Reloading 30-30

[tgonza]

Bought some 30-30 brass and round nose bullets for my Marlin 336. All data indicates that the minimum OAL should be 2.550. If I seat to the cannelure on the bullet, these bullets are at 2.510. Is this an issue? I don't know what brand bullets are (Remington?.) When loaded, the ogive on these bullets is actually higher than that on factory ammunition. I would think that is actually more important than the actual OAL.

 

[rbernie]

OAL is important to ensure that the cartridges will fit in the magazine and cycle thru the elevator/action appropriately. Being shorter than the advertised OAL is not a bad thing so long as you can verify that you're using a different bullet than the one that was used in the load data.

When loaded, the ogive on these bullets is actually higher than that on factory ammunition. I would think that is actually more important than the actual OAL.

Pretty much correct, insofar as the ogive implies a certain 'jump' to the lands...

 

[SASS#23149]

Howdy!!

and WELCOME TO THE BOARD.
Looking at the diagram of a thutty thutty round in my old Lymans indicates to me that the MAXIMUM is 2.055.The Lyman only shows this one dimension,no individual specs for different bullets.
A smidge under should be no problem.Shooting them will tell of course.

 

[The Bushmaster]

If you are crimping in the cannelure provided by the manufacturer of that bullet don't worry about OAL as long as the bullet was designed for 30-30 lever guns. It is, however, more important to use a firm crimp on the case mouth without crushing the case. To do this I recommend the Lee Factory Crimp Die (FCD).

MY Lyman 48th lists OAL for a 150 or 170 grain FN at 2.540"
MY Sierra 5th edition lists OAL for a 150 or 170 grain FN at 2.520"

SASS. That must be one very old Lyman manual because I have a 1982 load manual that lists OAL at 2.550"...

 

[Rico567]

+1 on the Lee FCD, as "Bushmaster" says. Given the .30-30 case, it's pretty easy to crush case mouths with a regular crimp die, unless this step is approached cautiously. If they're a bit long, trimming is good, too.

 

[ID_shooting]

Yes, the Lee FCD is a god send when crinping my 30-30 loads.

The only thing I will add is ensure you trim your cases to spec (no book on hand here at work) If your cases are too long, you will either over crimp and pressure will go up or the round may be longer than spec. Too short and you may under crimp and have bullet set-back in the magazine or rounds that are shorter then spec as you posted.

 

[Backfired]

The other posts have given you good advice. I would just stress that you will need to use a "lighter touch" in crimping the bullet than you would use on other calibers. Thirty-thirty brass is a bit difficult to reload because it is very thin and vulnerable to collapsing. Making sure all the brass is exactly the same length and "belling" or "flaring" the mouth of the brass (especially if the base of the bullets don't have a chamfer) will help a lot. Take your time when you seat and crimp the bullet. Don't get discouraged if the first few don't turn out perfectly. Don't ask me how I know all of this.

 

[The Bushmaster]

ID_shooting is correct. When using the Lee FCD make sure all .30-30 cases are within +/-.001 is best, but +/-.002 will do just fine.

Backfired...The reason for using the Lee FCD is to be able to use a firmer crimp without causing the case to clapsing (crushing). A light crimp is not good if you are loading them in a tubular magazine.

tgonza...You will have to experiment with the Lee FCD until you get the bullet depth correct. I usually seat the bullet just short of the top of the cannelure then move to the Lee FCD for the final stage...Crimping. This should place the case mouth well inside the cannelure...Have fun. .30-30's are just a little more challenging to reload then other rifle cases. But well worth the effort.

 

[mattcat]

the only thing to watch out for is that the base of the bullet is not below the bottom of the case neck because that will mess with your internal pressures

 

[Lennyjoe]

Now that the crimp and OAL is nailed down, what powder have you selected? My buddy uses H-335 and CCI mag primers under 150gr RN for his Marlin 336. Accuracy is under 1" @100 yds.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Mattcat. I'm afraid that anyone that is loading .30-30 using bullets designed for .30-30 lever guns is stuck as to where they will seat the bullet. My speer 170 grain FN seat at or beyond the neck with no problem. Lever gun reloaders must use the cannelure when seating the bullet.

In case that no one else comments on what powder to use besides Lennyjoe (and I doubt that will happen) Here is my recipe for my 1948 Mod 94. Winchester or Remington cases trimmed to 2.035". Primed with CCI 200. A 170 grain Speer FN. Over 32.0 to 33.0 grains of W-748...A respectable loading netting 2050 to 2150 fps. The ol' "Jack Handle" is punchin' a 3" dot at 100 yards consistently. Your results may vary. Enjoy.

 

[tgonza]

Thanks for help

I got some good info. By the way, the bullet was a 150 gr. with IMR 4064 powder and CCI LR primers. I guess I'll go ahead and load them at the OAL of 2.510, should have no problems.