reloads not cycling

sammy · Rookie Member Joined: May 16, 2009 Posts: 1

someone help me out. i reloaded some 308 with a lee press and dies. used h380 powder with 47.0 grains and a 150 grn bullet. my shots went off just fine and hit the mark , the thing is there was no cycle. i tried it a few more times and the same thing would happen "no cycle".

Pumpkinslinger · Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 10:05 pm Post subject: Re: reloads not cycling

That appears to be the starting load, according to the Lee manual. How about some more information like type of rifle, etc.

Vince · Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 10:16 pm Post subject: Re: reloads not cycling

Gidday Sammy...welcome to Hunting Nut mate. Grab a drink of your choice... beer goes down well, pull up a stump and sit awhile. We'll help you sort out your problem.

What rifle are you using your reloads in mate? I am assuming that your rifle is a semi auto because you say it didn't cycle. Checking the Hogdon website...they don't list H380 for the 308. Winchester.

I would give consideration to changing your powder to something more suitable. Varget is, in my mind, one of the best powders for this cartridge.

www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Ho...Manual.pdf

Let us know a bit more info mate and we'll see if we can help ya get it working the way it's meant to.

Cheers, Vince

Dimitri · Super Member Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5951

H380 is the close to (if not basically) the same as WC852, which is listed as one of the slowest (if not the slowest) powder that is safe to use on the M1.

Since he is saying 308Win, since he is saying a semi-automatic, I'm going to assume a M1A. There are people who have used the powder successfully for the M1/M1A/M14 rifles but remember IMR 4320 is considered the slowest one should go when reloading for these rifles (per Sierra). Where as powders such as BL-C(2), Winchester 748, and IMR 4896 & 4064 are considered ideal.

Check out this article:

www.exteriorballistics...reload.cfm

Dimitri

Arron · Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 11:53 pm Post subject: Re: reloads not cycling

Well Like the others have said there just is not enough to go on.

And the rifle could be alot of things! Could be a Remington or a CETME, FN/FAL, Or an AR10.

When working with Auto's I like to make up five rounds of each charge and then load into the magazien and use until I find th e one that cycles everytime. Then I go for accuracy, or rather the best I can get with that powder and bullet. Then if you change something you really should start over. But you may be able to "judge" where to start with it.

Good luck on finding the "sweet spot" it is there just be patient and don't rush yourself!!!

fnuser · Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 6:47 pm Post subject: Re: reloads not cycling

"no cycle" doesn't mean the same to everyone try
1.Failure to feed
2.Failure to fire
3.Failure to extract
If I'm interpreting you correctly its not extracting the fired case and feeding a second? Is it a fn fal maybe your gas isn't set correctly for your shells?

Dawgdad · Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 1:07 pm Post subject: Re: reloads not cycling

fnuser wrote:

"no cycle" doesn't mean the same to everyone try
1.Failure to feed
2.Failure to fire
3.Failure to extract
If I'm interpreting you correctly its not extracting the fired case and feeding a second? Is it a fn fal maybe your gas isn't set correctly for your shells?

That is what I thought of immediately. I was at the range on day and a guy was cussing is FN-FAL for not cycling correctly. I turned up the gas setting and it worked fine....He said "What knob is that for?" Shocked

One other thing to check is make sure the chamber is clean and dry. Shoot a few factory loads and make sure the rifle is able to operate properly. Stranger things have happened than the gas tube getting plugged just as you start load development.... If all that checks out up your powder charge and try it again.

Pumpkinslinger · Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 1:55 pm Post subject: Re: reloads not cycling

We may never know...

chambered221 · Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 5:03 pm Post subject: Re: reloads not cycling

sammy...... saaaaaammy........heyyy sammy..........sammy!!! wtf

skb2706 · Member Joined: Apr 10, 2006 Posts: 269

When it comes to handloading...I assume nothing. I re-read the original post several times and there is no mention of action type. Could be just about anything but a single shot.

Whoever said "there are no stupid questions".......never read all the questions.