Can I resize a 311 brass neck down to 308?

[sgn1003 0]

Tried searching google without success.

I bought 500 7.62x51 Lake City brass from wideners. After some tough cleaning and removing the primers trying to make it shine, I found out that the brass neck is actually .311. I reloaded a few 308 bullets anyway and crimped it so the bullet would stay. Tried the rounds out on my Saiga 308 and it wouldn't fully chamber.

I would assume that Saiga 308 has a 308 bore rather than 311. Is that right?

Can i resize the a 311 brass neck down to 308?

thanks

[cvasqu03 21]

....Can i resize the a 311 brass neck down to 308?

thanks

 

 

Yes

[sgn1003 0]

....Can i resize the a 311 brass neck down to 308?

thanks

 

 

Yes

 

what brand or what die would I need to use? I have a Lee single stage as of now. thanks

[ironhead7544 35]

If they wont chamber it could be some other problem. Try chambering a resized and trimmed case. If it wont go in you might need a small base sizer. I have found some brass fired in a MG had to be sized in a regular FL die and then a small base die in order to get it back to size. Most of the military fired brass will be from an MG.

Also try not crimping and see if the round will chamber. Sometimes you can get a small amount of deformation from too much crimp and the round wont chamber.

My Saiga 308 was very accurate with the 168 gr Speer match bullet and Reloader 15 powder.

Edited August 6, 2011 by ironhead7544

[cvasqu03 21]

....Can i resize the a 311 brass neck down to 308?

thanks

 

 

Yes

 

what brand or what die would I need to use? I have a Lee single stage as of now. thanks

 

The resizing dies LEE uses resize the case mouth kind of small then the decapping pin re-expands it back to the desired size as it's coming out. At least that's how it works with the 7.62x39. My 7.62x39 LEE dies, came with both a .308 and a .310 expander. You can buy just the expander in .308 from MidwayUSA (item number 115820). If you're dead set on doing this, try measuring the expansion part of your decapping pin. This replacement pin should work on your .308 dies also, but it's possible your existing one is already this size anyway which is why I say you should measure it first.

 

As always, if you're going to be doing any serious resizing, make sure to use plenty of lubricant on the outside of the case mouth and also on the inside (I like the MidwayUSA fine powdered mica). Like Ironhead 7544 said look into other possibilities as this might not be the cause of the problem you're having.

[Dudethebagman 222]

I used ordinary Lee 308 FL dies on a bunch of LC 308 cases then trimmed them back to length. They chambered fine.

 

However, because the brass is shot in a machine gun it is quite expanded before resizing. Resizing them for the first time does cause them to be SIGNIFICANTLY over length, so make sure you trim them.

 

I'm not sure that's your problem, but it probably doesn't help your cause.

[Unknown Poster 5]

I loaded around 8k of 308win all brands of brass including LC trimmed them and ran them thru the RGB LEE 308win FL dies and there all good. The bullets are tight with no crimp. But i did lower the die for it to add a little crimp anyhoo.

 

Will the loose bullets in your .311" case neck held in place by the crimp move when they load into the chamber?

Edited August 9, 2011 by Unknown Poster

[THX1138 7]

I have loading a lot of .308, make sure your re-sizing die is full length re-sizing the case instead of just neck sizing it.

 

And like was said before, check the case length -- depending on the brass, they can stretch quite a bit.

 

Reloading for a auto gun can be a PITA sometimes as well as being a lot of fun. In my experience, I have always gotten the best accuracy out of hand-loads.

Edited August 10, 2011 by THX1138

[KRINK_N_STEIN 0]

It is best to use a small base full length resizing die in autoloaders and lever guns. Midway and all the other guys sell the die seperately, it gives you the peace of mind knowing the rounds will chamber. It sizes the base of the case slightly smaller to insure trouble free chambering.

 

 

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=989104

Edited August 13, 2011 by KRINK_N_STEIN