whistlepig

check diameter and weight carefully. .38 long colt lead bullets use .357-.358 size, so that could be swaged to work, BUT IF THEY WERE MEANT FOR .38 SHORT COLT they will be way oversized..... something like .374 i think. Ref both calibers, make sure that the weight will work.

well I would say don't depend on that brass for serious work or a match but it might make practice rds. load a few and check neck tension. On the upside, you prob won't have to trim it again...........

For semi autos, I load both .223 and and .308 on Dillon progressives and use the Dillon Dies. Great performance. In precision bolt guns, I load on a single stage press and use Redding Bushing Dies (I think they call it the S die) Again, great performance..... Diff applications. For mass production on a progressive, I am very pleased with the Dillon Dies.

Just by memory, I think the bottom of the neck on a .223 is 1.55 Have you trimmed all of the neck away? My first reaction to your info is that yes, the brass is ruined. Just FYI, most once fired .223 requires no trimming, in my experience. I check dimensions after sizing and only trim when needed.

ooooo... I don't think that is gonna work. While the brass is close, the .308 size cartridges are around 2.800 OAL for magazine length stuff ( Im going by memory) while loaded 6.5-284 is longer...... like 3.22 OAL. A magazine for .308 size stuff probably won't be happy with the loaded 6.5-284. If a 6.5-284 could be loaded to magazine length the bullet would be miles away from the rifling. Take this with a grain of salt. I haven't measured, just thinking out loud.

You don't have to mess with the bolt face on the 22-250. It is the same. One of the reasons to use that one. He already has the gun. He needs a barrel and the replacement bolt shroud without the silly key.

Dont sell your 550 short in the reloading precision department. In semi auto rifles I get great performance from the stuff from my 550 (.223) and 650 (.308)..... It falls a bit short in comparison to very precise single stage loads for custom bolt guns, but not by much!

Welcome to the forum. Have you looked around? On the main page, scroll down to "Technical" and the go into "General Reloading". There is a whole section on "10mm/.40" It's full of good info. I don't have a 229, but I do run lots of reloads through SIG 220 and 226. In .40 I load for a Glock and a 1911.

well, try to shoot one before you decide.... I think that you will find that you can't detect the shape of the rear while you are sighting through it. Really a circle is the shape that (in theory) works best in this application. Proper eye relief with an iron sight set up like that means that the rear sight is very close to your eye and the front sight is to be sharply focused. Your eye "finds" center in the rear peep..... it isn't "aligned" in the sense pistol front and rear sights would be. I'm not sure if you are building to meet any rule book for competition, but look at threaded rears that accept diff sized apetures. They make shooting in diff light conditions much easier.

The issue of accuracy is really not as much of a driving factor IMHO. The bigger issue is fouling. I Don't want to stir the pot on pro vs con any more than has already been done. I do give credence to the thoughts of "break in" causes excessive wear, but consider that a very smooth bore is MUCH easier to clean and copper fouls less. If you notice significant copper fouling, consider doing it. The bore will shoot better longer and clean much easier. That is what will make it worth it. I have some factory barrels that never needed it and some that did. A rough bore will foul faster.

I have shot lots of both bullets and they do act diff in diff guns. I have found that the 75 gr Hornadys fly better at slower speeds than at the super perfomance load levels. Just my experience. I slightly prefer the 77 Sierra in my setups, but not by much.

+1 on building on the new rig. Holland's also makes replacement shrouds without the key set-up.

ummmmmm...... no

+1 on the Wilson. Does great work, the downside is low speed. You can speed up this process, but it takes motor. I still do all precision work on the wilson,

Short of sending it to a professional shop I have one on the cheap suggestion. If you know any law enforcement in your are, they likely have at least one firearms guy who will ba an AR15 armorer. While they alomst exclusivly use the .223, an armorer can look at it and if the right size tools are avail, the extension issue is no biggie. If you want a pro builder who is very experienced in .308 AR's, call Steve Adelmann at Rifleman Consulting in NC. www.riflemanconsulting.com

It will smoke the 50 yard stuff. You will love ot for that. As for 200? depends on the targets and light conditions. Try it before the match if you can.

+1 on the above posts about putting 31 rds in. Maybe a silly question, but are you sure that a bullet tip wasnt hanging out over the front edge of the mag? If a round migrates forward, it will be prevented from going down inside the mag body.

Ref your detonation, if it happened on primer seating, be aware of bits of trash getting in between the seating ram for the primer and the primer face. If it is hard, like a metal shaving, it can actually work just like a firing pin tip. I have a photo I will see if i can scan in of a one that did just that on a 550.

First, check the reloading section. Complete section on Dillon stuff and some list all conversions. Measure (with a dial caliper) the diameter of the base of one of your bullets. If that matches an existing round, then the shellplate and locater pins will work for both calibers. (like a .45 acp shellplate works fine with rifle cases with the .308 size base) This leaves you with the powder funnel question. I know that a post is floating around here somewhere with all available cross-compatible matches. Also, call Dillon. If it has been done, they will be familiar with it.

You might want to get a 2nd opinion on that lead test. Lead blood levels, are generally referred to with numbers, like 0-30 with 1-10 being relatively safe, 10-20 elevated, 20-30 dangerous, etc. Not Positive or Negative. I'm just saying I would ask what my "number" was when I talked to my doctor again. I got a good Doc.... I was a lazy typer. He delivers a printout with the numbers. The numbers for lead have always been on the lowest end. It actually has a bar graph for slower students like me. The one for lead is blank on the bar graph. That pleases me.

I find Oneshot to work well. after loading, the cases wipe clean easily.

Have you actually mic'd the bullets? It is rare, but the wrong size has been sold before. (my first thought was a comp problem, but you beat me to it.)

A funnel...... like a hallway in width. Depending on your avail props, you can screen targets to force engagement from certain spots and and in a (somewhat of) surprise. Also these are great stages for no-shoots and partial targets (hard cover) If you have the space and it sounds like you do, the path can change direction once or twice.

+1 on the post above. great graphic.

I load a bunch of lead, and shoot quite a bit... The big risk is in small particualte inhalation and that is most associated with firing rounds or dry sweeping a range. I am a bit surprised about your test results, but as posted above, I dont think the answer is using solvent on your skin. I asked my doctor years ago to screen my blood tests for lead during my annual physicals. The tests have always been negative. I just clean well after loading with an abrasive soap.