.30-30 loads

[bluetick]

I am having trouble properly seating my .30-30 bullets. I have lots of experience reloading but not with .30-30 rounds. Do I need a crimping die? The problem I am having is denting/ bulging shoulders when seating the bullet. Anything I can do to stop this? Thanks for any help.

Mike

 

[Brutus]

When I have problems....its back to the basics, try this "google" adjusting reloading dies chuck hawks
Usually I could copy and paste but tonite, no worky...........

Cheers............

 

[GILLY]

I load my 30-30's with the Lee handtool and reverse into the die and give it a quick tap to crimp. I have never had a problem with bulging or the like.

 

[Slash5]

I'd say you have your seating die too low - you're crushing the case.
Try unscrewing the die a turn or two - gently raise the ram with an empty case in the shellholder and make sure the die doesn't contact the case.
Seat all of your bullets in one pass, then adjust the die down for your crimp as another pass. Simplifies things.
Also, usually when you crimp with the bullet seating die, you need to have the bullet seated at the correct depth for the crimp groove.

 

[44Bore]

If you haven't done it, it is important with 30-30's to make sure the cases are trimmed to the same length--and as said above, it works better on 30-30's to seat first and then crimp in a separate pass.

44Bore

 

[doc25]

The other possibility is that you might need to bell the mouth of the case before seating the bullet. I slightly bell mine with a 303 fmj round reversed. then put the bullet in and seat. Lee also sells a kit to expand the case mouth called the universal case expanding die. This will let you expand the cases with a bit more precision.