30-30 levergun - full length die or neck only?

[_N4Z_]

Now I know that reloads to be used only in bolt guns, such as 7.62x54r, can be resized at the neck only. This will extend case life, etc.

My question is can the same be done with 30-30 to be used in a levergun (Marlin 336) ?

Is this OK? I am new to reloading, will be buying dies soon, and had no luck finding anything about this with the search engine.

 

[jonjon1885]

depends, i reload for my marlin 336, depending on the mood im in i will either do one or the other. WARNING clearly mark which is which though.

if you neck sizing only you should not (read as don't) use them in the mag well, shoot them as a single shot loaded right into the chamber.

If you put the NS only reloads in the the tube mag the bullets can on most likly will seat themselves back further than safe.

also if you are going to NS only then use only the fired brass that you fired from the rifle you are reloading for, different guns even in the same model and cal can has slightly different dimensions in the chamber.

But then again you should probably wait for someone with more than one year experience with reloading rifle rounds.

 

[scrat]

Im not too sure of a Marlin. In my Winchester 94 i neck size only. Better on the brass. Seems like if full length size them you are guaranteed to have to trim the brass. I still check my brass after neck sizing but its rare that i have to trim any. Never had a problem with the rounds in the magazine or not chambering.

 

[scout26]

I've been reloading my Winchester 94 in .32 Win Spec (glorified .30-30) with a Lee Loader for the past three years. It neck sizes only. Never had any problems using the tube magazine or with set back as long as I crimp each round.

jonjon1885,

Make sure you are crimping your rounds when using any tube fed firearm or any handgun.

 

[ranger335v]

abcd

 

[ranger335v]

Get both a neck and FL die, this isn't an area to economise! I mostly neck size for my Marlin 336/.35 Rem. (Lee Collet die) but I also have a Full Length die and use it when the cases get tight.

In hundreds of reloads, I have no instance of bullet set-back in any of my ammo, regardless of the method of sizing.

 

[dakotasin]

in my marlin 336 neck-sized cases function fine most of the time. the lever wants to pop open a little easier when feeding ns cases, and sometimes is a little tighter to close, but is not problematic - just something i've noticed. point is, if you're gonna hunt it, make sure feeding is ok before taking it out. fl sizing doesn't correct the 'problem', but small base sizing does.

so, get a neck sizer and a small base die. neck size most of the time, small base size once in a great while.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

if you neck sizing only you should not (read as don't) use them in the mag well, shoot them as a single shot loaded right into the chamber.

If you put the NS only reloads in the the tube mag the bullets can on most likly will seat themselves back further than safe.

That's true unless you crimp the rounds. If you use a Lee Factory Crimp Die you won't have to worry about bullet set-back in the tube. I use a Lee FCD on all my rifle rounds with very good results. When I run them over a chrono the SD is much lower on crimped rounds than the non-crimped rounds. (which makes sense since the neck tension is the same for all the rounds when crimped)

 

[rcmodel]

if you neck sizing only you should not (read as don't) use them in the mag well, shoot them as a single shot loaded right into the chamber.

There should be no differance in bullet neck tension at all between neck sizing and full length sizing.

If the bullets push back in the case in the magazine, you may have an oversize expander ball, and you should crimp all 30-30 loads anyway.


rcmodel

 

[jeepmor]

As long as it fits the chamber fine, neck sizing would be preferred simply due to extended case service life. If you have several 30-30's, I personally, would probably just do full length resizes and not fret a bit.

I have had to full length resize all my bottlenecked rifle brass to get it to fit the chamber well without a tight bolt. Don't see why the same would not be true for leverguns.