resizing .308--.243

[griffshrek]

hello all

 

i can get free of charge a regular supply of once fired .308 cartridges (non militery) i was considering resizing the .308 to .243

 

i was going to first run them through a 7-08 die and then through a .243 die i then might have to neck turn or ream for the correct neck thickness. so for this operation i will have to purchase a 7-08 die and neck reaner or neck turner.

 

if anybody out there has done this before if it worth the effort and expence,also any advice on necking down from one cal to another.

 

regards...............neil

[6mmBR]

Why make all that work and ball ache for yourself.

Probably much cheaper and less frustrating just to buy some brass.

Cheers and good if you must take on this task.

Dave

[shrek]

Hi neil, I have tried it just out of curiosity,

 

308 with alot of lube will resize straight to 243, however i found that getting the shoulder to bump up right is abit tricky, but dooable

 

But i think it then needs trimming to correct case lenght,

 

As dave has said it would be easier to buy 243 brass, but if you want to have a go by all means it certainly aint hard to do, just remember plenty of case lube, oh and remember to have all the necks and shoulder spotless, a stray bit of carbon can reek havok on a resizin die!

[Guest Tiff]

Get a Redding bushing die and use bushings decreasing 0.010 each time. Alternately get a Hornady neck sizing die and remove the expander mandrel. Size down and then expand back up using a K&M/Sinclair etc. expander mandrel. It really isn't a lot of work, and well worth it if you can get cheap/free good brass.

This is how I size from .338 to .30 to make my 30-338LM.

[Andrew]

Be aware that if you do this, the case capacity is likely to be greatly reduced from that of a factory .243. You may want to start the loading process all over again beginning at 5% under minimum. Neck turning will be a must.~Andrew

[Guest Coltauto]

hello all

 

i can get free of charge a regular supply of once fired .308 cartridges (non militery) i was considering resizing the .308 to .243

 

i was going to first run them through a 7-08 die and then through a .243 die i then might have to neck turn or ream for the correct neck thickness. so for this operation i will have to purchase a 7-08 die and neck reaner or neck turner.

 

if anybody out there has done this before if it worth the effort and expence,also any advice on necking down from one cal to another.

 

regards...............neil

 

I think you are on the right track and the step reduction to 7 then 6mm is a good approach. Outside neck turning isn't a big deal and you can also go with an inside reamer die to get back to a more typical material thickness without thinning at the neck/shoukder junction. You may even want to anneal when your done to prolong brass life. When the .243 was a wildcat, back before the stone age, we made brass from .308 Winchester as it was the basis for the cartridge. Sometimes shoulders are not perfect with cold forming, but they will be perfect after once firing.

 

We neck reduce from .375 to .350 all the time with no special work and we run a seven step reduction of the .357 SIG to .172" for the .17-357 and use a reamer die for clean up. I would be careful of using a lot of case lube as this tends to hydraulic shoulders and leaves dents. On the isue of capacity, I don't think you will have a problem as neck reaming or turning will restore any case capacity and the shoulders get thinner, not thicker because they are pulled forward to reach the reduced neck size.

[6mmBR]

Or just go and buy a .308 to use up that lovely free brass

It's an excellent excuse to tell the Mrs to justify a new gun

Cheers

Dave

[griffshrek]

thanks for the replies and infomation gents.

 

Andrew --how much should the case volume of a standard .243 vary from a resized .308-.243 case ???

 

Coltauto Shrek & Tiff-- thanks for the tecnical info side of resizing from .308--.243 you may be asked more questions about this topic

 

6mmbr --I like to reuse stuff and tinker ,also i like my gorgeous stunning lovely .243 Sako that shoots straighter than i can anyday, i did consider getting a .308 but my .243 has filled all my needs from varminting to deer (some say not best deer cal but no probs from it as of yet) i might be the odd one on here but i like only having rifles that i uses on a regular baises so i get used to the rifle and stuff like windage bullet drop etc come second nature which i think make me a better hunter /stalker/shooter (i still miss stuff) i'm sort of monogomus with my .243 but the little german 1517 annie 17hmr does get a visit once in a while.

 

regards.....................neil