308 surplus/cheap bullets, etc

[buckandaquarterquarterstaff 5]

One post, three questions...

Anyone got a line on surplus, or otherwise inexpensive 308 bullets (just bullets, not ammo)?

Has anyone ever tried 30-06 surplus bullets in the 308 case, if so do these fit in the saiga mags and otherwise function?

Anybody shoot cast bullets through their saiga, any specifics re loads etc?

 

Thanks

[lsgs 0]

yes,what grain wht 308 bullets? yes 30 cal is 30 cal read a reloading manual to see overal length.. to seat them. and practice good reloading habits when reloading.. if you have never reloaded then take an nra reloading class. and no cast bullets in a semi auto rifle are not a really good idea. possible with care. but pressure curve is bad and leading is a big prob.

[nc007 0]

I BUY 30 CAL SURPLUS BULLETS FROM WIDENERS AND PATS RELOADING

[buckandaquarterquarterstaff 5]

Hey Lsgs...

 

Thanks for the info/reply. I already reload 300 wby as well as pistol cartridges. Years of experience with the pistol stuff, newer to the rifle cartridge reloading.

 

What I was getting at was that the channelure on most surplus 30-06 bullets is farther toward the tail of the bullet than it ought to be if cut for a proper 308 overall length. I am concerned about the bullet staying there when knocked around without a channeled crimp. When loading for my 300 wby there's typically no channellure on the bullets, and a very mild taper crimp with a lee factory taper crimp die is my standard practice (more for standardization than anything else - it does improve accuracy). But then again I'm not shoving 20 of them into a detached mag, just my beautiful Sako 75.

 

I think a properly adjusted taper crimp die could tighten up things without any channelure, but is that really adequate? If not, then back to my second question, can you seat using the original 30-06 channellure and still operate the saiga 308 with the slightly longer cartridge OAL? I know I could cut a new channel, but what a PITA, and not worth doing to save a few bucks.

 

Thanks for reading!

[nc007 0]

YOUR MAX OAL IS WHAT WILL FIT IN YOUR MAG.DONT WORRY ABOUT YOUR CANNELURES,PRESS YOUR BULLET AT MAG OAL.YOU CAN CRIMP IF YOU LIKE. I DONT CRIMP MY RELOADS. IF MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER TO CRIMP THEN DONT STOP CRIMPING. ALWAYS CHECK MAX OAL THAT FIT IN THE BARREL. I BET THE DIFFERENCE IN MAX MAG OAL AND MAX BARREL OAL WILL BE TENS OF THOUSANDS.

[lsgs 0]

dont worry about the cannalure,if its down below the case neck its ok. i use lee taper crimp on allmy ammo.. just load them for 308 specs.. they will be fine.i actually go a couple 1/1000 short. for variance between different guns with tight match chambers. now check them when reloading so as not to seat them so deep taht you are into the ogive of the bullet. they will then sink into the case from the force of stripping from the mag and loading into the chamber... easy fix for initial setup on your die is to take a factory round or a surplus 308 with same type bullet and back the adjustment out of your seating die, then runthe factory round up into the seating die, and slowly adjust your die downonto it, then play with it for your reloads... hope this helps.

[buckandaquarterquarterstaff 5]

That's the info I was looking for. I was hedging on if the taper crimp would be adequate, and hearing the opinion that one could get by without a crimp at all is reassuring.

 

Now I'll be flexing my muscles to resize some more of the belt fed brass I ordered.

 

Thanks!

[ghostrider 0]

As an update to this thread, I ordered some on Dec. 22. He emailed me about a day later saying that it was on back order and asked it I wanted out of the deal. I told him I could wait for the order. One Dec. 27 he told me he didn't know when he would be getting any more in, and I again told him it wasn't a problem.

 

Today I received a notice via email stating that my order had been cancled.

[lazlong 0]

I got some 150 grain Yugo surplus bullets from Wideners, and they fit and function fine.

 

I use Hornady 168 grain match bullets for the more accurate loads, but the rifle and rounds shoot better than I do, so I am not terribly concerned with perfect bullets.

 

I use the Lee Factory Crimp Die, which doesn't utilize the cannelure anyway. It crimps the bullet tight enough to prevent setback from being violently shoved into the chamber.

[ironhead7544 35]

Ive shot uncrimped match bullets from Speer in my 308-1 with no problems. I also use a Lee Factory Crimp die on all my ammo except match rifle. A lot of reloaders say a crimp is unnecessary except for tube magazines. The 308 surplus bullets work ok.

[ghostrider 0]

My apologies. I posted in the wrong thread. Wasn't trying to hijack.