Almost looks like the M die doesn't expand all the way into the shoulder. If not, a GC will try to do the expanding which isn't good.
Almost looks like the M die doesn't expand all the way into the shoulder. If not, a GC will try to do the expanding which isn't good.
Whatever!
Have you checked to see if the brass needs trimming? That and a heavy crimp will cause fits.....
I have a .309 expanding die that I use for both my 30/30 and 30-06. Both of my rifles are single shots, but a LOT of the 30/30 rounds that I loaded up several years ago have a Lee Factory Crimp due to the fact that I have a son with a bolt action 30/30 and my late hunting buddy had a lever action 30/30. But my crimp wasn't as heavy as the one in your pictures.
Tom
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Did I ever mention that I hate to trim brass?
I think I may have found my problem. The other night I took apart the seating due to follow someone痴 DIY bullet profile mod with a dap of hot glue so that my seating stem would not leave a ring around the nose. See attached photo. Ended up takin the die apart and taking glue off and made this dummy round and it chambered fine no marking on bullet and little to none resistance closing the lever. To the eye the boolit appears straight in the case and when rolled. I知 going to try more and see if I produce same results.
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I had a very similar problem, but mine was due to a the bullet not entering the sizing die straight. I was using a lyman 450, but the top punch had a touch of play, enough that if the nose was all the way to one side it canted the bullet enough that it would touch just on one side of the rifling. This was with the 31141 bullet and a #8 top punch. I switched to a 402 top punch and my problem went away.
Um, I don't think anyone else has mentioned but that boolit (lee 170gr) appears to be loaded WAY too deep in the case. The 170gr Lee has a crimp groove and a front driving band that should be outside of the case.
It does look like the bullet is seated too deep into the neck. The case neck should be crimped into the groove before the forward driving band.
I do not always crimp my necks, that depends on the loads I use. Are you seating the bullets deep to clear the rifling?. There is nothing wrong with doing so, just watch cartridge pressures.
What dia. cast bullet ?
Still waiting ? ?
How did you determine the correct OAL for your loaded round ?
This is interesting. I am loading RCBS 170 RN which is about identical to 311291 for most of my cast 30-30. I do have 311041 but it doesn’t feed as smoothly. Anyway, sizing to .311 for my 30-06 rifles and 30-30. In my pre-64, the bullet feeds fine and smoothly using necksized WW brass. In my son’s 1976 Win. 94 using federal brass, some need extra pressure to chamber. I keep his gun’s brass as federal and mine WW so after shooting it’s easy to sort. My next step was to size the bullets for his gun at .309. and try again. I believe Federal brass my be thicker at the neck also.
I believe Federal brass my be thicker at the neck also.
Me too..............
yes the brass thickness varies with brand....
when I use .311 as my diameter I have encountered the same chamber issues. I have to use the brass which is thinner otherwise the round does not chamber easily.
regarding the crimp:
as mentioned before the pictures of the crimp looked to me like the crimp was excessive.
I crimp as a separate operation: first seat the bullets, then back off the setting for depth. I do NOT use the press to form the crimp. The press is too powerful and if the cases are not all exactly the same length then the crimp will vary too much.
What I do is, by hand, turn the die down just to the point where I feel the crimping to begin. Then by hand I twist the die down a quarter of a turn to set the crimp.
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It appears you have solved your problem but i'll mention a similar issue i once had and what caused it.
That bullet is a bore rider style. I had a problem with some not chambering and discovered the nose was .302 and was jamming in the rifling.
I checked the bullets dropped from the mold and they were fine at .299 - .300 so that indicated the bullet noses were swelling under the pressure of being put through the RCBS Lube-A-Matic II.
They were sized just hours after being cast and the alloy was still soft (est 12.5 BHN). The solution was to let the bullets cure overnight and they hardened up.
If in a hurry, water quenching when dropped from the mold also works.
The make of your rifle may also be a factor.
With the RCBS .30/30 bullet, and powder coating, a load that can require slightly hard pressure to chamber in my three pre-64 Winchesters, chambers very easily in my pre-52 Marlins.
Jacketed bullets, what a relic. A throwback to the twentieth century. Real men shoot cast.
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I wanted to help, but I give up............
Last edited by Ben; 11-19-2018 at 07:23 PM.
Yessir.......size can matter. A lot.
In the 30/30 WCF, W-W brass has always been easiest to find locally. When I started buying the brass online, I stayed with what I knew got along with my chamber(s) and the .310" bullets I was seating.
I am pretty strict about case length consistency here, since roll-crimping is part of the recipe. Locating the case mouth over the crimp groove pays dividends, and I set a very light roll crimp--just enough to prevent "telescoping bullets". That doesn't take much at all, in any levergun caliber.
The 30/30 was the first rifle caliber I loaded with cast bullets, beginning with Lyman #311291 and more recently with #311041. I size & lube conventionally. After 35+ years with this combination, the 30/30 is by some distance my most success-laden rifle & cast bullet blending. The 45/70 is a distant 2nd place, and the other hyphenated levergun calibers are "works-in-progress". I still love them all, leverguns have a place in my heart that will not be dislodged. They have their quirks and eccentricities, but theirs and mine seem to mesh well. #311041 launched at 1800 FPS is scary-accurate in both of my 30/30s, shooting tighter groups than with Sierra j-words at 2100 FPS. Significantly tighter groups.
I don't paint bullets. I like Black Rifle Coffee. Sacred cows are always fair game. California is to the United States what Syria is to Russia and North Korea is to China/South Korea/Japan--a Hermit Kingdom detached from the real world and led by delusional maniacs, an economic and social basket case sustained by "foreign" aid so as to not lose military bases.
Yeah so I知 back at it. Reloaded 5 after trimming all to 2.029 and ran through lube a matic and guess what? Same **** markings on bullet and can稚 close action all the way. Starting to think the lube a matic May be the problem here and I may just tumble lube and try that. Thoughts?
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I知 wondering if I知 bulging the nose during lube process.
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BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |