turning .223 brass to 30 carbine

[Jamesconn]

Well my father has a M1 carbine and i was planning on loading for it and casting but it is nearly impossible to find decently priced brass. I had pretty much given up, until i heard from another member on the forum about how you can cut the neck off the .223 brass and use it as 30 carbine has anybody done this?
Can you explain in detail how you did it?

[Bwana]

What about this?

http://www.okiebigbores.com/misc.htm

[shotman]

might be fun since the 223 has larger head

[thehouseproduct]

That is crazy cheap. I'm fighting the urge to get some. I try to tell myself not to buy reloading supplies for the guns I never shoot......

[thehouseproduct]

Also, the case head of 30 Carbine is slightly smaller than 223. You might be able to turn it down but it sounds like quite a chore.

[mooman76]

A lot of work for what you want. Like stated the head is bigger and you'll have to remove some brass. You might try swapping for some. 30 carbine is still still around enough to be had or buy some military surplus and reload it after you shoot.

[mdi]

FWIW; Ive found 30 Carbine for $160 per k at a once fired brass vendor. Is that too high?

[Shiloh]

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=1601197823

Out of stock for a couple of weeks. Bartlett is out as well
http://www.gibrass.com/brass.html

Shiloh

[Faret]

Check here.

http://www.polygunbag.com/.30CarbineBrassLargerView.html

[Mk42gunner]

Since it is available, I would buy the correct brass.

However, even though the drawings show a difference in size between the .30 Carbine and .223; I met a young man in Western Australia that had a .222 Remington 700 and an M-1 Carbine. Back in the late 1980's he had a lot of diffculty getting American brass.

He told me that when the neck split on the .222, he trimmed them to length and used them for his Carbine. True or not, I don't know, but he seemed to know what he was talking about.

I still prefer the right brass for any cartridge. I have seen too many people try to use the wrong ammo without confusing the issue by unnecessarily reforming brass.

Robert

[DLCTEX]

Unless you already have a neck reamer the cost of that alone will buy a good bit of brass at some of the prices shown in the above links. A good strong press with plenty of lube and a way to cut cases before sizing will be needed. You could probably turn the cases in a drill and file the rims down .018 relatively easily. Still, it may be cheaper to spend the time at an odd job and earn the money for factory cases. I have turned a few case necks by spinning with a drill using a Lee case spinner and the trim length gauge from lee would finish the trim rather easily. I haven't looked to see if Lee makes a length gauge for 30 carbine. If not, buckshot could make you one without breaking the bank.
I checked and Lee has the length gauge and shell holder for 5.50 + 5.00 s/h. If you decide to go this route, PM me and I'll help you with a case spinner and cutter.

[JohnFM]

I watch for adds. I've been able to finds tumbled mixed stamp carbine for $90-100 per 1000.
Last batch I bought, I think I lost 6 or 8 to being Berdans.
You do need to jump quick, those offerings do get grabbed up fast.

[MtGun44]

Inside reamer will kill the economics on this one.

Bill

[plainsman456]

If you send me your address I have some that I will send you,no need to do all that stuff.

[rintinglen]

It can be done quite easily on a strong press with a quality case lube. I did a couple hundred but it is costly, both in time and money. You need an inside reamer, a spare 30 carbine sizer die that you can shorten until the base of the case is reduced, and an old type trim die. It is very time consuming. First you have to run the cases into the trim die and rough cut the brass with a power saw--I used a jig saw with a metal blade. Then file the brass to length and hand ream the case with a .308 reamer. This take several minutes for each case. IIRC, I spent the best part of two weekends on that project. Were it not for the jig saw, I think I'd still be at it. Brass cases are a booger to cut with a tubing cutter. Then you have to run the cases, well lubed, into the sizing die that you have laboriously shortened to remove the bell at the bottom so the cases size all the way to the top of the shellholder. Then you will have a useable case that your carbine will fling away into that great brass bin in the sky and the product of your hard work will vanish. If you can buy brass, do so. Life's too short to make your own cases.

[mroliver77]

James is a young man and needs projects. He has time and energy but little $$. Better to spend time muscling cases through a die than watching tv, playing video games or running the streets.

I spent time as a youth bending up sheet steel and building frames to make box traps to catch muskrat.

Dang it, I just noticed original post date!
J

[Mk42gunner]

Dang it, I just noticed original post date!
J

At least it was from this year. and the info about converting cases is still relavent, although some of the links might not be.

I didn't notice the date either.

Robert