Crimp Die for 30 cal M-1

[Vegas Vince]

I shoot both revolver ( Ruger super blackhawk) and carbine (military) in 30 cal M-l. Does anyone have experience with crimp dies? Which would be better a tapered crimp or a factory crimp die?? I mostly shoot Lee 113 gr. boolites. Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks Vince

[nighthunter]

I have been shooting cast in 2 Ruger Blackhawks in 30 Carbine recently. I have only used the taper crimp as the 30 Carbine headspaces on the case mouth and crimping would change this dimension. I think you would be better off to stay with the taper crimp and be careful about case trim to dimensions.
Nighthunter

[mooman76]

Nighthunter is correct assuming we are talking about the M1C. If you use a roll crimp with the M1C you will have problems and malfunctions. The rounds will go too far into the chamber. You could also use the Lee factory crimp!Some times with short tapered bullets it is hard to get a good crimp with the tapered crimp. It wants to push the bullet into the round! Also the M1C does not like lead too much and will get into the gas assy. and you will have to do a complete tear down to clean the lead out!

[versifier]

I have good luck simply running the loaded rounds back through the carbide sizer from which I have removed the decapping assembly. If that doesn't work, then taper crimp, but it doesn't take much neck tension to keep the boolits in place. Mostly you just have to remove the bell in the case mouth after seating. I suspect the Factory crimp might be overkill if used too enthusiastically, but then you wouldn't have to crank it all the way down. The less you work the brass, the longer it will last, so don't overdo with the belling die.

[Vegas Vince]

Nighthunter, Mooman76 & Versifier Thanks for the input it confirms my thoughts, but your opinions are appreciated and very helpful. I have not loaded that many rounds for the 30 cal. M - 1. As for the carbine it was originally a Winchester in 1942 or 43. But was reassembled in Benecia Arsenal in the early 1950's. I think it has parts from every sub contractor that made parts or assembled them.

Thanks again Vince

[StarMetal]

Versifier,

The 30 carbine is one caliber I've never had. How long does the brass last, as it looks pretty heavy duty to me?

Joe

[beagle]

Joe...The brass in the .30 Carbine is pretty surdy stuff. In a Ruger Blackhawk, it seldom wears out even after 10-12 loadings. In the M1 carbine, i'm getting 4-6 loadings out of it if I don't lose it first. I tend to run M1 loads hotter and the process of loading from the magazine, firing and ejection really beat it up pretty bad. They're still loadable aftre the six firings but they're really beat up./beagle


Versifier,

The 30 carbine is one caliber I've never had. How long does the brass last, as it looks pretty heavy duty to me?

Joe

[beagle]

The above advice is good. A taper crimp die is the way to go and if you don't have one and don't want to invest in one, a slight touch with the FL die to iron out the bell from the M die is the way to go./beagle

[nelson133]

You could also try a Lee Factory Crimp Die, they're not expensive and I like mine.

[versifier]

Joe,
I don't honestly know how long it will last. No cases in any other caliber I have shot and loaded for in my life have lasted like these. The batch of 300 cases I'm shooting in my Contender now were first shot 15 times in my M1 carbine, then another 20 times in the Contender. Their primer pockets are still tight. They're WW brand that I bought new and clean in the early 80's. Two loadings back I needed to trim them for the first time. I suspect they're reaching the end of their useful life, but I'm interested to see just how long they will live. [smilie=1: They took some abuse in the M1 action, but nothing serious. I have ony lost three or four of them to the brass-eating lawn.
I don't load them hot. Never have. Fact is, I don't load anything hot. I have never found an accurate load that way, and I load to find the best accuracy. I just kiss the case mouths with an M die to seat soupcans, but they do need to be opened a bit more for the plain base Lee #90301 100grainers I've been playing with most recently. Those and the little Sierra 85's don't always seat straight due to their very short bearing surfaces, so the carbide sizer brings them into proper alignment and removes the belling at the same time. I have played with several other other brands of cases in the M1, including military, to get the brass to use, but they're all just sitting in the extra brass box waiting for my current batch to wear out. And they've been sitting there quite a while.