Reloading 307 Winchester

davemccarthy707

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I have never reloaded. However I am planning on loading for a 307 Winchester. Will the .308 Lee-loader kit work for this? I have read that the 308 Winchester dies are very close to the 307. Thoughts?
 
I would think not. Seeing as the 307 is rimmed, and the OAL is shorter.

If I had a Lee Loader in 308 and some 307 cases, I would try it just to see. However, Midway USA shows trim dies, FL dies and others as for both 308 and 307 Win.

Just as a side note, what particular firearm do you possess that is chambered for this oddity of a cartridge?
 
I would think not. Seeing as the 307 is rimmed, and the OAL is shorter.
Redding lists the 308 and 307 dies as the same. SB may be the way to go. AFAIK ... the 307 is just a rimmed version of the 308 with thicker walls.

Just as a side note, what particular firearm do you possess that is chambered for this oddity of a cartridge?
We tried to tell him that a Savage 99 or Browning BLR in 308 would be a better purchase, esp with the pointy bullets.


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I have reloaded the 307 and the dies are the same as the 308 winchester. You need a different shell holder, as stated above. i have never used the Lee-loader kit before.
I found that 170gr flat nose worked well with IMR4064.
 
You may have a problem with the lee loader as it only neck sizes. Try a lee hand press and conventional dies. Since it is a lever, you may have trouble chambering the rounds. Sooner or later a full length resize will be needed. Just my opinion.
 
You may have a problem with the lee loader as it only neck sizes. Try a lee hand press and conventional dies. Since it is a lever, you may have trouble chambering the rounds. Sooner or later a full length resize will be needed. Just my opinion.

I have a Win model 94AE in .307, and I've learned that both chambering and extraction can become 'issues'. The .307 loads are recommended to be lower pressure than bolt-action .308 loads, since otherwise the extraction with lever action may be too difficult.

The very first (!) .307 round I fired, got stuck in the chamber of my Win94. I must have gotten a little too manly with the lever, and before I knew it, the wimpy extractor had snapped in two with the casing still stuck! Fortunately I was able to have the broken part replaced under warranty at a nearby authorized gunsmith. The one and only time in nearly 40 years of shooting that I've ever broken a gun-part.
 
Redding lists the 308 and 307 dies as the same. SB may be the way to go. AFAIK ... the 307 is just a rimmed version of the 308 with thicker walls.


We tried to tell him that a Savage 99 or Browning BLR in 308 would be a better purchase, esp with the pointy bullets.


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I don't know which is uglier the savage 99 or the Browning BLR ;)
That is why I bought the BB 307 model 94.
 
I have used H4895 with 170 grainers with good success in my model 94 BB. Also have read that RL 15 is another excellent powder to use. I use my redding 308 win comp. dies with a 331 neck as the casings seem to be a bit smaller in the neck compared to the 308 win. Have fun
 
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