Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles forming .358 Win from .308 brass questions

I have a new .358 Win Ruger M77 Hawkeye on the way and want to know other�s experiences forming brass from .308 brass. I am leaning towards forming my own since .358 brass can be somewhat scarce and expensive. I have already purchased an RCBS die set. I did email RCBS to confirm that the expander ball is tapered.

As I understand it my steps to form into .358 are:
1. Chamfer case mouth.
2. Lube the inside of case neck.
3. Full length size.
4. Trim to length if needed.
5. Load and shoot.

Is it really this simple? I�m not opposed to slowing down and taking extra steps if it will ensure superior results.

Do I need to anneal the neck before or after expanding it?

Any lube preferences? I�m leaning toward graphite.

Any benefit or disadvantage to using once fired military brass? GI Brass has some WRA68 brass right now that is only $110/500.

Is the RCBS die set good enough or will I get better results with another brand?

I do know that there is a fire-forming method that some people like but by time you consider the powder and primer costs I�m not sure what the benefit would be.

I use that exact die set and new Win .308 brass to make my .358 cases.
Personally, I'd stay away from the mil stuff and just used all new and the same brand.

Very light lube on case and inside neck.... it doesn't need a lot. Watch that you don't set the shoulder back and cause head space issues.

Trim to length.... more to uniform all the cases than because it's needed.

Load and go!

I did 100 cases when I first got started - dedicated 40 for the Nosler 225 partition and just use the rest at will.

That's a good outfit you bought.
Mines a Sako and elk HATE it

TomH, I also have that Ruger Hawkeye, and it is a great rifle.
I reload new brass or once fired brass. I have not reused the 308 Military brass. You may want to try 10 or so, before you buy 500 of them. My best groups were with the 225gr pills.

I just went ahead and bought 100 .358 Win cases with mine. A friend gave me 50 pieces of 1x fired .308 WW cases that I necked up and all went smooth. Some split necks on their 1st firing and nearly all did on their 2nd firing. If I was going to use .308 brass I would size/fire/anneal.


Mine may have just been bad brass because I don't know if I have ever seen anyone else have this problem.

Yes sir it is , just that simple ! You won't have to trim either , as they will be about .010" short , if using new or 1x brass . You're going to love the .358 , I've taken Moose , Deer and Bear with mine , and nothing has gottten away yet !

I have Lyman dies and the expander isn't very tapered. The expander button just barely starts into the 308 neck. My dies are from 1979, newer ones may have more taper.

I also happen to load for the 32 Spl. so I make it a two step process, once over the 32 expander and then into the 358 die. I usually use RCBS or Lyman lube.

I haven't done any in a while but I don't recall annealing them and am on the 4th loading with no neck splitting.

Dale

Thanks for the replies all! I am glad to hear that forming cases will be as simple as I had anticipated.

BTW: The Ruger Hawkeye in .358 I'm purchasing is a recent release. The wholesaler Lipseys got about 25 of these in stainless/synthetic just last week. My retail from my local "pusher" is below $500!

It really depends on the die. Even in only going up to .338 Fed, my RCBS FL die will not size WW 308 brass enough after the first firing. Works like a champ with new brass, but after fire formed the exp doesn't touch on the up or down stroke and bullets just fall in the case. Fed brass works, but not the thinner WW.

I have had better success using Federal 308 brass myself and I lube the inside of the case necks with ArmorAll protectant, the stuff used to protect your cars dash and othe plastics. Make a tight fitting patch on a short cleaning rod with the wipes and give it a pass and a twist, you don't even have to remove it after you size the case. I too use standard RCBS dies.

TomH !! I have about 38 358 cases. Some factory, some resized from 308. If you would agree to send me shipping as posted on the package when you get them I would ship them to you for the cost of the shipping. Had them for a long time and do not remember how many times they have been shot. They were used in A Browning lever gun. PM me if you want them.

I resize NEW Winchester .308 brass in one pass with a Hornady New Dimension die. I use a boot dressing called Obenhauf's for neck lube. It has lanolin and beeswax and works great.

.358 is a hoot. You will love it. Deer will hate it.

Tom,

I can tell you my experience... What you do with it is your business.

My 1st piece of advice is to make sure your sizing die has a tapered expander. If it doesn't, then buy one! The best bet is to buy two... one in .338 and one in .358. Neck up in steps... You WILL end up with more uniform necks.

2ndly: A few years ago, I purchased a "Case Master" runout guage. If you don't care about crooked necks, then just ignore this post. I found that both of my RCBS FL sizers were incapable of sizing without giving crooked necks. I purchased a Bonanza FL sizer and went from .007"-.008" of runout, to .001"-.002". A set of Redding dies gave the same results as the Bonanza. There is a reason why I have mostly Redding and Bonanza dies now... (And I had over 100 sets of RCBS dies before I started upgrading to Redding and Bonanza.)

A lot of folks will call me overly fussy... You darn betcha I am. I want my reloads to be the best that I can make them.

3rdly: I wouldn't bother with mil-surp brass. Most I have seen have off-center flash holes. Also, if you want the best results, start with unfired brass. Using once-fired brass already have the necks somewhat hardened. Altho' I do admit that I necked up about 80 once fired Norma brass, without a problem.

At any rate, 100 pcs of new brass will last a very long time, so why not go 1st class? YMMV....

OH! and use Redding or Imperial Sizing Die Lube... It's the best there is...

GH