Reloading military 308

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jimbubba

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Hi Guys I have some military (I guess) 308 where it seems the primers are staked in.Is it worth the hassle to try to reload them?I expect that the primer ejector rod in the die will break.Or will it?
 
I'm not sure how heavily staked the primer will be, but I know with the Federal/American Eagle .223 I had no problem. I ran 50 cases through my Lee die before I even noticed they where crimped. Even then, that was only because I went to prime them.
 
Mil brass is typically good stuff. Either ream or swage the primer pockets. Uniforming is a good idea too. You can buy hand reamers, powered reamers and press mounted and standalone swagers.
 
As mentioned, usually those cases are pretty good stuff. First make sure they aren't Berdan primed and have a single flash hole.

If they have a single flash hole just pop the milspec primer and then one extra step begins.

Again as mentioned, you can purchase a primer swaging mandrel which you use with your press to force away the indents and smooth out the edges of the pocket lips. There is also another way which works quite well. Purchase a counter sink bit for your electric hand drill and use it to chamfer the rolled lip of the primer pocket so the new primer will press in easily. Another thing about the chamfered primer pocket is that it almost eliminates a ruined primer as it enters the hole.

Also, reduce your powder by around five percent. Milsurp cases usually have thicker side walls and capacity is diminished by about that much.
 
I have used a neck chamfering tool chucked up and running under power to remove primer pocket crimps. Just don't cut too deep.
If it is quality brass, it is worth using.
It is probably necessary to reduce loads a bit.
 
no issues, use lots of case lube. The only dies that have issues are lee, because they friction lock the decapper instead of having threads like everyone elses. I've bent one RCBS spindle but that was one out of about 4200 cases I've done over the years in 5.56, .308 and .303

Im not a big fan of RCBS dies, but their swager is awesome for doing high volume of brass to get rid of the crimp.
 
Your decapper will pop 'em out with no fuss, but you'll have to remove the excess brass to get the new primer in. One time nuisance thing with good brass.
Federal American Eagle is commercial. Shouldn't be a primer crimp. Seems to me there's no crimp on any .223/5.56 milsurp.
 
Sunray some companies are doing it for the AR crowd which makes up the majority of US shooters. Hornady match .223 is crimped but their goofy zombie ammo is not. Some Norinco has a 3 point stake while some has nothing. WCC 5.56 brass is heavily crimped.
 
sunray said:
Your decapper will pop 'em out with no fuss, but you'll have to remove the excess brass to get the new primer in. One time nuisance thing with good brass.
Federal American Eagle is commercial. Shouldn't be a primer crimp. Seems to me there's no crimp on any .223/5.56 milsurp.
Click to expand...

I didn't think there was a crimp on them either for that same reason. If I get a moment and remember, I'll try posting a picture when I'm able.
 
If you have a large quantity of military cases, it is well worth using. I lube, size, decap as usual, then run a $6.00 counter sink tool into the primer pocket, to shave off the staked edge.

But military brass is heavier (less internal volume) so it must be loaded differently. Typically, about 2 grains less powder than a commercial case.

If you have a pile of range pick up brass, with a few military cases, either save them aside until you get enough, or just toss them. You don't want the occasional military case mixed in with commercial cases. With a 308 load, the military case could be over max.
 
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