Anybody reload for a .30 carbine?

[cornmastah]

I have saved up years of brass for my little .30 carbine and am finally going to purchase the dies to reload for it soon.  Was just wondering if anyone else reloads for the .30 carbine, if they have any tips, etc...

[kilopaparomeo]

No real tips.  I just load 110 gr ball to mil spec for my little Inland M1 Carbine.  Just use carbide dies and load like any other pistol cartridge.

[Jim Fleming]

I agree with KPR, no real tips, just use published and established data. If memory serves me, .30 caliber Carbine is a straight walled case, so the carbide die suggestion is a VERY valid point.

I've moaned and groaned about Dillon's prices, but I am also the first to plug the quality they put into every blue box. They're good dies, just as expen$ive as all gee whiz...

Stick with the published data, first, then later when you get bolder, and perhaps want to expand your horizons, you might care to take a serious look at casting some bullets for your .30 Carbine loads...

Jim

[cornmastah]

No real tips.  I just load 110 gr ball to mil spec for my little Inland M1 Carbine.  Just use carbide dies and load like any other pistol cartridge.

Yeah, I am sold on carbide dies--they help to speed up the process by skipping the whole lube process entirely.  I ended up picking up the RCBS carbide dies at the local shop.  As far as recipes, I was thinking about using H110 or W296 with some CCI small magnum rifle primers.  Any suggestions on powder and primers?  I am not really looking to load for accuracy (as the 30 carbine isn't inherently a gun you shoot for accuracy), just reliability and to save money.

As I was resizing and decapping brass last night I noticed that some of the brass casings developed a very small bulge towards the bottom of the casing.  I tried taking a picture but my phone couldn't take a good one.  I might be able to take a picture later with a different camera if that helps.  I haven't really had that happen with any of my pistol brass before, so I was wondering what might be the cause of it?  Is the brass just old and ready to be replaced? Or would maybe the lack of lube during the resizing process cause too much pressure towards the bottom as well as the brass being thin and weak?

[kilopaparomeo]

That is probably because the dies you are using are not small base.  Jim - correct me if I'm not right here.  You need a die that resizes all the way to the bottom to avoid this.  All Lee dies are small base if I remember correctly.

That said, see if the cases cycle in your gun reliably.  May not be an issue depending on your gun's chamber.

[Jim Fleming]

Corn, please try and get a photo or two posted, it'll help a lot. The one point KPR is making might be valid, however I have a rather dumb question...

Are you making sure that your sizer die is screwed all the way in, until it touches your shell holder? That would also leave a bulge, or a ring of unsized brass.

KPR, is pretty much on the mark with current thinking in that small based dies are used in semi autos for enhanced reliability.

That is probably because the dies you are using are not small base.  Jim - correct me if I'm not right here.  You need a die that resizes all the way to the bottom to avoid this.  All Lee dies are small base if I remember correctly.

That said, see if the cases cycle in your gun reliably.  May not be an issue depending on your gun's chamber.

[cornmastah]

Corn, please try and get a photo or two posted, it'll help a lot. The one point KPR is making might be valid, however I have a rather dumb question...
Are you making sure that your sizer die is screwed all the way in, until it touches your shell holder? That would also leave a bulge, or a ring of unsized brass.
KPR, is pretty much on the mark with current thinking in that small based dies are used in semi autos for enhanced reliability.

That is probably because the dies you are using are not small base.  Jim - correct me if I'm not right here.  You need a die that resizes all the way to the bottom to avoid this.  All Lee dies are small base if I remember correctly.

That said, see if the cases cycle in your gun reliably.  May not be an issue depending on your gun's chamber.

I will check tonight and see what it looks like and also try to take some pictures

[Jim Fleming]

One nice thing about .30 Carbine cases and other straight wall cases is that you can look inside of the case and see if there's any other sort of problems that might be manifesting themselves...

TTYL, then.

I will check tonight and see what it looks like and also try to take some pictures

[hobartfloyt]

+1 on carbide dies or careful lube application.
Some M-1 carbines can be finicky on case length and OAL, so be sure to check and trim as necessary. OAL should be 1.68. I have used H-110 and IMR-4227 with good results, although H-110 is recommended. I've never used magnum primers, just Small Rifle (CCI-400 or Winchester WSR)

Art - Florida

[cornmastah]

So I double-checked the resizing die to make sure it was touching the case holder, but it was.  Here are a few pictures of the cases.  The ring tends to go around just between a quarter to one half of the diameter around the case.






Click on the images to view a larger picture.

[Jim Fleming]

Corn, have you tried these resized cases (and loaded up into ammo) your Carbine, yet...?

I see exactly what you're asking about, but to be honest it looks (to me at least!) like your cases are being over worked by "small base dies!"

The other clue I'm getting is from down below in your post... you're saying you get this marking from 1/4 to 1/2 around...? To me it sounds almost like your case walls are bulged like nobody's business, BEFORE, they go into your dies. This would be from the rifle, perhaps a generous chamber diameter... Not sure, now...

J.

So I double-checked the resizing die to make sure it was touching the case holder, but it was.  Here are a few pictures of the cases.  The ring tends to go around just between a quarter to one half of the diameter around the case.

[cornmastah]

I have not loaded any yet.  I might make a few into dummy rounds to test to see if they chamber fine or not.

[Jim Fleming]

That sounds like a good idea... Perhaps three or four dummies made up and the loaded into your magazine, cycle the action several times to see if they'll chamber and fit, and extract and eject... you got the idea. and then you'll have the benefit of knowing they fit and run.

Afterwards, I'd strongly recommend keeping at least one of the dummies in your die box/container so you'll have a dummy round for an over all length guage, aka bullet depth guage.

I have not loaded any yet.  I might make a few into dummy rounds to test to see if they chamber fine or not.

[cornmastah]

I have used H-110 and IMR-4227 with good results, although H-110 is recommended. I've never used magnum primers, just Small Rifle (CCI-400 or Winchester WSR)

Art - Florida

In my Speer manual, they used CCI-450 primers with H110 or W296, in the Hornady manual they just used Winchester WSR primers.  I want to work up a load to resemble factory loads as much as possible.  These loads will be used primarily for target practice and plinking.  Any charge recommendations using H110/w296?  The charge range in the manuals was between 13-15gr.

I'm also curious as to how many reloads have you guys been able to get out of the same brass?

[Jim Fleming]

The only real difference between 30 Carbine and the other straight walled cases is the length (and diameter, of course.)

I've never once loaded or even fired 30 Carbine. After that disclaimer, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I see no reason for you not get the same sort of case life we enjoy from the other straight walled calibers. Sure, you run hot loads you're going to get less case life. Milder loads, more case life.

I guess what I'm saying is that 30 Carbine is just another cartridge made out of brass, gun powder, primers, gilding metal, and lead. Treat it as you do other calibers and very likely it'll reward you with a lot of fun.

There is something that should go without saying, but for the sake of newcomers, I'll say it again. BEFORE you reload any case, make sure that you at least inspect the mouth for cracks and heavy dents to the case mouth. Cracks longer than .032" (1/32nd of an inch) should be thrown into your scrap brass collection, NEVER to be fired again, and I'm perfectly serious about this. Cracks affect neck tension adversely. They (cracks) can also cause minute flame cutting marks in your chambers. Dents that collapse the case mouth can be ironed out with a tapered tool of some kind, perhaps the nose of a set of needle nosed pliers... Keep the pliers closed and use the outside of the taper and gently work the mouth open, etc. Do it a few times and it'll seem like second nature.

Enough of my opinion...

J.

[hobartfloyt]

I have used H-110 and IMR-4227 with good results, although H-110 is recommended. I've never used magnum primers, just Small Rifle (CCI-400 or Winchester WSR)

Art - Florida

In my Speer manual, they used CCI-450 primers with H110 or W296, in the Hornady manual they just used Winchester WSR primers.  I want to work up a load to resemble factory loads as much as possible.  These loads will be used primarily for target practice and plinking.  Any charge recommendations using H110/w296?  The charge range in the manuals was between 13-15gr.

I'm also curious as to how many reloads have you guys been able to get out of the same brass?

As usual, classic wisdom is to start with a near-minimum load and work your way up. The Sierra manual says original military loads were a 110 grain FMJ at 1970 fps. Their recommended load is H-110 13.8 grains for 1900 fps.
I haven't loaded any M-1 brass more than twice yet, but so far no split cases or signs of stress. The one exception was a box of Hot Shot supposedly new M-1 ammo I bought at a gun show. Out of the first 20 rounds, 12 had split cases. Never had a split or damaged case with any other brand of ammo, so I pulled the bullets and discarded the rest of the two boxes of brass.
Art - Florida

[Jim Fleming]

Good idea Art, discarding that Hot Shot ammo. AKA overloaded ammo.

Even better advice about working up the load.

I'm glad we've got folks like yourself, Chris, Dev, and others. Keeps me reminded that most folks haven't loaded over 100,000 rounds of ammo. Ugh!

[hobartfloyt]

Thanks, Jim.
I actually think it was bad/overworked brass on that Hot Shot. The loads didn't 'feel' hot.
Art - Florida

[Jim Fleming]

I just had a single .357 Magnum case do the same thing, for the same reasons, Art... A LONG body crack due to old brass. Funny thing is, that I was using a stiff .38 Special load in it, NOT .357... Shooting NRA Bullseye calls for milder loads, etc...

I'm a cheap reloader, I hated throwing that single case away... ugh! I'm cheap like Vanderberg... 

J.

[hobartfloyt]

My guess is that the brass was improperly annealed after the case was made and the neck was left in a work-hardened state.

Art - Florida