Probably THE Dumbest question ever on this forum

Lost...again

Lost...again

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Hi there,
Im fairly new to reloading, started a couple of months ago and have safely fired about 400 of my handloads, with no real issues, apart from some AE brass that would not eject, everything else did, just not the AE. Simple fix...no more AE brass :)
My DUMB question is...Is it possible, safe or advisable to use 30 cal bullets in a 308 ? I was at a VERY LARGE dealer this week and the "reloading specialist" sold me some 30 cal bullets, telling me that it was okay to use them in the 308. Now I took him at his word, hes the expert, but sitting at the bench I started to have doubts, Ive always bought 308 bullets for my 308 gun, and this doesnt seem right. The bullets are 150 gr PP Hornady.

Id raher as a stupid question than blow my face off.


Thanks in advance

Derek
 
.308, .30-06, .300 Savage, .300WSM, .300 Win. .300 Wby., .300-378, .300RUM., and several others, all use bullets that are .308 in diameter. The groove diameter of almost all .30 caliber rifles is actually .308 inches.
 
Thanks for the uberfast replies gentlemen :)

I feel a lot happier now. I have measured 10 out of a bag of 100 and they all read 0.303, that had me thinking they were 303 bullets.
Are they still good to go in the 308.
Sorry to be a numbnuts, but as they say, there are no stupid questions. Just stupid people who dont ask questions.

Derek
 
Derek:

On a high point, you are not even in the ballpark of the stupidest question asked here on CGN. We even have a weekly schedule when the recurring stupid questions are supposed to be discussed.

Like your Avatar. Some of my best friends are EME.

Hey look, post number 1000.
 
Lost...again said:
Thanks for the uberfast replies gentlemen :)

I feel a lot happier now. I have measured 10 out of a bag of 100 and they all read 0.303, that had me thinking they were 303 bullets.
Are they still good to go in the 308.
Sorry to be a numbnuts, but as they say, there are no stupid questions. Just stupid people who dont ask questions.

Derek
Click to expand...

This post made think something's not right. I just measured some 150grn Hornady FMJs I get in bulk. They're measuring .3075". .303 seems a tad small. Are you sure your calipers were zeroed? Load some up and see how they group.
 
Thanks for all the help. Pretty confident about using them now.

Time to buy new calipers tho. To be sure of my measurements I measured known 308 bullets and they too came out at 0.303. So it would seem I have a caliper issue now !! At least I kow Im 5 thou short on everything..............Certainly explains a bunch of cases that trimmed too short LOL.

Thanks for all the help gents............I gotta go buy some new calipers now :) (NOT from Crappy tire this time)

You all probably guessed I wasnt a weapons tech :)
 
nothing wrong with that question at all, in fact when I started reloading I remember asking for 30-30 bullets and being handed .308 bullets - and not knowing if these were correct.... before the days of the internet, so I had to feel dumb for a bit longer than I would today.

As M39A2 has indicated, even though 7.62mm nato is .308, 7.62 russian (7.62X39 and 7.62X54) is .311 and they are not interchangeable.

Not to worry... you will learn SO fast it isn't funny
 
Fusilier said:
Derek:

On a high point, you are not even in the ballpark of the stupidest question asked here on CGN. We even have a weekly schedule when the recurring stupid questions are supposed to be discussed.
Click to expand...

No Kidding. You can almost count the days down to the exact same stupid questions being asked again and again.

Like:
-What is the best machine to clean brass?
-What is the best reloading Manual?
-What is the best progressive reloading press?
-Are Lee products any good?
-How do I make a home made tumbler?

I am sure there are lots others.

To the OP. Not a stupid question at all, we all have to learn somehow and this forum and the Internet in general is a huge step forward from when I started in the early 70's when all you had was books in the library.

I would agree with Tom, make sure your calipers are zeroed because they should be .307-.308 , I really can't think of a bullet sized at .303 off the top of my head.
 
In view of all the replies you received, I'd suggest you change (Go Advanced) the thread name to,
"Actually NOT the dumbest question....."
Cheers
 
I've said this before many times,and so has a lot of other people,but there is no such thing as a dumb question when it comes to reloading/handloading ammunition and or the shooting sports in general.We all started from scratch at one time or another.Much better to get some advice in advance than to take a chance on wrecking your gun,or worse yourself,in my humble opinion.Ask away,I still do many times.
 
The question is did he sell you the bullets for rifles with the left-hand twist barrels?

If unsure you can always send them my way and I'll test them for you to insure they are safe to shoot :)
 
Dammit OP, I was hoping for a much dumber question, maybe like "is it safe to drop a lit match in my can of powder"... :D


Seriously though, reloading is a precision art. Best you ask as many questions, almost all reloading stuff is non-returnable, mistakes/purchase errors can add up in a hurry!
 
30 calibre refers to the diameter inside the rifling. The rifling depth on average is .004" which is on both sides of the barrel (since it's round). Add that once for each side to the calibre and you have the bullet diameter; .308". For smaller bullets like a 22 the rifling depth is only .002" (roughly) so a 22 calibre barrel uses a .224" bullet. 50 calibre goes up to .510" since rifling is .005" in depth. 303 bullets are 303 calibre so, after adding rifling, the bullets approx .311" in diameter (though loose military bores can measure up to .317"). This is only one system and not all cartridges follow it. Most 45 calibre pistols for example fire .452" bullets but the rifling depth is greater than .001" so they are probably closer to 445 calibre. The 44 magnum is one of the worst as it fires a .429" bullets so is actually just above 42 calibre. Then there is the other system of measuring where they use the outside diameter of the cartridge case instead of bullet diameter. An example of this is the various .38 and .380 "calibre" pistols which actually fire .355" to .358" bullets. I actually got into a debate once in a store with another customer who insisted a 9mm Glock fired a .380" bullet. Worst part was the "expert" behind the counter supported the guy.

In short, check a reputable book for actual required bullet diameter.

I also never trust a caliper to measure something as precise as bullet diameter and only use micrometers for that. Most of my .308 bullets come out to .3075" to .3085" depending on brand.

firemachine69 said:
almost all reloading stuff is non-returnable, mistakes/purchase errors can add up in a hurry!
Click to expand...
That's why if you buy the wrong bullets you simply have to buy a new rifle to shoot them in :p
 
Micrometer for sure, if you know that you have a .308 and the bullet measures .308 then you're safe to load for it so long as you know the weight.
 
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