308 Norma Mag

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hey folks,

As a rookie reloader, I am looking for some advice on reloading. The caliber is a 308 norma mag. I have a small amount of reloads currently loaded, but the necks are splitting, i think the cases are not reloadable anymore. So question is whats the best option for using other caliber cases like 300 or 338 or ? If possible could i get a step by step instructions on this process?

thanks

nick
 
I use 300WM brass....Just lube them up....Run them through your 308 Norma FL sizeing die. and trim to proper lenght.

Russ...
 
Why use "other caliber" cases ??? I didn't have a great deal of trouble getting .308 Norma brass when I asked, or is it the cost of the brass compared to others that has ya looking at options?
 
I picked up some at Milarms about a month ago.They still had plenty. I think it ran about $1.50 a case...by no means cheap. I've also made it out of .338 Win Mag brass, but the necks are a little short if that bothers you. I just ran it into the .308NM die until the brass would chamber, then fire-formed it. Worked good....Ken
 
You're pretty tight lipped on your brass.
Once fired from your rifle?
Used brass with unknown round count?
Trim the brass to length before you resize unknown brass.
Clean the mouth and run a brush in the neck.
Then resize it.
Take some of the friction out of the process.
Annealing the brass could help also on the splitting of the necks.
Buying used brass is a tough call unless you have a good eye.
 
Anneal every second load and you may never split another.

Also if your splitting necks, you've probably put at least 4 loads through them, check the webbing for signs of head seperation.
 
I have made a lot of 308 Norma cases from 300 Win Mag.
Best done with new, unfired brass.

Set your 308 Norma FL die to "bump up" firmly.
Lube the inside of the case neck with Graphite or Motor Mica.

Lube the body only of the 300 Win Mag case.. I like Imperial Sizing Wax for this.
DO NOT put lube where the new shoulder will be!! It will cause lube dents in the shoulder.

Run the case through the 308 Norma Die.
Trim to 2.550." Chamfer case mouth inside and out, Load and enjoy!

New 308 Norma brass can be pricey, and sometimes elusive to find.
I have 3 - 308 Norma Mag rifles, and have a fair supply laid in, lol. :)

Regards, Dave.
 
And there you have it from the foremost authority on the 308 Norma Mag :D........I do it exactly the same and have gobs of 300 WM brass, so I can't be bothered to look for the Norma stuff.
 
c-fbmi said:
And there you have it from the foremost authority on the 308 Norma Mag :D........I do it exactly the same and have gobs of 300 WM brass, so I can't be bothered to look for the Norma stuff.
Click to expand...

No sweat fireforming from 300 WM and it works well. I just have a bit of an aversion to fireform if it's at all possible to get the original thing. When I was stocking up on a somewhat similar harder to obtain brass for my 7x61 S&H and 358 NM, a site sponsor, Henry at Budget Shooter Supply handled my needs. I understand Jerry at Mystic Precision is another reliable source. About the only calibre I fireform for because of need is my 219 Donaldson Wasp and for that I use 30-30 brass.



I use plastic stackable trays for brass storage and top tray, second stack from the left, 308 NM.
 
Eagleye said:
I have made a lot of 308 Norma cases from 300 Win Mag.
Best done with new, unfired brass.

Set your 308 Norma FL die to "bump up" firmly.
Lube the inside of the case neck with Graphite or Motor Mica.

Lube the body only of the 300 Win Mag case.. I like Imperial Sizing Wax for this.
DO NOT put lube where the new shoulder will be!! It will cause lube dents in the shoulder.

Run the case through the 308 Norma Die.
Trim to 2.550." Chamfer case mouth inside and out, Load and enjoy!

New 308 Norma brass can be pricey, and sometimes elusive to find.
I have 3 - 308 Norma Mag rifles, and have a fair supply laid in, lol. :)

Regards, Dave.
Click to expand...

Well laid out sequence Dave, thanks. Do you find you have to anneal your brass? If so what are the signs that tell you its time to anneal? Only reason i'm asking is I am on my 5th firing now. Have been just bumping the shoulder slightly when resizing and on the last firing the brass was getting harder to chamber than I wanted. Trying to decide if its time to anneal, I've never annealed before, or set the shoulder back further.
 
Remove the expander button + stem before FL sizing,Lube only to where the .308 NM shoulder will be + inside neck mouth with a q-tip ,trim to OAL finally reassemble die and run them all through again.Once fired .300 win mag range brass works fine..........Harold
 
Baribal said:
.....and/or 338WM, one pass reforming, reload and shoot.
Click to expand...

My 308 NM has a rather generous chamber shall we say (Parker Hale) and with the 338 brass it ends up with a very, very short neck. If I didn't know better I would almost say someone decided to make it into a 300 WM, got 1/2 done and quit. It won't chamber a 300 WM, not even a factory new brass, but it's shoulder is farther forward than it should be by quite a bit. No concern to me cause I just headspace the 300 WM to fit the chamber and load 'em, but when I do this with 338, they don't look good at all. Too bad cause I have a bunch of W-W 338 brass and will never own another one so it would have been a good use...........c'est la vie.........
 
c-fbmi said:
My 308 NM has a rather generous chamber shall we say (Parker Hale) and with the 338 brass it ends up with a very, very short neck. If I didn't know better I would almost say someone decided to make it into a 300 WM, got 1/2 done and quit. It won't chamber a 300 WM, not even a factory new brass, but it's shoulder is farther forward than it should be by quite a bit. No concern to me cause I just headspace the 300 WM to fit the chamber and load 'em, but when I do this with 338, they don't look good at all. Too bad cause I have a bunch of W-W 338 brass and will never own another one so it would have been a good use...........c'est la vie.........
Click to expand...

:)My favorite 30 cal Magnum. The first I had,;) upon graduation from my sporterized 303Br. Lee Enfield 'Simpon-Sears' special, was a parker Hale. After seeing one in a Schultz & Larsen, I was hooked and promised myself then, 'one day'...... .



That day finally arrived quite a few years ago. A model 65DL:D.



Shoots well also and seems to really like the Sierra 200gr SBT but I'm changing over to Barnes 180gr TTSX.
 
Done that a lot in two different PH 1200 and it worked great. The slightly shorter neck usually's not an issue after about 2 or 3 firings. Same for the .358 NM
Anyhow, I also use the .300 WM or whatever Magnum cases I can get in large supply.
 
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