Hypothetical, 308, 6.5 Grendel, 1st list?

[Stinky Coyote]

So let’s say you only run 6.5 Grendel and 308 in house and have been saving brass for a long time thinking about one day when other pursuits caught up and parenting time eases....and you were to put a list together of what to get for reloading?

Always stocked on cases of Hornady factory eldm ammo and don’t mind pedestrian speeds, and no need for high volume reloading in short amount of time, simple and manual works for say 1000 rounds a year combined although I suspect the Grendel reloading would jump considerably more than the 308, would be nice to push it a bit to catch up to 308 speeds. Only really interested in 2 bullets being the 123 and 168 eldm both similar bc.

What gear, what powders (would any work for both?) would kick the party off? Think green af and just getting started but never really need more, big fan of buy once cry once quality but also minimalist and simple.

I’m getting close and really enjoying my shoot days more and more. Also wanna be able to teach the crew and use my setups and the rounds will add up there, especially Grendel.

 

[RME]

I don't load 6.5 G but there's lots of powders that will work for both. You can compare powders here https://hodgdonreloading.com/rldc/

Varget is pretty tough to beat all around but at it's current prices they can choke on it. Especially for getting started, the older tech powders will work just fine. I've shot tons of AA2520 and it works well in everything I've shot it in. It's basically a ball version of 4895. AA2230 and H335 are good general purpose powders too.

I'd get an 8# jug of whatever powder you choose that way you can load and shoot as you need without stressing over the cost of 1 lbers and/or constantly looking for more. Believe me, you don't want to be doing that during shortages. Scrounging around trying to find anything you can with everyone else that didn't plan ahead isn't fun.

Since you're trying to keep things simple, maybe look into getting 308 brass with small rifle primers that way you only have to stock one primer and buy it in 5K quantities for the same reasons.

 

[shmtastic]

Simple single stage press, dies for both calibers, I like the Frankfort arsenal hand primer kit, kit to clean brass, probably want to wet tumble if the kiddos are still in the napping age, odds and ends like chamfer/debur tool (I started with a cheap Lee one, any will do for the beginning stages and aren't expensive) a standard sized tray to hold prepped brass and you'll be doing well.

Primers are as easy or hard as you want to make it. Standard small and large rifle primers will work, may want small rifle Magnum primers for the G

Powder will be what you want to focus on. There's plenty of powders for 308 and probably every single combo has been tried, so look at your Grendel and see what can be used in both. CFE223 looks good for both in the newest lyman, 748, BL-C2, Varget would be your best bet but pricey.

Good luck!

 

[North River]

I don't have much good input on buying once crying once. My reloading equipment was mostly purchased second hand over the years, and I've figured out what works by hook and crook. I think a good kit by someone like Hornady would get you started. Must haves:

A press - they're probably all good. I've used Hornady and RCBS, never used a real high end one, don't think brand matters much

Dies - Again, unless you are getting really deep into the weeds of precision, they all work. The higher end ones are nicer, I have Forester Grendel Dies and Redding 308, but they're mostly nicer using, the cheaper ones can make just as good ammo they just take a little more messing around. Still, this is one area I would go premium on if possible. Go full length resize.

Powder measure - I prefer the Hornady one over the RCBS but whatever they both work fine

Powder scale - digital is so much quicker and nicer than balance beam. I do like having both to double check

$30 RCBS chamfer tool

Some sort of hand priming tool

Lube - Hornady one shot is really nice but any of them work. Just don't forget to lube inside the necks.

There are lots of other things that are nice to have but that should get you started. I'm sure I forgot something.

Reloading the Grendel and 308 - these are my two most loaded rounds. I have a bit of experience with them. They are both very forgiving and easy to load. They take the same powders and give the same performance, more or less.....
308 w/ 168s - TAC, 8208XBR, Varget, H4895, IMR4064 are all top performers. Nothing much to add here, its a 308 - the easiest and most common round around.
Grendel w/ 123s - Same powders. TAC is my go-to. I do load a lot of 100gr class bullets. 107TMK is
.45G1 and 2650 in 16" bbl. 120 gr bullets you can use slightly slower powders, but most load data is for gas guns @ 52k psi. Bolt gun data up to 62k psi is available from Sierra. Point is you can use the same slightly faster powders (tac, varget burn rate) that the 308 thrives on and boost velocity from most book data while remaining inside of the safe and sane. Using Hodgdon website data (shows pressure), and extrapolating from Hornady Data you can do the same thing. Hornady only publishes gas gun data for the 6.5 but has both gas and bolt gun data for the 6 ARC. I don't want to sound condescending but the standard cautions apply, and extrapolating data is best left for graduate-course level reloading. I will say that I have found between 100-150fps advantage using max bolt-gun data vs max gas-gun data.

The idea someone posted above about getting small rifle primer brass for the 308 to use the same primers is not a bad idea. OTOH, it can be nice to have both option in case all you can find is one or the other type of primer.

Best of luck getting going. A word of caution - reloading can be done intelligently and sparingly, but it can get addictive. I don't personally enjoy the process but I love the versatility. It allows you to tailor your ammo to your needs, shoot more for less, and play around with different ideas. Want to try your 308 at 1000? Load some 185 Juggernauts. Like to have a light load on hand for edible game? Load some 100gr FMJ's in the Grendel at moderate velocity and you've got a 25-20....

 

[sierracharlie338]

Reloading the Grendel and 308 - these are my two most loaded rounds. I have a bit of experience with them. They are both very forgiving and easy to load. They take the same powders and give the same performance, more or less.....
308 w/ 168s - TAC, 8208XBR, Varget, H4895, IMR4064 are all top performers. Nothing much to add here, its a 308 - the easiest and most common round around.
Grendel w/ 123s - Same powders. TAC is my go-to. I do load a lot of 100gr class bullets. 107TMK is
.45G1 and 2650 in 16" bbl. 120 gr bullets you can use slightly slower powders, but most load data is for gas guns @ 52k psi. Bolt gun data up to 62k psi is available from Sierra. Point is you can use the same slightly faster powders (tac, varget burn rate) that the 308 thrives on and boost velocity from most book data while remaining inside of the safe and sane. Using Hodgdon website data (shows pressure), and extrapolating from Hornady Data you can do the same thing. Hornady only publishes gas gun data for the 6.5 but has both gas and bolt gun data for the 6 ARC. I don't want to sound condescending but the standard cautions apply, and extrapolating data is best left for graduate-course level reloading. I will say that I have found between 100-150fps advantage using max bolt-gun data vs max gas-gun data.

Very solid write up of powder choices and some of the same I’m familiar with for both of these calibers. You can head over to the 6.5G forum for all data Grendel related. They even have their own reloading books just for the G that you can purchase. 308 data is everywhere.

For a press, the old standby RCBS rock chucker is hard to beat.

Powder - buy once cry once indeed and get an electronic dispenser. Hand trickling powders gets old quick.

Do lots of reading before you start putting loads together, it will benefit you in the long run. As stated earlier, it’s addicting, good luck!

 

[alexnelon]

They share a ton of powders.

A2520, Varget, 8208XBR, CFE223, H335, Staball Match, TAC, Benchmark, N133, N135, ++

 

[keystone112]

+1 for the digital scale recommendation. Totally worth it for me. Much more accurate.

 

[naked wombats]

+1 for the digital scale recommendation. Totally worth it for me. Much more accurate.

GOOD digital scale that is, I've had a couple cheap ones not be consistent when I tested a few throws on them. This can be an issue when close to max and in warm weather.

Cfe223 is good for max speed on grendel but is not temp stable, 8208 is great for accuracy, but tends to develop pressure at higher temps quickly.

I've landed on ar comp for middle of the road speeds and a semblance of temperature stability, but still like cfe223 for the extra fps boost.

123 eldm's have done great for me, also heard good things on the gold dots, but havent gotten to loading them yet.

 

[glennjones]

Varget is what I run in my 308s and 6.5 grendel. Along with about another half dozen cartridges.