Here goes nothin'

[crak]

Just pulled the trigger on a Hornady LnL Progressive and $$$$$$ worth of crap to get going for .308. I'll get some .45 dies later cause I already have way more of that than I'm going to shoot this year. I'm hoping to skip the whole swage/trim madness by buying prepped LC brass for the first go-around (with reamed primer pockets) and using the RCBS X-Die to control the case length during sizing without having to trim. Does that make any sense?

Why does even the Dillon primer flip tray cost 3x as much as the nearest competitor? Nice racket. I fell for their tumbler anyway.

The press is on backorder but I'm not exactly in a hurry. There's that little detail of the bench I still have to take care of.

Get ready for a parade of stupid questions and a whole lot more

Here's the list o' crap if anybody's interested:
DILLON CM-500 CASE/MEDIA SEPARATOR/SMALL (DP21045)
DILLON CV-500 VIBRATORY CASE CLEANER/SMALL (DP21027)
HORNADY 308 WIN MODIFIED CASE (HRNA308)
HORNADY OAL GA. CURVED AUTO/LEVER ACTION/PUMP (HRNC1550)
HRN CASE NECK BRUSH 30cal (HRN380067)
HRN CHAMFERING/DEBURRING TOOL (HRN050017)
HRN ELECTRONIC SCALE 350 gr CAPACITY .1gr ACCURACY (HRN050103)
HRN ONE-SHOT CASE LUBE 5.5oz AEROSOL 12/CS (HRN9991)
HRN POWDER COP, CHECKS DROPPED POWDER CHARGE (HRN050063)
HRN POWDER MEASURE DRAIN INSERT LOCK-N-LOAD (HRN050125)
HRN POWDER MEASURE RIFLE METERING INSERT L-N-L (HRN050124)
HRN PRESS LOCK-N-LOAD AUTO PROGRESSIVE (HRN095100)
HRN S/P #1: 22-250/243/ 270Win/284/30-06/45ACP... (HRN392601)
KRAUSE "THE ABC's OF RELOADING" 7th ED. 288pg (KRABC7)
LEE 308 WIN FACTORY CRIMP DIE (LEE90823)
LYMAN CASE LENGTH HEAD SPACE GAUGE 308 WIN (LY7832321)
LYMAN RELOADING MANUAL 48th EDITION (LY9817048)
RCBS 308 WIN FL X-DIE SET, S/H #3 (RCBS37812)
RCBS BULLET PULLER POWER PULL (HAMMER TYPE) (RCBS09415)
RCBS PRIMER POCKET BRUSH COMBO w/HANDLE (RCBS09574)
RCBS PRIMER TRAY 2 (RCBS09480)

 

[TonyD]

What are you going to be loading for and what type rifle? Also, I believe you need to trim that brass .020 under spec for the X die to work.

I'd get a set of dial calipers and Stoney Point Cartridge head space gauges and bullet comparator set.

 

[crak]

I plan to load the .308 for two M1A's. One has a match chamber and the other is GI. I'm reloading because I'd rather do this than spend $50-$90 on every 140 rounds of SA sloppy surplus. Maybe put some Winchester 147 FMJ on there to start, and then move up to Sierra 168 HPBT if I start outshooting the other stuff.

I already have digital calipers. The "HORNADY OAL GA. CURVED AUTO/LEVER ACTION/PUMP (HRNC1550)" is the new name for the Stoney Point headspace gauge. I haven't heard of a bullet comparator from anywhere until you just mentioned it.

This page is the one with the processed brass I intend to start out with. It says it's trimmed to 2.005 +/- .005 which is actually a little smaller than the X-Die article I saw was using.

 

[TonyD]

I plan to load the .308 for two M1A's. One has a match chamber and the other is GI. I'm reloading because I'd rather do this than spend $50-$90 on every 140 rounds of SA sloppy surplus. Maybe put some Winchester 147 FMJ on there to start, and then move up to Sierra 168 HPBT if I start outshooting the other stuff.

I already have digital calipers. The "HORNADY OAL GA. CURVED AUTO/LEVER ACTION/PUMP (HRNC1550)" is the new name for the Stoney Point headspace gauge. I haven't heard of a bullet comparator from anywhere until you just mentioned it.

This page is the one with the processed brass I intend to start out with. It says it's trimmed to 2.005 +/- .005 which is actually a little smaller than the X-Die article I saw was using.

\

The OAL Ga. is for measuring your lead and jump to set the seating die. Cartridge head space is for setting up your sizing die and the comparator is measuring seating depth to the ogive.

That brass didn't say anything about having the pockets uniformed either.

If you're going to be loading a match round like 168 or 175's DO NOT crimp.

 

[GTOShootr]

I found that Sinclair Intl had the OAL gauge (Chamber-All) under the Stoney Point brand name still, and since they were switching to Hornady branding, it was slightly cheaper than other places. I have Stoney Point bullet comparator set and the Sinclair bullet comparator (I can't remember why I bought both). The Sinclair looks like a big hex nut with holes in it. I like the StoneyPoint/Hornady better because with the same bushing holder it works with their headspace gauge. However, the Sinclair is nice because it is one piece for multiple calibers and has not attachment to your calipers.

I don't know if it is the same with an M1A mag, but I haven't had a need to use the Chamber-All to tune my AR load since the OAL is restricted by what can fit in the mag.

 

[TonyD]

I found that Sinclair Intl had the OAL gauge (Chamber-All) under the Stoney Point brand name still, and since they were switching to Hornady branding, it was slightly cheaper than other places. I have Stoney Point bullet comparator set and the Sinclair bullet comparator (I can't remember why I bought both). The Sinclair looks like a big hex nut with holes in it. I like the StoneyPoint/Hornady better because with the same bushing holder it works with their headspace gauge. However, the Sinclair is nice because it is one piece for multiple calibers and has not attachment to your calipers.

I don't know if it is the same with an M1A mag, but I haven't had a need to use the Chamber-All to tune my AR load since the OAL is restricted by what can fit in the mag.

I don't like the Sinclair.

At long range (600 - 1,000) we use 80 and 90 grains that are loaded out just off the lands for 223.