reloading rifle ammo

[tercel89]

I have been reloading pistol ammo now for almost 2 years. My brother taught me how to reload 223/556  so I know that and it isn't that hard at all. My question is how hard is it to load 30-30 ? I love shooting the old lever-action Winchesters and Marlins and buying store ammo cost a bunch . Is there any cutting the brass down to size or reshaping the neck or anything extra harder than 223/556 ?Any information is appreciated.

Edited December 29, 2016 by tercel89

[gregintenn]

1 hour ago, tercel89 said:

I have been reloading pistol ammo now for almost 2 years. My brother taught me how to reload 223/556  so I know that and it isn't that hard at all. My question is how hard is it to load 30-30 ? I love shooting the old lever-action Winchesters and Marlins and buying store ammo cost a bunch . Is there any cutting the brass down to size or reshaping the neck or anything extra harder than 223/556 ?Any information is appreciated.

It works pretty much the same. You occasionally need to trim and chamfer/deburr the case mouths, and you'll want to lube the cases before running them through the sizing die.

Also, you'll use flat nose bullets, and not spitzers since they'll be loaded end to end in a tube magazine.

I find IMR 3031, and Win 748 to be fine powders in the 30-30. In fact, it seems most suitable powders for 223 work great in the 30-30.

[tercel89]

5 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

It works pretty much the same. You occasionally need to trim and chamfer/deburr the case mouths, and you'll want to lube the cases before running them through the sizing die.

Also, you'll use flat nose bullets, and not spitzers since they'll be loaded end to end in a tube magazine.

I find IMR 3031, and Win 748 to be fine powders in the 30-30. In fact, it seems most suitable powders for 223 work great in the 30-30.

Awesome. yeah I heard about using flat-nose bullets since they are tubular fed. Is that because they possibly could be accidently fired by a primer strike by the cartridge behind it ?

[JeffL]

7 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

It works pretty much the same. You occasionally need to trim and chamfer/deburr the case mouths, and you'll want to lube the cases before running them through the sizing die.

Also, you'll use flat nose bullets, and not spitzers since they'll be loaded end to end in a tube magazine.

I find IMR 3031, and Win 748 to be fine powders in the 30-30. In fact, it seems most suitable powders for 223 work great in the 30-30.

You can use Hornady FTX in a tube magazine. Same bullet they load into their LeverEvolution rounds.

[gregintenn]

2 minutes ago, tercel89 said:

Awesome. yeah I heard about using flat-nose bullets since they are tubular fed. Is that because they possibly could be accidently fired by a primer strike by the cartridge behind it ?

Yeah. Picture firing your rifle, it recoiling, and a sharp bullet tip resting against a live primer in the round ahead of it. See the potential problem? I'm not sure it's ever happened, but it would be exciting if it did.

[gregintenn]

9 minutes ago, JeffL said:

You can use Hornady FTX in a tube magazine. Same bullet they load into their LeverEvolution rounds.

Right, but he said he'd like to do this to save money, and those aren't the most economical bullet on the market.

In fact, I've found these make for a great, light plinking load for the 303 Savage. It's pretty much the same as the 30-30.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/222789/hornady-bullets-30-carbine-308-diameter-100-grain-short-jacket-box-of-100

Edited December 29, 2016 by gregintenn

[mikegideon]

1 hour ago, gregintenn said:

Right, but he said he'd like to do this to save money, and those aren't the most economical bullet on the market.

In fact, I've found these make for a great, light plinking load for the 303 Savage. It's pretty much the same as the 30-30.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/222789/hornady-bullets-30-carbine-308-diameter-100-grain-short-jacket-box-of-100

Those bullets significantly increase the range of the 30/30. Definately needs to be kept in mind. You don't have to save money on every round to save money

[Quavodus]

If your loading for a lever rifle, you will need to crimp your bullets in place, and the cases will need to be the same or pretty close to the same length. Its not as hard as it sounds. I've done it a lot of times. I used to load a lot of .30-30 ammo.

[tercel89]

5 hours ago, Quavodus said:

If your loading for a lever rifle, you will need to crimp your bullets in place, and the cases will need to be the same or pretty close to the same length. Its not as hard as it sounds. I've done it a lot of times. I used to load a lot of .30-30 ammo.

 Awesome . Thanks a bunch guys . I think I'll start towards reloading them soon .  . I was just worried about having to do something drastically  different than the 223/556 cartridge. So thanks a bunch !

[Dirtshooter]

Also if you don't have a chamber checker, you need to run each loaded round thru your gun to make sure it cycles well. I have chamber checkers for my pistol rounds, but I don't for my rifles so I make sure they function prior to hunting or shooting.

[SixShooter14]

Also if you don't have a chamber checker, you need to run each loaded round thru your gun to make sure it cycles well. I have chamber checkers for my pistol rounds, but I don't for my rifles so I make sure they function prior to hunting or shooting.

This is a good idea. I cycle the first 10 or so anytime I change a variable.

I also chamber-seat the first couple bullets when I change styles to check COAL.

[Jct1911]

The one extra thing about 30-30 is thin case necks, proper lube will keep you from crashing them. Otherwise 30-30 is very easy. 

If your not needing to hunt with said ammo, 30-30 downloads very easy with pistol powders and plated bullets(or lead). It brings the reloading costs down into the pistol caliber range and perfectly acceptable for plinking. xTreme bullets sells flat nosed 150 and 170grn plated bullets, just need to be kept around 1500fps or below. 

Also, with h4895 you can load lower power rounds safely and save some powder but keep velocity nearer to factory ammo.