Reloading for the M1 .30 carbine

[Sven]

I've read widely that the M1 carbine is overengineered - curious how 'hot' of a load one could work up?

Anyone willing to post their favorite .30 carbine recipes?

-sven, dangerously close to getting into reloading

 

[Cherokee]

SVEN: I would not say the GI 30 Carbine is over engineered. I have had the bolt lug let go on me with normal pressure loads. I would not tend to hot rod the gun. That said, I have had good results with the Hornady half jacket bullet and #2400. The new #2400 is a little warmer so I would start lower and work up to around 13.5, maybe 14 if your gun does not show any pressure signs. With 110 jacketed RN, I like 14.5 #296 for a good load. AA-9 will also work at a lower charge. Long time ago Remington made a 93 gr FMJ for the 30 Mauser that I ran rather fast in the Carbine but today's bullets are more for pistol speeds. That should get you started. Remember, start low and work up. God Bless America

 

[ACP230]

Nothing you can load into the .30 Carbine case will make it into a .30-30, or even a 7.62 X 39. I'd stick to standard loads listed in a reloading guide.

 

[stans]

I would say that the M1 Carbine is well engineered and durable, but not over engineered to the point of hot rodding the .30 caliber cartridge. If you want a hot rod carbine, try the 45 Win Mag conversion, but it requires a new synthetic stock. The 45 Win Mag conversion will crack the wood stock.

 

[greg531mi]

My favorite laod for the 30 carbine is 12.0 grains of Accurate Arms #9. I don't know why you would want a hot load for this plinker. It is about as powerfull as the 357 mag, but if you want more, go to a 308 Winchester, that's my favorite round.

 

[DamnedDirtyApe]

110 gr FMJ with 15 grains of Winchester 296 and a magnum primer gives you mil-spec performance....1950 fps.

This is as much of a thump as you can safely expect out of a GI.

 

[dickwholliday]

i use standard loads of whatever i use but i did want to give you one piece of advice....Measure and trim your cases....this baby headspaces on the case mouth so length is critical and do not crimp any more than is necessary to get the bell out......DICK

 

[DamnedDirtyApe]

I don't crimp at all. Zero troubles to report.

There's a LOT of neck tension in that tapered case.

Seat one, then pull the bullet .... you'll see what I mean.

 

[Paul "Fitz" Jones]

30 Carbine load

For a 110 gr jacketed bullet an ACCURATE load close to max will be 14.5 gr of 296.

Why because 296 meters accurately and I recommend using GI brass as that was what the weapon was designed for and they will give the longest reloading life.

John Paul

 

[Mannlicher]

I have a set of carbide dies for the .30 carbine, but don't load much for it. I like to keep some soft point ammo on hand, and that stuff is expensive.

the old standby, Speer 110gr soft point with a good dose of 2400, yields 2200fps, a deadly round for sure.

 

[swampgator]

Sam,

You know I have a home for unused, or neglected equipment!