310 question?

[dblhunter]

Hey Guys,

Sorry to bother you all, but I have a quick question for you and hope you can help me out. I recently acquired a 310 tool and dies for my 30-30. So, after doing some studying and reading, I finally decided to start playing with it. I put the decapping die in and before I could finish 10 brass casing, I bent and then broke, my decapping pin.

Well, luckily the guy who sold this outfit to me added about four extra pins, so I changed it out and started decapping again. Well, after doing about 20 rounds, I broke that one.

So, am I doing something wrong? If so, what? OR.....is this to be expected from this tool? I hope our adventurous buffalo hunters out on the prairie didn't come across this problem. If so, they would have needed a whole box of pins.

I went on the Lyman web site and could not even find additional decapping pins, so where do I get more?

Thanks for all your help.

Take Care!

dblhunter

[Le Loup Solitaire]

The knurled collar that secures the decapping pin has to be tight...no wiggle/slop so that the pin stays on center. If not it will hit the case web on either side of the flash hole=broken/bent pin. In a pinch you can make your own pins by using the right/similar diameter ordinary finishing nail cut to the correct length...however you have to temper/harden it by heating to red and then plunging it into oil or water. LLS

[Green Frog]

Also, you may have bent the decapping rod (on which the pin is mounted) or left it loose, allowing the decapping pin to sometimes "miss" the flash hole. When recapping, especially with the 310, I try to guide the process carefully until I feel the pin enter the flash hole... you may need to leave it adjusted a little long to accomplish this. Some sets just decap with that die, others also muzzle resize. You have more latitude with the former, but sometimes the guidance provided by the latter will actually improve performance. Practice gently and slowly until you develop the touch to know when things are going right.

Froggie

[gbrown]

If you go over to the Castpics, under the reference line, and then to the Lyman 310 line, you will see 310 references and how to reload with it. Click that, and one of the references will be the 310 shop. His name is Rick Morrill and he is a really nice guy. Call him around 10:00 CST and discuss it with him. He knows everything there is to know about 310's.

[Char-Gar]

If everything is not tight, the decapping pin on the 310 tool will wiggle and it easy to break if you are ham handed. You don't slam the handles shut on the 310 tool. You press them together when you are certain the pin is in the flash hole. Decapping pins become everlasting if you do that. The 310 tool is slow by it's design, so slow down a little more. I use the 310 tool to decap everthing I reload, whether with the 310 or bench press.

[Bent Ramrod]

As GF says, you need to learn to slip the case into the decapping die and "feel" the pin as it goes into the end of the primer flash hole. After that, hold the case in position with a finger while you carefully close the handles. When the handles touch the base of the case, you remove your finger and squeeze.

There is no shell holder and no neck support to keep the case centered over the decapper as is the case with press-mounted setups. The little guide ring in the handles only gets it "there or thereabouts."

After 50 or so cases, the technique should become second nature and you should be able to do a box of empties while watching TV.

[frnkeore]

One last thing.............. Adjust the decapper so that it just pushes the primer out. That way there is not much of a angle pushing on the pin.

Frank

[rdlange]

Welcome to the 310 club. Because I did the pin break once... err, well more than once, I drilled out a collar hole a little and used a steel brad for a pin. Still everything must be very tight as noted. I do like 310s.