Re-loading 30.06 and 30.30

Wallenstein

Wallenstein

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Hi, I'm looking to start re-loading 30.06 and 30.30, to be fired in bolt action / lever action.

Does anyone have some special tips / things to watch out for that they can share ?

Also what are your preferred supplies for powder, primer and bullets ?

Thanks in advance for the feedback.
 
Assuming you are totally new? If your 30/30 is a lever action with tubular magazine, like Win 94, you want to use flat tipped or round nose bullets. Your 30-06 will likely use similar weights, but most 30-06 are magazine fed so can use pointed bullets. Both bores are the same size - .308" bullets will be correct, and both will use similar weights of bullets - 150 or 170 most common for 30/30; 150, 165 or 180 grain most common in 30-06. IMR 4350 or similar powder is pretty much drop-dead standard for 165-180 grain 30-06. Both will likely use standard large rifle primers, not large rifle magnum, but that depends a bit on the powder chosen - get a decent reloading manual - Sierra, Lyman, Hornady, Nosler, Speer or whatever, and follow the recipe - and DO READ the first half or so of the manual for how to actually do reloading!!
 
Buy a pound of Leverevolution powder for your 30-30, and don't look back!!
I have 2 30-30 rifles that love that powder......accuracy and good velocities.
Dave.
 
I think the biggest thing is not to try to run before you learn to walk. Concentrate on the fundamentals to start - make safe, consistent ammunition that chambers and functions cleanly in your rifles. From there you can take it as far as you want to go, fine tuning your settings and components for better accuracy or performance. But concentrate on the basics to start.
 
As explained above, be aware that they are different animals and you have to use different bullets.

30/06 can be loaded with 110gn for varmints up to 220gn for big game in Africa. A 165gn bullet on top of a 4350 powder has proven as a very good combo in a lot of guns and can be used to hunt anything from antelope to Moose and Elk. You can also choose a mono bullet (TTSX, GMX, Etip) and go to a bit lighter bullet 150gn, in favor of velocity. I have had good experience with TTSX over Win760 (magnum primers) and RL17.

30-30 is meant for tubular magazines and cannot be loaded with pointy bullets (unless you want to load and shoot them one by one). I have had good experience with 150gn over leverrevolution and when I was out of it, I loaded them using IMR4895. I sold my Win94 so a lot of 30-30 reloading stuff (bullets, brass, dies) is up for sale. It is posted here and you can find it through my profile.

good luck
 
I load for both. IMR 3031 is a standard for the 30-30. As others have said , flat or round nose bullets. 30.06 use 4350. I’ve had good success with 110 through 220 grain bullets. I keep it simple with 165 grn bullets. Game drop where they are. No need to trail them.
 
When you load for the 30-30 you will need to crimp the bullets. It works best if you seat the bullet and crimp in two separate steps. Some reloading manuals suggest you can seat and crimp in one stage if your seating die is set correctly but I have seldom seen that work well.

I have always had best performance with the 30-30 using 170 grain flat nose bullets.
My favorite 30-06 load is a 180 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip over a charge of Reloder 22.
 
If you'd like to keep it simple, IMR 4895 is suitable for heavier 30-30 bullet weight (170gr) and lighter 30-06 (150gr)
 
You can start with 150 gr. Flat points and Imr 30 31 powder for both, optimum for 30 30 and good practice load for 30 06. Hodgdon shows between 26 and 2700 Fps for that powder and bullet weight so it’s not like it’s too fast a powder for 30 06 I used it when I had lots of 30 31
 
You will note a lot of different preferences for the 30-30's powder. It's not very particular. My most accurate load was with an old Hercules powder, reloader 12. 4895, H4895, Varget, H4198... Lots of choices. In my rifles I've never seen a powder in the 30-30's burn rate range that was particularly bad accuracy wise, given the accuracy of the rifles it's mostly chambered in.
 
Thanks for the further info, particularly on the Powder selection.

A further query on trimming the cartridges.

I would be starting with brass that I have shot once myself already.

Do the cartridges need trimming every time or is this something that only becomes an issue on subsequent re-sue.
 
You measure to find that out!! Your reloading manual will give you the maximum allowed case length and usually give a recommended "trim to" length - most reloader like to keep their batch of brass the same so if even one is "over", then the whole batch gets trimmed.
 
While I haven't tried Leverlution powder, the old standby IMR 3031 has a long history of producing good accuracy and good velocities in the .30/30, and can be used with either cast or jacketed bullets. For the .30/06, I second the choice of IMR/H 4350 but for bullet weights greater than 165 grs, I like Hodgdon's Hybrid 100V. One of the things I really like about the .30/06 is that its so easy to load for. Its not overly particular about which powders are used, provided they are within the correct burning rate for the bullet weight you choose, and the handloader is usually rewarded with good accuracy. If you want to load inexpensive small game or plinking loads, cast bullet loads can be made up for either cartridge, with small charges of fast burning powder like Trail Boss.
 
I have had good accuracy and velocity results for the 30-06 using Hodgdon's Superformance powder. It meters extremely well through my RCBS uniflow powder measure and RCBS trickler. It is a high density spherical powder.

200 grain Nosler Partition --> 2650 fps on 56.0 grains Hodgdon Superformance powder using WLR primers and Hornady brass seated .020 off of the rifle lands
150 grain Nosler Partition --> 3100 fps on 64.0 grains Hodgdon Superformance powder using WLR primers and Hornady brass seated .020 off of the rifle lands

Good luck
 
Since you are just starting out to reload I recommend starting with your 30-30 first to get your feet wet for the first time.

The reason for this is because the 30-30 is a low pressure cartridge at 38,000 cup or 42,000 psi. And even at max loads the primers will protrude from the base of the case. Meaning the max 30-30 chamber pressure is not high enough to make the case stretch to the rear and contact the bolt face.

Below is a British .303 cartridge firing at 45,000 cup or 49,000 psi and the chamber pressure is high enough to make the case stretch and thin and cause a case head separation. Your 30-30 max chamber pressure is not high enough to make the case stretch. And why it is a good starting cartridge to reload to gain experience and not damage you or the rifle.

sHgqVJR.gif


Just start at the suggested start load and work up to max, and look at each fired case, and the decreasing soot on the case neck as the load and pressure increases. You will also notice your primers will protrude from the base of the case by the amount of head clearance you have and this is normal for a low pressure fired case.

Once you fire your 30-30 reloads and become comfortable with reloading then start on your higher pressure 30-06 cases at the maximum pressure 60,000 psi.

NOTE, before you reload anything buy a good manual like the Lyman manual and "READ" the front part of the manual and let it sink in before reloading anything.
 
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