I am trying to load 308 with a cast bullet on my dillion. It seems to not be sizing the case enough. The bolt on my rifle closed with difficulty every time. Its consisntant. The die is adjusted so the press lever cams over pretty good with no shell in the press.

Do I have to size them on my Rockchucker? I am about to load 300 of them.

Can I grind the bottom of the die? I think its binding on the shoulder of the case like I was neck sizing but using a new Hornady Full lenght sizing die.

Before you start grinding on your dies I would suggest that you try sizing a few cases on your Rockchucker. Because I've never been able to find a Materialputterbacker that works and once you start grinding on your dies you will be past the point of no return.

If you find you can set the shoulders back enough to chamber properly when run in the Rockchucker I would suggest a call to Dillon about what can be done to correct your shell plate.

Do you have this same problem when loading jacketed projectiles for the .308 on your Dillion?

Or have you NEVER successfully loaded a .308 cartridge yet on this press?

You mention your Rockchucker. Have you successfully loaded .308 on that press? With this projectile?

What have the cast projectiles been sized to?

Is the projectile seated long? Are there marks on the nose when you remove a loaded round from the firearm?

I am going to presume that you do not have any Prussian blue on hand.

In it's absence, use a magic marker to color the loaded case where you believe your trouble to be and close your bolt on it. Pull the round out and SEE where the fit is an issue by where the marker has been removed.

Then it might be easier to figure out that to do to fix it.

Just a thought. Maybe you're sizing the case TOO much, and crushing the shoulder. Try backing the die out to just neck size the case and see if it gets any better.

Also, check your seater die isnt turned in too far. I have crumpled shoulders and its tough to tell. Set it up IAW with the vendors recommendations and you shouldnt have a problem.

I have smoked the bullet to set the OAL. Its a lead bullet that fits perfectly in the throat.

I have never loaded jacketed for the 308. Its always been a cast bullet gun. Same for my 1917 enfield.

I sized a few on the rockchucker. I will see how they work later tonight.

David

The ones sized on the rockchucker worked lickety split.

I will just size them one at a time.

Going to look up and make sure I have the right shell plate. Then maybe call dillion.

Thanks
David

The FIRST THING I'd do is to CALL DILLON! They have the best customer service around and will be more than happy to assist you.

It has been a while since I last loaded cast .308s but my procedure (from memory) was this:
1) FL size on Rockchucker - substitute .22cal expander ball in size die so that case neck is not expanded during sizing but cases are decapped.
2) Clean lube from cases and trim to length.
3) Chamfer necks in and out - be sure to get a nice inside chamfer.
4) Tumble, check flash holes for media.
5) Run through Dillon 550 with Lyman M-die in first position to properly expand neck for the cast bullet. Third position was a normal seating die (seat only). In the fourth position I used a Lee FCD.

I always used #2400 and the Lyman 311041 bullet. No filler was used. My theory/hope was that the FCD helped keep the load buttoned up long enough to get the powder fully burned and it did seem to help but any die that would lightly crimp would probably work fine. If you are shooting single-shot, you might not even need/want a crimp. My loads were used in a Model 70 and I was using the ammo to practice my bolt work so I did not want any problems with the bullets moving around. I shot my loads out to 170-yards with no issues. I cannot recall velocity but believe it was in the 1600-1700 FPS range.

There are several things it could be. I doubt grinding dies is a solution.

Do you have a case gauge such as a Wilson?

First thing to do is check with a gauge that your brass is sized correctly. If the sizing of the shoulder is not correct you are doomed from the beginning. How about the length of the sized brass what is that?

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Still Running Against the Wind

I bet the shoulders on the case has moved forward and they
need to be FULL resized again to Factory spec's.

Happened to my 1903 bolt a few years back at the range.....
think it was about the 4th or 5th reloading ?

The bolt should go home without any felt resistance.......

good loading.

Using an RCBS Case Micrometer has been invaluable for setting up and checking the shoulder position in .308 being run in my M1A SuperMatch where this dimension is critical!

Next is to make sure that your cartridge length is trimmed to minimum...I full length resize everything that might POSSIBLY find its way into my M1A...to ensure that there is NO problem.

Randy

I have no problem loading .308 in my Dillon 550, but I haven't tried cast bullets yet.

.308 headspaces on the shoulder, not the neck. Unlike resizing straight walled cases, the die for resizing bottleneck cases does not normally touch the shell plate. It is adjusted to get the correct shoulder length, for which you need a case gauge (e.g., Wilson), which you can buy from Dillon (and elsewhere) for about $25.00. If you crush the shoulder, the case might bulge too. It will only get worse when you seat a bullet.

Most once-fired brass is too long overall. After resizing, trim and chamfer the cases to spec. If necessary, ream or swage the primer pockets too.

Cast bullets are usually oversized to about 0.001" larger than the land diameter for good sealing. That is often larger than jacketed bullets, which will cause the neck of the cartridge to expand.

The ogive is probably different on cast bullets, and may stick in the rifling when chambered. A quick check is to "plunk" test in the barrel with the bolt removed. The base should be flush, and the cartridge should not stick in the chamber after being pressed firmly with your thumb.

Dillon resizing dies have a long taper for easy feeding. This may not resize the base enough in your case. You can use any die in the Dillon, as long as it has the right thread (5/8"-16).

OP:

A few months ago I was attempting to load 308 FMJ on my 650 Dillon. Rifle was new Ruger Scout rifle, & I had a TON of issues with some chambering properly and some NOT doing so, despite Wilson case gauge telling life was good.

One by one I waded thru an impressively lengthy list of potential problems causing inability to close bolt on loaded round, which were otherwise all within SPEC.

Eventually sent rifle back to Ruger, who did a few tricks plus hone the chamber. replace the extractor & forget what..... Now all is well.

The satisfaction of solving the problem is ALMOST worth the effort of frustration & fatigue trying to learn the problem.

What is heartening, is the endless efforts of fellow forum members striving to help solve the mystery.

What is satisfying, is being able to chamber each round without a glitch.

What is sobering, is to realize yet again, just how complex a process reloading really can be.

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Dum vivimus Vivamas

I don't know if this is germain or not but, 40 years ago I had the same problem with trying to close the bolt on a Mod. 700 Remington in .223 on Government 5.56 ammo.As most of us now know there is a difference between 5.56 and .223. Check your dies and be sure they are .308 as opposed to 7.62. just a SWAG 'cause I never tried the 7.62 in my .308 rifle. Nick

Dies are 223 and 308 there is no 5.56 or 7.62 dies. They are the same.

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Still Running Against the Wind

Problem resolved.

1) I said I had a new hornady die.
2) I replaced the die because I stuck a case in it. I was using an OLD can of one shot lube that had a bad nozzle. Things were way overlubed, the stuff was dripping off the can so I lubed the cases outdoors. Might as well use it up ?

Lube was not working.

I bought a new can of one shot just when I tried it in the rockchucker press. I put the die back in the dillion, using a new can of one shot, everything worked fine.

I went to the silly wet match tonight and proceeded to wipe out 10 rams at 100 yards with 10 shots. I shot a box of 50 with zero problems. Final score 35 out of 40. I missed one chicken and 4 turkeys.

Thanks all for the help.

What about the Russian?

Those chickens are real smart alecks. Did he strut around and wink at you after your miss? BTW, just kidding, been told I have a weird imagination. However at 100 yards those chickens can look pretty darned tiny, IMO you had an excellent outing.

That's what happens when you quote only parts of what was written, you a News Reporter?

I hear no one has seen him lately. Believed to be dead or moved to Brighton Beach.

Only responding to what was posted. 223/5,56 and 308/7.62 x51 ,not covering all calibers made.

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Still Running Against the Wind

The chicken I missed was at 25 yards. It happens.

Everything is good. I knocked out 300 of those powder coated cast loads. I am going to use it until the end of the silhouette match. My son and girlfriend both like to shoot it too.

Next are 30-06 for my 1917 enfield. I load it about the same way.

Thanks
David