Need help - .30-30 ackley fire form loads

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Riflesmith

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Alright gents I am looking for an inexpensive load to fire form brass in my t/c contender. I have never done fireforming and would like some help. I understand it isn't difficult but would like to cheap out on this one. What powder and load along with bullet would be a good start. Looking for first hand experience as I just want the brass formed. I have a number of powders on hand so just throw out your thoughts and I will run with it. Oh and just to mention I don't have access to cast bullets. Thanks in advance.
 
Ganderite said:
Load a normal load/bullet and shoot.

Mine is very accurate while forming the brass.
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I have read this exact thing. I have a loads done up for the .30-30 and the barnes 130gr ttsx. I will shoot these devils off for sure however looking for something maybe a touch cheaper. I am not a cheap sob however this is something I hope I can pull off. If not so be it. Ganderite what rifle is yours chambered in?
 
If you don't want to follow Ganderite's advice, Just buy some cheap 30 cal bullets (e.g. Hornady 3020 30 CAL .308 130 GR SP) and fire them off with a max 30/30 load. If you single load them, they can be any 30 cal bullet, not just those designed for tube magazines. You'll then have fire-formed brass and gain 2-3 grs of capacity, and will then be able to up the max load by about 2 grs.

I have a Marlin chambered in 30/30 AI and I have found that the Hodgdon Leverevolution is accurate and provides top MV's. A full case can be used with all bullet weights.
 
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Put about 6 grains of Unique in the case, fill it to the neck with cream of wheat and plug the neck by shoving it into a bar of soap. It will blow the shoulder out with no bullet.
 
Don't look at your fireforming loads to be throwaways just to get formed cases.
Use quality ammunition, and save the brass.
 
You could fireform in the morning and have a hot cereal for breakfast, or fireform in the evening with cream of wheat and practice wing shooting your Canadian mosquitoes. :cheers:

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I prefer using lighter bullets with warmer loads to fill out the shoulder and Speer makes 100 and 110 grain .308 bullets that would work well.

Below .312 pistol bullets and fireforming the .303 British.

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Not so fast, I can see you Canadians have never been to Texas.

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The History Channel was going to film "Ice Road Truckers" in Texas but the mosquitoes kept dropping the trucks in the water to feed their young. And the History Channel had even worse problems trying to film "Ice Pilots" in Texas, the mosquitoes would attack the aircraft and suck all the fuel from the tanks. So the filming was moved to Canada where the mosquito's are much smaller.

As you can see below the Canadian mosquito is much smaller and has different coloration than the American mosquito.

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I have a Texas story. We used to travel a lot with our 3/4 ton truck and travel trailer. I was also shooting big pistol silhouette at that time and we were planning a 3 month or so, trip to the US. Since the Silhouette association was US and I was a member, I inquired at the US border station if I could take my 44 mag and compete in silhouette shoots wile down there. I could if I named where the shoot was and then I came home after the shoot. That was no good, went without the gun.
We quite often stayed over night at municipal, or town camp sites. We went to one such camp site in central Texas and it didn't look too good, pretty remote and by itself. Just then a uniformed officer with the familiar 357 magnum on his hip came along.
I asked the officer if he thought we would be safe staying here. He looked at my Silhouette Association cap, with the crossed guns and replied, "You will be OK, you have your gun." I told him I didn't have my gun, because they wouldn't let me bring it. "What do you mean, they wouldn't let you bring it, who wouldn't let you bring it, this is Texas, you could have brought your gun!"
Got to have a soft spot for those guys.
 
Getting back to the original question... I final fire form my 38-56 brass (made from downsized 45-70 cases) with 11-12 gr of Unique and fill the remainder of the case with cornmeal and seal with a 1/4 " of plain old carpenters white glue for a sealer, takes a little while to let the glue dry but works good. I even use primers that I have around from shells I've dismantled for one reason or another, or leftovers from a brand I don't use anymore, either large pistol or rifle, it doesn't matter. Powder is about the only measurable cost. I wouldn't think of wasting a bullet to fire form.

I say 11-12 gr of powder as the amount isn't critical as long as you don't go over. Pressure is not extreme ,only enough to expand the brass and report is comparable to a .22 short rimfire.
 
nanuk said:
I think if you are careful, and hold the gun straight up, you don't even need to plug the end
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I have done that way but if your gun shakes or jiggles any cornmeal out of the case when it locks up/cocks, the spilled cornmeal is caught between the case and chamber. If it's caught where there is enough room, the shell will still chamber but when you fire the trapped meal will leave indentations/dimples in the brass. A thorough chamber cleaning is required after every shot doing it this way.
 
Ganderite said:
The cheapest bullets I have used (other than cast) are military FMJ. I load them upside down. They look like wad cutters. Good accuracy for offhand practice at 50 yards.
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i have loaded boat tails backwards, to win a penetration contest..it is amazing how far they will go through a tree.
 
22to45 said:
i have loaded boat tails backwards, to win a penetration contest..it is amazing how far they will go through a tree.
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One of the most prolific "problem Elephant" hunters in Africa used a 7x57 on most of his kills... he pulled all the bullets and re-seated them backwards... He started out with one of the big Nitro cartridge guns but said he soon realized that he wouldn't be able to continue with his work with the beating it was giving him.
 
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