my first reloading of 30-30 report!

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bhhacker

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Sorry no pictures. I was too excited to get to the range and check them out.

I used a mix of remington and winchester cases, 165 Grain RNFP from missouri bullet company, unique, and federal 210 primers.

I used the lee loader kit. I didnt have my shell flaring kit, so i tried opening them a little with some improvised stuff.

I loaded 20 to start with and used the lee 1.0 cc dipper to load approx 9.2 grains of unique. I loaded to about 10% lower than max and left a little room in the dipper just to cover my butt.

When i loaded the bullets, they fit snugly into the casing and didnt require crimping. There were some shavings from the bullet though. I made sure to clean them up and decided to shoot them just to see.


I shot at 25 feet this first go around so i could watch each hole on the target happen. I didnt want one stuck in the barrel and a kaboom

I was a little taken aback by the lack of recoil when i fired it. It was very pleasant and fun to shoot! I had to adjust my sights a bit as they were shooting a bit low, but once it was dialed in, I wqs getting consistent groupings of about half an inch. I know, i know, it was from like 25 feet away so ill try longer distance shooting tomorrow!


One thing i noticed was it was harder to return the lever back to battery. It seemed to take a bit of pressing. What does that mean? Hopefully i wasnt doing anything unsafe?

I have used my calipers and the bullets are under the max length in terms of casing and with bullets.


I cannot thank you guys enough for all the knowledge this forum has given me!


4 cents powder
11 cents bullet
13 cents for casing
4 cents for primer


the feeling of shooting bullets you put together? Priceless! Im hooked:cool:
 
Check your overall length, they may be seated a bit too far out.
I guess my reading comprehension took a dive, missed the caliper part. I would measure one, chamber it, and remeasure it. I suspect it will be shorter
 
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Could be a short or tight throat. Load a round into the chamber and check to see if the bullet has been squeezed down by the throat or if there are rifling marks.
Could be the bullets are oversize. Measure a couple. I've bought bullets in the past over or under stated diameter by as much as .003" Also measure the cartridge neck after loading to see if it may be too large.
You mentioned using a LEE Loader, that's the most likely problem, they only neck size in rifle calibers. If they were fired in a different gun they can cause chambering difficulty. Even if fired from the same gun the springiness of the action can cause to stretch a little larger than the chamber. I think LEE just reccomends using them for bolt actions and single shots. You might be better off full length sizing first. With the load you're using you should get at least a half dozen reloads before having to full length size again.
If you're a member of the castboolits forum check over there, a lot of casters shoot the 30-30 as it's a mild cartridge and a perfect fit for cast bullets, I'm sure they can give you more help than me.
 
Hmm. I special ordered the lead bullets in .311 without slugging it, so that might be the problem. I will measure things when i get home and keep you updated.
 
didn't your lee loader come with an expander? It looks like a bullet, but is solid. You do need to crimp those. after seating the bullet, flip the die over and give a few light taps. That is how the lee loader crimps.
 
IIRC, .30-30 needs to be full length resized in a lever action rifle. A firm crimp is also required to hold the bullets. The lever action rifle doesn't have the camming action (force) required to inject neck sized cartridges (which is what the Lee loader does, neck size only) like a bolt action rifle. I suggest you plan to expand your reloading tools to accomodate your .30-30.
 
4895 said:
IIRC, .30-30 needs to be full length resized in a lever action rifle. A firm crimp is also required to hold the bullets. The lever action rifle doesn't have the camming action (force) required to inject neck sized cartridges (which is what the Lee loader does, neck size only) like a bolt action rifle. I suggest you plan to expand your reloading tools to accomodate your .30-30.
Click to expand...
I agree, the 30-30 case needs to be full length sized and the Lee loader only neck sizes. That right there would be a problem 1. Also, there was no need at all for you to buy those bullets @.311". I ordered the normal .309" bullets from Missouri Bullets and they work just fine in my Marlin. That might be problem 2.
 
I also use the .309 lead bullets from MB and the Laser Cast for the 30-30. I get great results with them both in several 30-30's I own, 2 Marlins, 3 Winchesters, and a couple bolts and breakopens. I agree that the Lee Loader with it's neck sizing only is not really the way to go. I am sure that with enough forcing the rounds will chamber but eventually they will not until you full length resize the brass. For a check you can try the sized brass without adding a bullet and see how it chambers by feeding it in the ejection port. If the bullet is the problem there should be a difference. FWIW I would have spent the extra money for at least a hand press and dies, those dies could have been used with a bench press you will most likely end up purchasing eventually. If you had already purchased a press a good option would then be to just purchase a Lee bullet sizing die in .309 for around $14 and easily make your .311 bullets a smaller diameter for use. This is all a part of the "learning how to" with respect to reloading.:) FWIW the Laser Cast LFN bullets are more expensive than the ones from Missouri Bullet but I find that I can push them almost as fast as jacketed due to them being made of a harder alloy.
 
Go ahead and use the dipper to full capacity each time, for consistency sake. When you try to estimate a " ten percent lower volume, you actually don't know how much less of a charge you are getting. Lee dippers are already on the lower end of the charge range for any given caliber.
To use the dipper, I find it is easiest to put the powder in a container with a larger mouth. I sink the top of the dipper down into the powder so that I'm assured of a full dipper. I actually want it to come out heaping full. Then I take a business card and scrape off the excess flush to the top of the dipper. Figure out a similar method of your own, but be consistent.

Using the same motions each time will give you reasonable consistency and your loads will be a pleasure to shoot.

And get a scale asap.
 
9 gr unique is close to the 10gr tops for 30-30. You really need to get the RCBS die set ( I have the Lee 30-30 rifle set and it doesn't make good ammo). Unless you want to live in the late 1800s, spring for good tools that do the job right. I think your problem is the Lee loader requires hammering to NS, which can bulge the shoulder and cause chambering problems. 2nd, it won't allow you to set head space properly, probably the reason you can't chamber some cases. Often, double jacking ( open the lever about half way and then close) will get the round to chamber if the nose is into the lands or HS is a tad too long. Extract an unfired round and see if the lead nose has rifling marks on it. Ever so slight is OK, heavy marking, not so good. Yes, those unique load are FUN. The barrel will resize the CBs to the proper dimension, .311 is fine. It takes a lot of powder to get them from .309 to .311 if that is what your 336 needs. Any leading?
 
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If price is a consideration Lee has a very basic Single Stage Press for under $25 and it works. Add a set of Lee 30-30 dies for under $19 and you will be able to make very good ammo for your 30-30 Levergun for less than $44. You will make that up very quickly with the ammo you build. I use Lee 30-30 dies and they make good ammo.

You might be able to sell the Hand Loader to offset some of the price too.

Just another option I hope helps...
 
I ended up ordering a lee 50th anniversary press. Its still in the mail, but as of right now, I am handloading using the dipper method.


I sometimes get ahead of myself and end up making some mistakes with purchases. You live and learn I guess.

I think once I get settled ill offer to help someone out with starting reloading locally. You guys are great but you (I) have to ask the right questions on the forum when im sure an hour or two with some of you in real life would have been able to explain most if not all of my sometimes silly questions
 
bhhacker said:
One thing i noticed was it was harder to return the lever back to battery. It seemed to take a bit of pressing. What does that mean? Hopefully i wasnt doing anything unsafe?

I have used my calipers and the bullets are under the max length in terms of casing and with bullets.
Click to expand...

I had the same exact problem with mine, I had to really crunch down on the lever to get the bullet to seat properly, and to even release the lever safety.

It turns out that even though I was using a full size die, I wasn't sizing the shells all the way, so the shoulder was still too high. I re-adjusted the die farther down (to where it actually touches the holder) and now all the shells feed and seat properly.
 
I think I had asked before, but couldn't remember. I'll ask my buddy Rich(not to be confused with Buddy Rich) if he knows somebody that will help you.
 
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