M14 Forum

mfdogman

Hello,
I am going to start to reload for my custom M1A I have experience in reloading but not for this rifle. Can anyone recommend a die set. And is it better to do a full re-size of just a case head re-size. Also is crimping necessary?

Thanks,
Mike

Beavis1971

Hi Mike, welcome to the forum. I load all of my ammo with Lee dies and I full length resize, no crimp.

philip26p

Do a search for reloading and you will find a wealth of knowledge to your heart’s content, ranging from equipment to loads, just make sure to work your loads up.

RAMMAC

You are going to get a lot of different opinions and it will probably overwhelm you but here is my two cents worth.

Most often a full length sized die will do the job fine.
Sometimes, with a tight chamber, a small base die is necessary.
Neck Sizing dies are not recommended.

Some people like to crimp, I don't. Of those that crimp, some will not unless they have a cannelure on the bullet and others crimp no matter what. Some prefer a taper crimp.

RCBS and Lee dies are the most common names you will hear. I've used RCBS for years but I have recently switched to Redding dies, both for sizing and bullet seating. I have their S bushing die for resizing, I like being able to adjust bullet tension by changing the neck diameter and that is the purpose of the S bushing. I also like their competition bullet seating die, it helps make changing the seating depth very easy, quick, and accurate.

By the way, I have been using a Redding Neck Sizing die for my SOCOM hand loads but that only works with that rifle. The cases will not work properly in my loaded model rifle. You have to be very careful when using a neck sizing die because the cases may not allow the bolt to close completely, and that can cause out of battery discharges or maybe slam fires.

John Crusher

I've got a couple of ? and comments.
1. What do you mean by "custom"?
2. What accuracy are you trying to acheive?
3. How anal are you ?
4. How deep are your pockets ?
You can go from a Lee hand loader to a Custom set of Redding Comp. Dies made for your chamber.
IF you properly size then crimping is not necessary.
Go with the best stuff you can afford. I use RCBS and Forster.

tugdriver

Hi All,

Please have a look at this very interesting article !!!
Its all about the reloading of the 14 and M1/A1 !!

Greetings,
Frank
Belgium

http://www.zediker.com/downloads/14_loading.pdf

mineralman55

Get a Wilson case gauge and use it.

SAPPNASTY

I use RCBS full length dies for both my M1A and Garand. Seem to work great

deltablack

I use lee dies, they work well and I achieve good accuracy,and they're very affordable. It's a three die set, so instead of sizing the case, neck, and decapping all at once, I use the neck sizer to decap then I clean the case. It ends up keeping my resizing die cleaner and the ultrasonic cleaner can clean the primer pocket.

A two die set would be quicker, but I feel this gives me good consistency.

If you're going to crimp, the lee factory crimp is very easy to use and is a great design.

I also have hornady dies in another caliber and they are great. The bullet seater presses on the ogive instead of the nose.

RCBS are great, but no special features and I really dislike the crimp.

mfdogman

Ok,
custom = McMilian stock (steel bedded), Kreiger heavy barrel, national match trigger job, Sadlak scope mount and op rod, Leopold mark IV first focal. The smith who did the work shot a 3/4 inch group at 100 yards. Accuracy is a priority and I want to shoot out to 1000 yards. I have an obsessive compulsive nature when it comes to my firearms. As for as deep pockets are concerned, I will walk around with holes in my jeans for months but when it comes to shooting, hunting etc. I understand you get what you pay for. It is have to save for it I will, buy once cry once. I have been using RCBS and Hornady dies and currently have a Forster co ax press.

Thanks for your imput.

charlesPOSTLEwade

Definitely get a case gauge if you do not you may not be able to close the bolt
It lets you know if it is undersized or over sized so you can adjust your die accordingly
I am partial to Hornady Full length dies

Jet

I have been please with RCBS products. Also, I'll second what Tugdriver said above, read the excellent Zideker article he has the link for. It will answer the majority of your questions.

Stg1944

Welcome to the forum.

I'm using RCBS competition dies and Lee universal deprimer.
Like you, I was not new to reloading but was new to reloading for service rifles. I strongly recommend;
• Zediker's article.
• Sierra has a good narrative on reloading for service rifles. It is included with in the 5th edition manual, or here http://www.exteriorballistics.com/re...sgunreload.cfm.
• Hornady has a section for service rifle loads as well.
• Of course, lots of information in this forum also.

Good luck.

Rojkoh

Mike,

Get the Redding or Forster die set. Team shooters all use Redding. Go to Brownells.com, click on the "Sinclairs" tab and search for .308 reloading dies.

Now *IF* you have a NM rifle with an NM barrel on it and you knew what you were doing, bumping the shoulder is fine. BUT... if you don't know, don't. Resize the whole case and don't forget to anneal it to get more life out of the case.

More over, get yourself a Forster Co ax pressed to load off, they're superb and what I load on. NO, do not use a progressive press, the only quality those things can produce is ball ammo. Powder charges are thrown by volume, not weight. Either get an electronic scale that can give you the right charge everytime (Lyman makes one) or weigh EVERY charge. More over, get yourself a primer pocket cleaner, then the Sinclair PP Uniformer and flash hole uniformer. these are needed for superior accuracy. Me I shoot out to 1000 yards.

PS Sinclair has a superb technical staff to support reloading/shooters. USE THIS! Me, I'm lucky, I just call up and harass them chuckle.

PPS... if you have a 1 in 11 to 1 in 12 inch twist in the rifling, the Sierra 155 PALMA MK and the 175grain MK are nice. Get yourself a copy of the Sierra loading manual and use it. Start light and work up. When I first reloaded for the M1A (don't ask how long ago), I started so light my rifle didn't function. Work up in .5 grain increments until the rifle starts to cycle. Then shoot groups (5 round minimum) at 100 yards till it starts to group nicely.... then move out to 200 and so on. While there's other powders I used to use, I do favor 4064 these days and I can actually give you the load for the "Brown Box" sniper ammo they're issuing.

Rojkoh

One more note:

ALWAYS use a Lyman M die to open the neck of the case up, just a RCH to help seat the bullet properly everytime. This is important for accuracy and we all use them. Remember, nothing in that case should be out of round. It's called concentricity and something I am writing about when I take a break from wood working chuckle.

As far as primer tools? I prefer the Forster tool. It helps to get one of their catalogs since they have a "primer primer" (my pun) in it to educate everyone about primers.

The Forster Press? Simple issue, I had a RCBS press since 1973 (Rockchucker) and I found that if my mind wandered at all while resizing, I could ding the case out of round.... the Co ax solves this by allowing the case to move into alignment as you index the case into the resizing due. The other single stage presses do not allow for this. This is another important point for loading the kind of accuracy I want.

PS: serious reloading technical term: RCS= Red C*** hair. LOL.