Been loading for my 1st generation BLR since about 1980. Factory ammo was out of sight, price wise, even back then, compared to the more common rounds.
Only real thoughts are make sure you do not over crimp, as that can set the neck back slightly, causing a slight bulge in the shoulder, as can neck expanding from .308 to .358 if not lubed properly. And that brings up my second thought - The BLR does not have a lot of camming or extraction power, so make sure any rounds you intend to use for serious use get run thru the gun first to test cycling. These guns are also fun with cast bullets. Depending on what powder you use, slight powder compression may be needed as case capacity is a limiting factor. Using a drop tube, or tapping a full case can help settle the powder a little, especially with large grain stick powders.
Never needed a small base die, but I only use military brass for this application fired from one of my tight chambered bolt actions, not my looser chambered battle rifles.
The .358 win in a BLR is in my opinion, about the perfect woods big game rig.
Forgot to add make sure you trim your cases after forming.
Larry
