Crushed case necks 30 30

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Guys what am I doing wrong? I'm getting crushed case necks when trying to reload 30 30.

Federal brass 1 x fired, not trimmed. Full length resized.
Hornady 170 gr flat nose bullets.
RCBS press.
RCBS 30 30 dies, set up as per instructions....... Seating die screwed down to touch the case mouth, back off 1 full turn, tighten lock ring set screw. Bullet depth screw backed way out so it only seats the bullet 3mm or so. When trying to seat, bullet gets very difficult to push into case.....then I felt a sudden "give" on the RCBS press handle, and the case is getting crushed at that point. Crushed and twisted badly.
The case looks like it has not been expanded enough, as the bullet has left a definite bulge in the case neck wall as it tries to go in. This happened on the first 2 rounds I tried to load, so I stopped there. When I try to put the base of the bullet into the resized case by hand, to check for fitment, there's no way I could do it. Too tight.

I just bought the dies used, they look like new, I have no reason to suspect the expander ball has been changed out. And yes, they are 30 30 dies, and yes, the bullets do mic to .308" .

First time reloading 30 30 but I reload for about 7 other cartridges without these problems.

Thots please?
 
Couple things

Run your case into the seating die without a bullet. There should be no resistance at all - you don't want any crimp dialled in until you've got the bullet seating depth figured out.

You could try chamfering your cases. That little bit of bevel could make the difference.

It is not beyond the realm of possibility that the previous owner was a cast bullet shooter. I've done it in the past where I have used a Lyman M die to bell the case mouth for cast bullets, and then went and put an undersized expander into the sizing die, so as not to work the brass redundantly.

You could take apart your seating die and look for traces of bullet grease up top
 
Measure the expander ball; it should be right around .306", It's unlikely that that that is the problem, but costs nothing to check.

More likely is that the cases need chamferring and/or the original factory crimp was never completely removed during firing and resizing and the case mouth edge is smaller than the neck. A bit of flaring will take care of that.
 
The 30-30 brass is thin in the neck and the flat base bullet is resting on the top of the case mouth.

Champfer the case mouth.

If that is not solving the problem, try to flare the case mouth a bit.
 
Trim all cases to the same length and Chamfer inside and out.
Buy a Lee Factory Crimp die and seat the bullets to the cannelure (Crimping groove), use the Lee die for crimping.
That should do it if the dies are set correctly.
 
This... same as Snoopca:
Trim all cases to the same length and Chamfer inside and out.
Buy a Lee Factory Crimp die and seat the bullets to the cannelure (Crimping groove), use the Lee die for crimping.
That should do it if the dies are set correctly.
 
First:
Trim
Chamfer
De burr

Second:
Run un charged case up in the press ram all the way and leave it there.

Screw the seating die in till you feel the slightest bit of resistance.

Back the seating die out 1/2 to 3/4 of a turn and lock your die into position.

Back out the die seating stem about 1/4” to 3/8”.

Third:
Remove the case from the press ram.

Charge the case with a primer and powder.

Put the now charged case in the press.

Begin seating the bullet in the case, by positioning the bullet on the case mouth, and raising the press ram.

The bullet should seat longer than needed.

Lower the press ram and screw you seating stem in a 1/8 of a turn.

Raise the press ram and the casing and bullet again.

Rinse and repeat till you reach your desired seating depth.

Now you can loosen the die lock nut and screw the die in about 1/4 of a turn.

Back the seating stem on the die out about 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn for every 1/4 turn you lower your die.

Go slow till you get a slight crimp.(Hornady bullets have very slight depression at the cannelure) don’t over crimp.
 
BattleRife said:
What on Earth can trim length, seating depth, or crimp style possibly have to do with the problem at hand?
Click to expand...

If seating and crimping in the same operation the longer untrimmed cases can bulge below the crimp.

Simple fix, trim the cases to the same length, chamfer the case mouth and seat and crimp in separate operations.

Example, the vast majority of pistol shooters do not trim their case to the same length. And Lee makes a factory crimp die with a carbide ring in the base of the die. This Lee FCD is a "cheat" for not trimming the cases to the same length. And any long cases that bulge below the crimp will be sized to remove the bulge by the carbide ring.

Easy Ways to Save Yourself Headaches at the Range (Part 2)
Written by Sierra Bullets Media Relations Manager Carroll Pilant
https://sierrabulletsblog.com/2016/01/12/easy-ways-to-save-yourself-headaches-at-the-range-part-2/

Below a over crimped and bulging case neck.

overcrimped_case_neck.jpg
 
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