Trimming 30-30 Brass

[tkcomer]

Hey all. Getting ready to load 30-30 for the first time. Attempting to come up with a very light load. I'm going to be using 150gr lead bullets and starting out with 7.5grs of Unique. I'll be using a Lee trimmer to trim this brass for the first attempt. My Sierra book doesn't list a minimum trim length for the brass and I've noticed the Lee trimmers don't trim back but just a little from the max length. With these light loads, will the brass grow that much? Or should I "trim" the Lee stud back a little further like I have on other calibers? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[The Bushmaster]

.30-30 case length 2.030 to 2.040.

In a lever gun it does tend to stretch a bit. I can usually get two to three loadings before I have to trim again, but I trim to 2.035 and I'm loading a 170 grain Speer SPFN at near maximum powder charge.

 

[MattB000]

Even factory once fired loads seem to be within spec in my experiences. However, I'll still trim them all since they must be uniform to get a consistent crimp.

 

[tkcomer]

Thanks. The Sierra book lists 2.039". I'll see what this Lee trimmer does to them. At least I know 2.030 is the minimum. With bullet prices the way they are, I'm slowly swapping to lead. I want a slow easy load for this Win '94 so I don't lead the barrel. Since I've never loaded for 30-30, I didn't know if the case grew very much with firing and sizing. I guess I'll find out with these "off the net data, experimental" rounds.

 

[Rock_Steady]

I'd trim it. I didn't set up and trim any of my first reloading attempts with my .30-30 and I completely chewed up the case necks on most of my reloads. Get them trimmed first - you'll be happy you did.