odd issue with 300 BO

The #1 community for Gun Owners of the Northeast

Member Benefits:

  • No ad networks!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    For the pistol calibers, I use the one's from Lou's gunworks. For the .30 and 8mm rifles, I got them from a guy on cast bullets but I didn't keep his info and they aren't marked.

    Thanks.

    There are also the Double Alpha ones, that are about half the price.
     

    ironhead7544

    Active Member
    Oct 27, 2018
    188
    The 300 Blackout is a fine cartridge. It is also the most fussy round I ever loaded for. I have loaded a lot of different rounds since 1972.

    This is the setup I settled on:

    RCBS Small Base resizing die with the expander ball removed.

    Lyman M die. Very slight bell for jacketed bullets.

    Hornady sliding bushing bullet seat die.

    Lee Factory Collet Crimp die, very light crimp.

    I get very few rejects with this setup. I have a bolt action 300 Blackout and the rejects work OK in it. Havent tried the rejects in the AR-300 Blackout. Cases are LC using a Redding form die.
     

    John from MD

    American Patriot
    MDS Supporter
    May 12, 2005
    22,728
    Socialist State of Maryland
    I load lead 150gn bullets in mine and the two most important part is sizing after powder coating and making sure the bullet diameter just in front of the case is no thicker than .3085. This is the only caliber that I drop every round in the case gauge, no exceptions.

    It's a real mess when you have to mortar a stuck round out and you get H110 all over everything when the bullet stay in the barrel. :mad54:
     
    Okay I think I have this sorted out. I bought a Lee Universal flaring die and through trial and error I got the mouth of the case flare just enough where the bullet enters the neck easily and doesn't bind until it's almost at the bottom of the neck. Most of them now drop right into the case gauge. Neck tension seems good .
    There were still a few that stuck near the head at the base of the case but some of them I could just push in with my finger and I know my chamber is looser than that case gauge and I only had about a half a dozen that were stuck tighter than that and I ran them through the chamber of my rifle and they chambered and ejected fine. Now I've got about 450 more of these to do but I don't think I'll have any more issues..

    Funny thing when I first started reloading this caliber I did two batches of 110 grain VMAX with different powders and charges that I have not taken to the range yet. I ran about half of those through the case gauge and not one of them stuck at all. They pop right in and right out and I did not flare those cases. That leads me to believe that you guys that were talking about sizing are probably correct. Unfortunately I don't have the tools to do it. I'm just going to try my method and if I get piss poor accuracy I'll get the sizing tools or buy high-quality bullets. I've never bullet sizing tools before. The only cast bullets of ever shot were 9 mm that we're already lubed and already sized. My father used to cast his own but when I inherited his reloading equipment his pot and Dipper and molds were not there. He must have sold those before he gave that stuff to me
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,812
    Okay I think I have this sorted out. I bought a Lee Universal flaring die and through trial and error I got the mouth of the case flare just enough where the bullet enters the neck easily and doesn't bind until it's almost at the bottom of the neck. Most of them now drop right into the case gauge. Neck tension seems good .
    There were still a few that stuck near the head at the base of the case but some of them I could just push in with my finger and I know my chamber is looser than that case gauge and I only had about a half a dozen that were stuck tighter than that and I ran them through the chamber of my rifle and they chambered and ejected fine. Now I've got about 450 more of these to do but I don't think I'll have any more issues..

    Funny thing when I first started reloading this caliber I did two batches of 110 grain VMAX with different powders and charges that I have not taken to the range yet. I ran about half of those through the case gauge and not one of them stuck at all. They pop right in and right out and I did not flare those cases. That leads me to believe that you guys that were talking about sizing are probably correct. Unfortunately I don't have the tools to do it. I'm just going to try my method and if I get piss poor accuracy I'll get the sizing tools or buy high-quality bullets. I've never bullet sizing tools before. The only cast bullets of ever shot were 9 mm that we're already lubed and already sized. My father used to cast his own but when I inherited his reloading equipment his pot and Dipper and molds were not there. He must have sold those before he gave that stuff to me

    Here ya go. Easy and cheap. I have one for. 308 and one for 9mm. Turn on the TV and go at it. You'll want a single stage press for this...

    https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1018523537
     

    PowPow

    Where's the beef?
    Nov 22, 2012
    4,712
    Howard County
    Are the Double Alpha funnels the same as a "M" die? I didn't see that referenced anywhere in there advertising.

    I switched to using the Double Alphas for 9mm & 45, and I'm never looking back. The improvement over the stock Dillon funnel was nothing short of amazing.
     

    BW460

    Member
    Mar 8, 2012
    89
    A couple things. Go to http://www.300blktalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=141&t=88599 to learn which brass to use, or not use. Second, get rid of the Lee dies for 300 BLK. I use several Lee dies but many people have had issues with their 300 BLK dies. I use Hornady and they work great. Third, do get a Lee universal expander die and the Lee collet crimp die. Just kiss the brass a little with the expander so the bullet will go in without crushing the case. Use the crimp die to just remove the bell, you don't need to go crazy with it.
     

    Magnumite

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 17, 2007
    6,561
    Harford County, Maryland
    OK all this about tight chambers got me thinking. When I was a kid my uncle reloaded almost all of his own ammo. I don't recall him ever buying a box of factory anything. His deer rifle was a Remington 7400 in 30-06. It just occurred to me that he would size his rounds twice. Once in the die and after loading them by chambering them one at time by allowing the bolt to slam shut. I know it sounds strange. SO I went down to the safe and pulled out my ARES SCR chambered in 300 BO (Primary Arms upper) and although some were a little tight, they all chambered and ejected without getting stuck. I'm going to work on perfecting them but there is a lot of info here to try. It does look like they will function.

    I load for 7mm TCU. It 10” TC shoots the loads very well. I had noticed some rounds chamber really tight. The cause I figured out was the heavy crimp. So after a little thought I tried something and it works. In this and 223/5.56 or any other bottle neck I remove the decapping stem and just lightly bump each loaded round in the sizer die, not close to w full press in motion. It irons out the high spots, it all chambers the same and it is consistent, accurate ammo.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,812
    I use RCBS dies in my Dillon with a Dillon flare/funnel and a lee collet crimp die.

    Recently bought a set of Lee FL dies to use on my chucker, but haven't used them yet. I do case guage every round I load.
     

    John from MD

    American Patriot
    MDS Supporter
    May 12, 2005
    22,728
    Socialist State of Maryland
    The 300 BO is the only round I need to check every case. Part of the problem for me is that I use 150 gn cast PC coated bullets. The COAL is critical or they won't chamber. The BO chamber was never made for cast bullets. If the lead was just a .001 wider, it would be much less work.

    FYI, I started with the 300BO so I could save money practicing buy not buying .224 bullets. Before the Gulf wars, there were millions of .224 55gn FMJBT bullets available at fire sale prices. Now, not so much. Since I shoot about 200 rounds a week (nice to be retired) It saved me lots of money by shooting the 300BO mostly and the .223 sometimes. The lower is the same for both calibers as are the optics.
     

    atblis

    Ultimate Member
    May 23, 2010
    2,011
    How cheap were bullets back in the 1980s? I assume there were piles of M193 projectiles available.

    In the grand scheme of things, I am not sure ammunition and components are any more expensive than they ever were. Some things, 9x19 specifically, are actually considerably cheaper than the used to be. Sure, there are probably some low spots you could pick, but as a trend...
     

    John from MD

    American Patriot
    MDS Supporter
    May 12, 2005
    22,728
    Socialist State of Maryland
    Sorry, I don't remember the prices but the .223 and .308 150 fmjbts were cheap and the pulled bullets with marks were even cheaper. At 100 yards, the average shooter could not tell the difference. I do remember that 8 pounds of pull down H335 an 4895 were @ $15. 5010 Browning 50 cal powder was like $6. I used to buy H4831 in bulk and then I would load my .308, 30-06, 7mm and 8mm rounds with 5 grains of Bullseye and a full case of 4831. This would give me anywhere from 1500 to 1600 fps in my service rifles which was great for plinking with cast bullets. Ahh, he good old days. :party29:
     

    atblis

    Ultimate Member
    May 23, 2010
    2,011
    Ammo prices for 223/5.56 adjusted for inflation are the same as they were in the 1980s. Things like 9mm and 7.62x39 are less expensive now. Of course that's using the Gov CPI numbers if you believe them...
     

    GolfR

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 20, 2016
    1,324
    Columbia MD
    To the OP, I used to load basically the same thing and found that cycling in an AR platform without a suppressor was VERY finicky. This has nothing to do with sizing but just a heads up that you may have other problems.
     

    Users who are viewing this thread

    Latest posts

    Forum statistics

    Threads
    274,917
    Messages
    7,258,601
    Members
    33,348
    Latest member
    Eric_Hehl

    Latest threads

    Top Bottom