30-30 Reloading Help

[EMR]

Thanks to all who replied!

Based on the several suggestions, I’ll try a few as-is and try some seated deeper. I was just originally worried about pressure issues but it seems to be unfounded thus far in this application.

Just shoot 20 or so. I have shot bullets as much as .004 larger than groove diameter.

It wasn’t the part that I’m over the groove diameter that worries me. It was the fact that I feared I was bumping well into the lands.

I would shoot them like they are. I like my cast loads to touch the lands.

If I may ask, what advantages do you see by touching the lands?

Looking more closely at your photo it looks like you have plenty of room to seat deeper without the ogive being below the case mouth.

.311" should be good. I size all my boolits for .308" groove diameter .311

Seat your boolits so the point at which the diameter falls below .311 is just outside the case mouth and your problem will be corrected.

Motor

ETA: Come to think of it for as long as the neck is, the 30-30 typically doesn't have much bullet beyond the case mouth when loaded with your standard tube magazine friendy projectile. It kind of looks like mostly casing but that's because most of the bullet is typically inside of the neck.

When I get a chance I’ll try seating them deeper per yours and several others advice.

That little bit of powder coating scraped off should cause no problem , shoot a few and check for any leading/fouling, if none you are good. Set up in that manner it may be an accurate load.
If you have a round that chambers hard...be careful the case isn't extracted with the boolit still stuck in the throat...powder spills out and you have to get a rod to knock the boolit out. Don't make that boolit any larger...
For my 1970's model 94 30-30 I size the boolits .309 and lubricate with Lithi-Bee ...no powder coating. And get no leading and good accuracy
Gary

I feel like this is also sound advice. Since nobody is worried about over pressuring here I’m going to try as-is, and try searing deeper to find that sweet spot.

Just a another response to one of your earlier statements about worry over sizing and scraping PC.

Are you aware of the "hammer test" ? This is where you take one of your powder coated boolits and hammer it into a cube. When you are done your cube will still be powder coated.

So I doubt you have to worry about sizing scraping PC.

Motor

You have a good point. They definitely pass the hammer test. As a beginner caster, I just felt that I read several comments stating if you size PC rounds too much, you’ll actually start to deform/shave the PC on the lands.

Maybe I see things different, but that scrape looks pretty far back to be the lands. Perhaps the bullet is just scraping the chamber mouth on feeding. I see a continuation of the scrape on the case neck...

Of course my tri focals don't focus jes right all the time...

What motor said below your comment seems to be accurate. They’re concentric around the circumference of the bullet and in person the brass is unscathed.

[Rcmaveric]

Pressures can be tricky to explain. But as far as seating depths, the deeper you seat decreases powder capacity and will raise pressures. The converse is true seating out longer, until you hit the lands. Once you hit the lands the bullet is an obstruction that pressure has to break loose, but if it jumps the lands then it all ready has momentum to pass through. Seating into the lands in theory increases accuracy by supporting the bullet upon ignition to help keep it concentric. A bullet launched straight, will travel straight withought being deformed and launch straight then it will fly straight. Think murphy's law, if a bullet has a chance to miss align then it will. My process is to size to throat to combat that. A perfectly fitted bore sized bullet that is supported and aligned would be as equally accurate. The down side to seating into the lands is it causes a hefty pressure spike that can deform you bullet and make it inaccurate. Seating into the lands prevented me from going over 1650 fps in 270 Winchester. the Lee bullet in my 30-30 seated into the lands would be too long to cycle, it catches on the feeding mechanisms. I quick rough calculation of my current load in 30-30 would give me an extra 9k psi if i single shoted them seated into the lands and would net me an extra 50ish fps. I prefer to gently launch my bullets instead of giving them a swift kick in the gas check. That 9k psi could be the different between an accurate undeformed bullet or an inaccurate deformed bullet.

As far as bullet size, a bullet sized larger will cause higher pressures. But the seating depths pressure rise or lower would be linear. A smaller sized bullet would take less pressure to get moving and be engrave/sized down/swaged (what ever you want to call it).

I don't think you will generate dangerous pressures unless you are loading full throttle hot Jacketed loads with over sized bullets seated into the lands. With a safe load recipes with lead bullets from a good source, like your Lymans, the worst you will do is over pressure the lead and loose accuracy and worster still lead your barrel. Do a load work up and start low. Keep your eyes open for signs of over pressures, leading, and inaccuracy. Takes notes as you go.

[mdi]

If you read the OP's post above what you see in the photo is NOT a scrape. It's a flat spot that is reflecting the camera flash. I think he also said there are more of them around the boolit.

The "continuation" is more or the same flash.

Motor

So if the "camera flash" isn't what the OP's talking about, what is the problem? I see no "flats" on the bullet...

[EMR]

So toying with the dummy rounds following your guys’ advice I found a new problem for a different thread. I’ve got a failure to feed that occurs around 80% at all bullet COLs. After doing some research, I believe there may be a gouge in the left ejector guide causing the issue. There are no new marks on the bullet itself so I don’t think the nose of the cartridge is getting jammed.

[Motor]

So if the "camera flash" isn't what the OP's talking about, what is the problem? I see no "flats" on the bullet...

He explained it above. The shiny spot in the photo is flat spot on the boolit where it engaged the rifling. It's shiny because it reflected the camera flash. Not because the powder coating was scraped off.

Motor

[Larry Gibson]

The PC may not have been scraped off which gives rise to the "shine" but the flat spot is made by the lands engraving the nose of the bullet. That is why EMR feels resistance during the last bit of chambering/closing the bolt. They are certainly safe to shoot that way as any rise psi's will be minimal if even measureable. The problem comes from using PC on a bullet not designed for it or not of the right dimensions, especially on the nose.

If the last bit of resistance isn't wanted the easiest solution is, as already mentioned, to simply trim the cases so that when crimped properly in the crimp grove the nose ogive is just off the leade of the lands.

[EMR]

Thanks for that reply, Larry. Once I get the feeding issue fixed I’ll try it at my original OAL and go from there.