30-30 and FTX bullets

S

Seagull

Regular
Rating - 100%
82   0   0
Location
Eastern ON
Anyone load these? I was planning on trying them out and I have a set of Hornady dies but have only loaded flat points so far. Do I need the FTX seating stem that Horandy sells separate? I really don't want to squash the tip when seating them.
Thanks
 
Seagull said:
Anyone load these? I was planning on trying them out and I have a set of Hornady dies but have only loaded flat points so far. Do I need the FTX seating stem that Horandy sells separate? I really don't want to squash the tip when seating them.
Thanks
Click to expand...
I load 35 grains of Leverevolution under the 160 FTX bullet using 40 year old RCBS .30-03 dies w/o fancy attachments and issues.
 
I didn't trim shorter on my 30-30 brass, but I wanted to. It looks silly, but they functioned just fine. My Lyman dies would smush the nose on the ftx tip, and I would just roll it back to a point and it worked ok, having a proper die to seat the bullet would be nice though.
 
I have reloaded using leverevolution powder from hodgdon. Shooting from a marlin 336, chronos same as factory with same point of impact as factory. I found factory ftx binds the lever a bit. The handloads don't seem to have the same problem. I believe the ftx reloading data requires a slightly longer case to meet the canelure.
 
I've been reloading FTX bullets since they first came out. Hornady does not mention anywhere about having to trim or have longer brass to fit the cannelure. I just trim to spec when needed. Benchmark seems to work the best in my Marlin 336, and I get sub MOA groups at 100m.
 
I would think that the .308 MLX would be designed to expand at considerably higher velocities too. It probably would work at close range, but the cannelure may be in the wrong spot too.
 
I just checked some loading data. You are correct tenguns. I don't know why I thought COL was longer for ftx. Brain fart I guess. That's why you can't trust ever guy on the internet. Thanks for correcting me.
 
To seat the ftx bullets without damaging the tip couldn't you just use a pointed bullet seating stem from another 30 cal set of dies? Say one from a .308 or 30-06. Could the 30-30 bullet be also used in. 308 or 30-06 at normal velocities for deer sized game. Is the jacket too thin?
 
ive loaded ftx for 308 with no problem and my next ones are 30/30 with the flex tip and lever evolution powder .......

you dont need no special dies for that i use lee dies and no problem at all .... hound13
 
Seagull said:
Thanks guys!




That's funny as my Hornady 8th edition doesn't specify a different trim length for the 30-30 Win but it does for many other cal that can use FTX bullets like 45/70 etc..
Click to expand...

The .35 Rem is another one that does not require shorter brass. I just loaded a bunch with FTX for the first time last week. My 45-70 does require shorter brass to accommodate feeding, as noted above.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom