norma brass.

Thanks again for the help. I am very pleased with the final result.

Hugh
Click to expand...

My thanks to you, too, Hugh.

I have learned a lot from this thread, as well. Most important was to clean my 308 NM die thoroughly. Already use Imperial Wax, and agree with the others that you will not be disappointed.

Best,
Ted
 
So Pleased you were able to make it work!!
I have quit making my cases from 300 Win at present because there is a resident 300 Win Mag in my gunsafe, lol.
But I just put them aside in case I get rid of the 300, then they can come back in service.
Happy shooting....Eagleye.
 
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For the record, many, many years ago, a buddy of mine purposely fired some 308 Norma in his 300 Win. The cases headspaced safely on the belt, and the result was perfectly fireformed 300 Win with a remarkably short neck. :D

They were not, however, as short as the necks on the several 308 Winchester cases that I saw at the range that were fired in a 30-06 Garand!

Ted
 
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