.30 Carbine brass

Mr_Flintstone · May 20, 2020

I got a couple questions about some 30 carbine brass I have. I have about 300 cases of once or twice fired brass that I’ve been saving. I’ve got two different issues that I’d like you guys to look at.

The first is a line at the bottom of the case on some of them

is this an eminent case head separation or something else? They all pass the paper clip test, but ever since I had a 357 magnum case head separation, I worry.

The second issue is a dent in the side of some of my brass; maybe from being ejected. Just wanted to make sure they were safe, or whether I need to toss them.

troy fairweather · May 20, 2020

the line in the case head is, Just from the chamber not being supported should be fine. Then small dings are nothing to worry about, will be gone when fired.

Mr_Flintstone · May 20, 2020

Thanks. I’ve not loaded a lot of .30 carbine. It’s similar to .357, but also kinda different.

On a related note, how many reloads can I expect from these cases? They are mixed PPU, Aguila, Armscor, and Remington.

hdwhit · May 20, 2020

You have asked prudent questions out of an abundance of caution. Better safe than sorry.

I've loaded thousands of rounds of 30 Carbine (or later, the 5.7mm Johnson based on the 30 Carbine cartridge) over the years and pretty much all the brass has had the same discoloration near the case head.

Most of my sidewall dings have been less pronounced than that, but they are not a problem.

If I were you, I would proceed to load these up and enjoy shooting them.

troy fairweather · May 20, 2020

Should last about the same as normal pistol brass, you do get a bit of stretch with 30c so keep the crack checks up. Should lube when sized , even with carbide.

hdwhit · May 20, 2020

As to how long you can load 30 Carbine brass, I can't give you an ultimate life because I lose most of my cases to the weeds before their sixth loading. Of course, that means I can say those cases lasted long enough to be re-loaded at least six times (in addition to however times they may have been loaded before I got them).

As far as headstamp, I never really noticed any meaningful difference in performance or case life between different headstamps.

hdwhit · May 20, 2020

I will mention that after resizing a case, you may find another line similar to the one shown in your first picture, but closer to the case head. It concerned me the first time I encountered it. It turned out to be a discoloration left because my sizing die has a slight radius at its mouth and a bit of the sidewall was not touching the inside of the die. This is a cosmetic issue and not a cause for concern.

Mr_Flintstone · May 20, 2020

Thanks for the replies guys. I usually only recover about 80% of my .30 Carbine brass. For some reason my Inland flings it in all directions. My Auto-Ordnance throws it into a 3’ circle. Such is life I guess. My hope is to load it at least 4-5 times before it’s lost. At least that way it’s more cost effective than buying new.

Patocazador · May 20, 2020

I load them until I see a crack or separation. That hasn't happened yet because I have LOTS of .30 Carbine cases.

FROGO207 · May 20, 2020

Trim two times and reload 8-10 times before I see a trend of brass failing on average. Some shot in revolvers and some shot in carbines then mixed in the brass bucket.

.30 Carbine brass

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