Harriw
Member
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2018
- Messages
- 282
Hey folks - bit of an oddball question here. I'm still fairly new to this, when when I started loading .30-30 a year or so ago .223/5.56 was the only other rifle round I was loading. I was well aware that it was not necessary to crimp 2.23/5.56 rounds. Based on that limited experience, and a lack of finding anything to the contrary in my reading, research, etc., I didn't realize that OTHER rifle rounds do sometimes call for a crimp of some sort. So I went right ahead and worked up a load for .30-30 without crimping them. I did of course check a number of those rounds for set-back (just using the old "use-your-thumb-to-push-the-bullet-into-the-edge-of-your-bench-and-try-to-get-the-bullet-to-set-back-into-the-case" test), and was quite satisfied that they were good and solid.
Subsequently, I discovered the raging debate over whether or not .30-30 should be crimped in order to ensure there's no setback due to the tube magazine most .30-30 rounds are used in. Since I use them in a Winchester 94, of course I'm all concerned now. I did go and pick up a Lee FCD in .30-30 so I can apply a crimp rather easily now.
My question is - can I safely apply a slight crimp to an existing load I've worked up? Or would you consider that enough of a change to the load that I should start over and work this load back up including the crimp? For reference, I'm using the Hornady 150 gr. RN Interlock (#3035) with 30 gr. of H335. That's a relatively light load for that bullet so I think I'm probably fine. I tested up through 34 gr., but stopped there due to some case forming that I wasn't keen on (book max is 35 gr). Even so, I do believe this would technically be considered "against the rules," no?
I'm aware there's some disagreement over whether a crimp should be applied for tube-loaded cartridges for .30-30 and didn't really want to drag that debate in here - just curious if people think I'm safe applying a crimp to these loads, or if I'm better off using them as-is (either single loading, or multi-loading them accepting the risk) and working up a new load using a crimp. Just for reference, I have 40 or 60 of these loaded up (sorry, can't remember whether I loaded 2 or 3 boxes). So it's not like we're talking about tons of them.
Thanks!
Subsequently, I discovered the raging debate over whether or not .30-30 should be crimped in order to ensure there's no setback due to the tube magazine most .30-30 rounds are used in. Since I use them in a Winchester 94, of course I'm all concerned now. I did go and pick up a Lee FCD in .30-30 so I can apply a crimp rather easily now.
My question is - can I safely apply a slight crimp to an existing load I've worked up? Or would you consider that enough of a change to the load that I should start over and work this load back up including the crimp? For reference, I'm using the Hornady 150 gr. RN Interlock (#3035) with 30 gr. of H335. That's a relatively light load for that bullet so I think I'm probably fine. I tested up through 34 gr., but stopped there due to some case forming that I wasn't keen on (book max is 35 gr). Even so, I do believe this would technically be considered "against the rules," no?
I'm aware there's some disagreement over whether a crimp should be applied for tube-loaded cartridges for .30-30 and didn't really want to drag that debate in here - just curious if people think I'm safe applying a crimp to these loads, or if I'm better off using them as-is (either single loading, or multi-loading them accepting the risk) and working up a new load using a crimp. Just for reference, I have 40 or 60 of these loaded up (sorry, can't remember whether I loaded 2 or 3 boxes). So it's not like we're talking about tons of them.
Thanks!