Crimped Brass

[joltash 0]

I've got a newbie question. I'll be buying a new Saiga .308 in a couple of weeks and don't know much of anything about the AK's. Somebody told me that when you fire a round through a Saiga it'll crimp the brass and you won't be able to reload it. I do my own reloading so I just wanted to know if this was true or not in regard to the .308. Thanks.

[aka108 0]

The Saiga 308 I shoot has crimped a few cases but not badly. If you reload anything for a semi-auto you need to full length size the cases and the die will straighten the cases out but a few of the dents will show but not really affect anything. (Unless you are a bench rest shooter). At this time there is a big quantity of good surplus 308 on the market that is less expensive by far than reloading. I was reloading 308 but started using the surplus ammo and have been pretty pleased with the results. Best yet, no chasing the brass from the brush and spending a bunch of time at the bench. Also cheaper. For what it's worth. You will enjoy the Saiga.

[thinking 1]

Hi

I was drawn to your question because in my 223 saiga every round comes out "crimped" with a nice dent in the side.

I reload 308 for my savage 10fp. It is worth it because of the groups I can get bench rest shooting. Plus I use premium bullets which are always found on the high priced 308 ammo.

I have shot "cheap" and match grade ammo through my 223 for tests. There was not enough accuracy improvement to warrant the higher costing ammo.

The thought of reloading for a saiga did not make sense for me. It is not an "accurate" rifle so I doubt the benefits of accurate reloading will be worth the time. 223 ammo (and 308) can be found cheap and in abundance. With a semi-auto it is too easy to go through boxes of ammo, so unless you have a high output reloading set-up just have fun plinking.

[jtoddellis 2]

I have noticed that my .308 bends just about every shell. When you shoot it the empty hulls go every direction. It slings them a long way, it would be a lot of trouble to hunt them down to reload.

[joltash 0]

Where can I get the cheap .308 ammo??

[jtoddellis 2]

I've been using Austrailian ammo. It's great for just shooting. When it comes time to deer hunt I will buy something in a hollow point. I got my austrailian ammo here: http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/A308AC_...tries__308.html I think the shipping was $10 for one can.

[joltash 0]

Unfortunately, in Massachusetts you can't have ammo delivered to you. I would need to buy it in state. Anybody here from Mass that would know where to get cheap ammo?

[joltash 0]

I was able to find a local dealer that had suplus Indian .308. Has anybody used this? Is it reliable? It looks pretty old, but I picked it up anyways cause I got 300 rds for 50 bucks.

[aka108 0]

I obtained some Indian 308 from Wideners Shooting Supply out of Johnson City, Tenn. The stuff looked good and no complaints on its performance. Forget what I paid but it was pretty reasonable and unless you are doing some match shooting its is pretty good. Good source of info re who has cheap ammunition in a variety of calibers is Shotgun News. Regret you have such restrictive laws in Mass but looking at most of the politicians your voters put in office, laws of that type are no cause to wonder.