OOBER noob question
- Thread starter Zkgabriel
- Start date
RangerPark
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Near Edmonton, AB
.303 British and 7.62x39 use .311/.312" diameter bullets.
.308, 30-06 and .300 Win Mag and other similar calibers use .308" diameter bullets.
.308, 30-06 and .300 Win Mag and other similar calibers use .308" diameter bullets.
unstableryan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Beautiful Okanagan Valley
You know. That's pretty far from the dumbest question that a new person could ask. You would get terrible accuracy with the .308 bullet in the Enfield but it wouldn't be dangerous. The .311 bullet in the 30'06 may work, but you would have high pressure. I've shot 7.62x39 pulled bullets out of a '06 barrel but it was a mounted universal receiver in a concrete bunker. Still nothing bad happened. A rifle perhaps would be different.
I'm not giving this remark much credit either.
At least the question was asked.
The ABC's of reloading book is a great suggestion.
Do some serious reading there Grasshopper.
Welcome to CGN and disregard the pawmpuzz remarks.
sixty9santa
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Excellent question actually!
Better to always ask than risk injury!
I know I may sound like a complete dumbass in some of my threads, and do get flack a times but, better to ask than not!
CGN is a wonderful community where bad apples are banned, very few sour ones linger and the rest are the most helpful people you'll ever encounter.
All that being said, the more books you can read and have on hand, the better!
Better to always ask than risk injury!
I know I may sound like a complete dumbass in some of my threads, and do get flack a times but, better to ask than not!
CGN is a wonderful community where bad apples are banned, very few sour ones linger and the rest are the most helpful people you'll ever encounter.
All that being said, the more books you can read and have on hand, the better!
Hey there. For sure get a couple of reloading manuals and read up on the basics. I really soaked up the Hornady Book when I first started out. If you are open to suggestions, if you haven't joined a range yet, perhaps you should. The local range I belong to has a heap of members, with who knows how many combined years with the shooting sports. A club might offer "intro to reloading clinics" (like my range does). There might also be a well versed member that would enjoy sharing some of his/her knowledge with you as well. Reading the basics in manuals, combined with hands on experience, mentored by a fellow shooter/reloader, would have excellent value. Good luck and have some fun!
Yes, you probably can use both bullets in both rifles.
If you are an experienced re-loader, you can make up ammo using either 308 bullets or 312 bullets and shoot them in both. The bullets will be tight in one bore and loose in the other. Accuracy might be ok, or might be very poor.
Before loading the 312s in the 3006 brass, stick a bullet into the case mouth of a fired 3006 case. If it fits in with no resistance, your rifle has the neck clearance to take the fatter bullet. Seat the fat bullet deep, so it has a running start at the tight throat.
That said, this is not the kind of load development a noob should try.
Buy a box of 308 bullets and a box of 312 (or 311) bullets. I suggest 180 gr flat base (lead core) bullets to start with.
If you are an experienced re-loader, you can make up ammo using either 308 bullets or 312 bullets and shoot them in both. The bullets will be tight in one bore and loose in the other. Accuracy might be ok, or might be very poor.
Before loading the 312s in the 3006 brass, stick a bullet into the case mouth of a fired 3006 case. If it fits in with no resistance, your rifle has the neck clearance to take the fatter bullet. Seat the fat bullet deep, so it has a running start at the tight throat.
That said, this is not the kind of load development a noob should try.
Buy a box of 308 bullets and a box of 312 (or 311) bullets. I suggest 180 gr flat base (lead core) bullets to start with.
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In addition to what Ganderite has to say, for the .303 British, you will need to neck size the .303 brass down using a neck die sized for a .308 bullet. If you don't, you will quite likely end up with little to no neck tension and the bullet will slide in and out of its own free will.
Personally I wouldn't go the other way, using a .311 bullet in a 30-06, but that is just me being very conservative in my approach to reloading.
Both processes are for someone well versed in reloading with a lot of practice doing so. There are enough things that can go wrong without adding to them by pushing the envelope, especially when just starting out reloading.
My suggestion - stick with the proper bullet in the proper brass. Read several manuals about the reloading process and understand what they are saying. Additionally, go to youtube and watch some videos.
Personally I wouldn't go the other way, using a .311 bullet in a 30-06, but that is just me being very conservative in my approach to reloading.
Both processes are for someone well versed in reloading with a lot of practice doing so. There are enough things that can go wrong without adding to them by pushing the envelope, especially when just starting out reloading.
My suggestion - stick with the proper bullet in the proper brass. Read several manuals about the reloading process and understand what they are saying. Additionally, go to youtube and watch some videos.
A good supply of .30-cal bullets is a good idea, as they can be used in many popular reloads.
But the 303 isn't one of them, I'm afraid. As some have said, you can if you approach it properly - but the results would be terrible for the amount of work you'd have to put in.
But the 303 isn't one of them, I'm afraid. As some have said, you can if you approach it properly - but the results would be terrible for the amount of work you'd have to put in.
I agree with cgriffin 100% about getting and reading a few reloading manuals. I'm 68 and have been reloading for over 48 years, and every year I grab one of my manuals and re-read the front part of the manual. This replaces any information that may have leaked out of my ears and been lost.
And I hate to say this but I'm going to disagree with Ganderite because I would never tell a new reloader anything that deviates from normal reloading. Meaning I would hate to see the OP being hurt if he screws up and does something wrong shooting a .312 bullet in a .308 bore.
Last summer I screwed up and double charged a .357 magnum case with a very light charge of Titegroup in my Ruger Vaquero. Luckily the Ruger .357 is built like a tank and no harm was done. "BUT" the case had to be pounded out of the cylinder, and it woke me up to the fact that anyone can make a mistake no matter how long they have been reloading. I forgot and didn't move the powder funnel and double charged the case and screwed up again and didn't check the powder level in the cases before placing the bullets in the cases.
Below I was lucky and was shooting Cowboy Action start loads of Titegroup and put 7.0 grains in the case instead of 3.5 grains. You must be totally mentally awake when reloading and double and triple check everything. And even experienced old farts can screw up so don't even try putting a .312 bullet in a .308 bore. Sorry Ganderite but that's a accident waiting for a place to happen with no room for error.
