Reloading info

[Rustyshakelford]

We are now at the point where any distractions need to be removed from your reloading area. The following photo is of things that also no longer belong in the room.



Now I like my Macanudo's, and my Turkey, and a good smoke, but not during this process. You will be working with smokeless powder and cannot afford a mistake.

[Rustyshakelford]

We now want to chose our powder, and projectiles. We do this by consulting our manual. I am using H110 (yes I know it is a pistol powder, but in reality the 30 carbine is a pistol round) and a Sierra 110 grain FMJ projectile. Per my Hornady reloading manual, my minimum load is 13.1 grains and my maximum is 14.9 grains. I know my load for this firearm is 14.0 grains. This varies from individual firearm to individual firearm. Even the same make and model will vary. Always start out on with the minimum load and work up. If you are first developing a load, this is what I suggest. Start out at the minimum of 13.1 grains. Load five loads, and mark them with red on the primer, then jump to 13.2 grains and load 5 and mark them with green, and so on. Make sure to write down your recipe. Take your firearm out and start shooting the loads in 5 round incriments. When you hit the "sweet" spot, you have your load. NEVER EXCEED THE MAX POWDER, AND NEVER GO UNDER THE MINIMUM!! Period, no exceptions.

[Rustyshakelford]

Now, many folks who are experienced will do a lot of things that I do not do. They may weigh each projectile and get 50 out of 100 that are all the same weight. Some folks may clean the inside of the throat to make sure there is not any lube inside the case. Some may even trim their brass. I am not doing any of that with a 30 carbine. My opinion is that shooting a pistol round through a short barelled carbine is only good out to 75 yards max, so a small varience will not matter. Long range shooting is different. I will cover those little tips in a later presentation. For tonight, this is it. Tomorrow, we will throw our powder, and seat our slug and we will be done.


Any feedback you may wish to offer would be greatly appreciated. I have loaded millions of loads, but always learn something new.

[Rustyshakelford]

Since I am now done for the evening, I can partake of a well deserved adult beverage and a Marlboro.

[Rustyshakelford]

Tonight, we will toss powder into the cases and seat the bullets. Should finish it up, and I can go back to reloading in one evening instead of over 7 days. :D

[Rustyshakelford]

The final step is the easy part. You will need that final die that has not been used. THis die will seat the bullet and crimp the bell around the slug to hold it in place. We have determined that we will use 14 grains of H110 powder. Zero whatever scale you are using, and measure out the powder 1 load at a time. You will use the funnel to direct the powder into the case. Make sure to not double charge, and do not over crimp the brass onto the slug. This is the final step. You now have loaded ready to fire ammo.

[Rustyshakelford]

Now, I must admit I cheated a bit. I used a powder mearurer for pistol and carbine loads. Basically what it is, is a device that dumps out a pre set amount of powder. I check it every 20 loads or so to make sure it is calibrated. I suggest you buy one if you are going to load a lot. It also has a built in funnel type device on the bottom so you do not have to use a funnel.

[Rustyshakelford]

You are finished!!! Enjoy. I am going to go relax for the evening. I would say clean up the mess, but heck, I will later.

[Rustyshakelford]

Comments? Suggestions? I will work on loading the 7.62 x 39 next week.

[Rustyshakelford]

Anyone have anything they want me to cover? I left out lots of stuff like trimming brass, neck sizing of bottle necked cases, removing the crimp off military brass. I am open. All reloading related suggestions will be reviewed and the ones that are plausable will be posted with photos.

[Ronald_THM]

I have started reloading .30 carbine rounds and have a couple quick questions....

1. i have noticed that some of my brass sort of flares out about 1/4 ince from the bottom any idea what causes this? i havnt seen it in any other brass my grandfather and i have used (the reloaded ammo works fine BTW)

2. How many times could you reload 30 carbine brass, if you use standard pressure loads and go by the book. Just wondering because after awhile some of the brass starts looking kind of gnarly.

thanks.

[Rustyshakelford]

I have started reloading .30 carbine rounds and have a couple quick questions....

1. i have noticed that some of my brass sort of flares out about 1/4 ince from the bottom any idea what causes this? i havnt seen it in any other brass my grandfather and i have used (the reloaded ammo works fine BTW)

2. How many times could you reload 30 carbine brass, if you use standard pressure loads and go by the book. Just wondering because after awhile some of the brass starts looking kind of gnarly.

thanks.

The flare outs is usually the result of crappy brass. What is the headstamp? A lot of the foreign made stuff has quality issues.

I reload mine pretty light. And, I am sure I am not doing something right, but I reload em till either the primer pocket will no longer hold a primer because the pocket is worn out, or they crack. Usually at the mouth. The mouth usually cracks first because you are belling out and crimping the brass. This causes stretching and compression, weakening the integrety of the brass.


Also, on the flare outs. If this is older, factory loaded ammo with a non-standard headstamp, it could have been loaded with corrosive primers or powder. These will often eat holes in the brass.

Hope that helps.

[Rustyshakelford]

I went ahead and packaged a few rounds in my new Ziplock Vacuum bags to see how well the bags hold up.

[Ronald_THM]

the brass is pretty much a mixed bag of reeally old stuff (surplus and stuff pop has had for years) new factory ammo and new brass i got from the gun show. we are going to keep an eye on all of it(its pretty much the old stuff that flares).

One thing i have noticed also is that when some brass ejects it goes to the right, some to the left and others go almost straight up. Its not really a big deal just something I have noticed.

thanks.

[Rustyshakelford]

the brass is pretty much a mixed bag of reeally old stuff (surplus and stuff pop has had for years) new factory ammo and new brass i got from the gun show. we are going to keep an eye on all of it(its pretty much the old stuff that flares).

One thing i have noticed also is that when some brass ejects it goes to the right, some to the left and others go almost straight up. Its not really a big deal just something I have noticed.

thanks.

M-1's spit brass everywhere. Nothing concerning there. My guess would be, without being able to inspect the rounds, it that you have some of the old corrosive stuff that has weakened the brass. Just a guess. I would be careful shooting it. But, it should be ok.