30 Carbine Newbie

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JEC

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New to reloading strait wall cases and will be starting with 30 Carbine using a Hornady 3pc die set so looking for tips ...do's....don'ts, etc. Thanks in advance for your advice, and please be gentle answering questions.

My first step was FL sizer die set-up with light shell holder contact against the die base. Lubed outside case walls and resized. Removed lube. Cleaned primer pockets. Used nylon brush to clean inside case wall.

Second step was to measure case lengths, which had all grown (once fired factory loads). Trimmed brass to recommended length using Lyman Universal Case Trimmer.

Now I need a bit of advice on how to go about setting up the "expander" die. I assume it needs to be set to just barely "bell" the case mouth?
 
JEC said:
New to reloading strait wall cases and will be starting with 30 Carbine using a Hornady 3pc die set so looking for tips ...do's....don'ts, etc. Thanks in advance for your advice, and please be gentle answering questions.

My first step was FL sizer die set-up with light shell holder contact against the die base. Lubed outside case walls and resized. Removed lube. Cleaned primer pockets. Used nylon brush to clean inside case wall.

Second step was to measure case lengths, which had all grown (once fired factory loads). Trimmed brass to recommended length using Lyman Universal Case Trimmer.

Now I need a bit of advice on how to go about setting up the "expander" die. I assume it needs to be set to just barely "bell" the case mouth?
Click to expand...

The .30 Carbine is like a long pistol cartridge in many respects, but the walls are thicker, so as you are already doing, lunricating the cases a bit even with carbide dies is a good idea. It may take a bit more flare to accept the bullet compared to a pistol round but minimizing flare is important to case life.

If you have a case gauge, it can behave differently than most - cases slide 1/3 of the way into my Wilson gauge, rendering it practically useless except when it is left flat on the reloading bench to check case length.

The .30 Carbine headspaces on the case mouth, so frequent trimming is recommended (every other firing) and check length every firing. There is a real risk of an out of battery firing (and a kaboom as a result) with excess-length cases so check every case every time. Also, little to no crimp to preserve the case mouth for consistent headspacing.

That said, it's all worth it - I love shooting my 1944 all-original Underwood M1 Carbine!
 
How much neck tension should I be looking for .... with Winchester brass the case mouth resize is 0.328 OD before seating and 0.331 OD with seated bullet (.003 neck tension).
I am new to any semi centerfire but like the M1 Carbine look so pulled the trigger on a new Auto Ord non-restricted and am doing lots of learning. After handling a couple of the original GI models, I am tempted to add the "real deal" to the inventory.
 
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I'm loading IMR4227 with a 115gr cast bullet in an IBM carbine that shows some promise. I always seem to get two groups within the group but these aren't benchrest guns lol
 
Don't actually have bullets ... got the seated case mouth measurement using a flat base 308. I have ordered a couple hundred Hornady 110gr FMJ, and a couple hundred 110gr Speer FMJ ... so that is what I will start with. Also will be using H110 powder. I have shot only factory American Eagle, Winchester, and Remington. POI is about 6" low @ 100M so it looks like a bit more filing on the front sight but will leave that until I see what happens with hand loads. I will likely order an adjustable rear sight from Sinclair unless I can find one in Canada. Would also like to get a rear mount to for a red dot which will likely be my best bet for accuracy. Any recommendations?
 
Do the cases grow in the firing or from resizing?

I don't have a carbine - Blackhawk revolver. I've never thought of trimming them, same as I don't bother with any straight wall pistol case.

H110 is lively stuff. I hope your powder measure seals especially well!
 
Just resizing the Amerian Eagle so far and the fired brass grows about .010 during the resize process. I will be weighing charges with an electronic dispenser. Bullets should arrive mid week so will be shooting the reloads before the weekend.
 
Bullets arrived this afternoon thanks to quick shipping from XReload. Couldn't resist seeing if my maiden voyage reloading straight wall would go bang, so loaded 10 with a light charge of H110 (13.7 grs.) and off to the Range. First shot went bang with no sign of pressure so used the rest to shoot a couple of groups.
Brass behavior is interesting. I trimmed all the factory once fired cases to 1.281 for reloading ...measured 1.270 after firing ... and back to 1.281 when resized.
 
Years ago I had a nice IBM carbine with 19" barrel. My son shot hundreds of cast bullets through it. Powder was either of the 4227's. Bullet was from RCBS mould designed for M1. Without looking bullet was either 115or 120 gr RN. These loads shot as well as jacketed bullets and were a lot cheaper to put together. Only draw back for me was he could shoot them up much faster than I could put them together on my single stage press. This was in addition to casting time. One of the major regrets in my gun trading career was trading of the little carbine.
 
Mark-II said:
Do the cases grow in the firing or from resizing?

I don't have a carbine - Blackhawk revolver. I've never thought of trimming them, same as I don't bother with any straight wall pistol case.

H110 is lively stuff. I hope your powder measure seals especially well!
Click to expand...

The 30carbine isn't really straight walled, it's tapered with a neck
I almost got a 30carbine blackhawk off the EE, the thing must be a hoot to shoot.
 
Now on my 3rd reload of brass and wondering how to assess when brass should be tossed. What are the indicators for straight wall brass?
 
Love the 30 Carbine! Have a Plainfield M1 Carbine and a Blackhawk revolver.
Sounds like a mean dog, but with no recoil :d.

The only problem I've had reloading these was not flaring the neck enough and crushing the case wall trying to seat bullets.
Can't help you on when to toss the brass. I usually use them until they fail....and then toss 'em ;)

(E) :cool:
 
JEC said:
Now on my 3rd reload of brass and wondering how to assess when brass should be tossed. What are the indicators for straight wall brass?
Click to expand...

JEC, that brass should last as long as your rifle. If it gets a bit hard, re anneal it. I have WWII brass that I reload on a regular basis. I have never kept track of how many reloads have been done on this stuff. I do them in batches of 100. The newest is around 20 years old and I like shooting the handy little carbine offhand so shoot close to five batches per year. I have a large plastic container full of once fired empties but the 100 count boxes get all the use.

This is how I do it. I do the same with most of my brass. There will be all sorts of howls and derision on this but experience over the years and watching a commercial reloading operation for government brass in Brazil have proved this method to work well. I encourage you to do your own due diligence and only offer this as an example of what I personally do.

Heat up your oven to 550F then put all of the brass you want to re anneal into a metal pan and put it in the oven for at least fifteen minutes so that it heats evenly all the way through. Get a bucket of cold tap water with enough water in it to easily cool the brass down rapidly without warming up. Dump all the brass into the bucket. It will be as soft as new brass. Clean appropriately. If you need more neck tension, heat up the case mouths and allow to air cool.

Again, I am not suggesting you do this. It is my personal method only and it works well. I have never had a case failure or separation after dozens of reloads on individual cases. Some of my 30-06 and 6.5x55 cases have been reloaded over 60 times. Be careful and do your own due diligence.

Most experts do not recommend re annealing the base/web of the cartridge.

The heat and pressure generated by the M1 Carbine loadings are conducive to long brass life.
 
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