Anybody with a 30 carbine M Die?

[gsdelong]

Is there anybody that has a 30 Carbine M Die that could take the expander out of the die body and photograph both next to a ruler of some sort.

For some reason the 30 Carbine is not a 30 Short or Long but a separate part.

I recently acquired a large amount of M dies and am hoping to mix and match pieces with the dozen or so spuds I had purchased direct from Lyman to cover all the Dies I wanted/needed.

Thanks in advance.

Greg

[Larry Gibson]

All 30 Carbine die sets I've seen are 3 die sets and come with the "M" die same as 3 die straight walled cartridge dies. Is there a need for the separate one?

Larry Gibson

[wcp4570]

I have a 30R Mdie that I use for all my 30 cal reloading needs. I have a short and long die body that I use to accommodate different case lengths. The length of the expander plug is 1.3", diameter of the plug body is .3065 and the expander portion measures .3105 to my non machinist eyes. I've attached pictures to see if this helps.

wcp
85567
85568
85569
85570

[gsdelong]

Wcp4570 do you use that on 30 carbine? I have both the 30r long and 30r short and the short will not go deep enough for 30 carbine. I am thinking the put the long stem in the short body like the do for the pistol rounds. I have enough parts to try all the permutations. Thanks for taking the pictures. Greg

[gsdelong]

Larry, I have a lee 3 die carbide 30 carbine set so it does not have a true "m Die". I really like the lyman m die for cast.

[Larry Gibson]

Wasn't aware the Lee expander was different. If you don't mind my asking so I'll know how is the Lee expander different?

Larry Gibson

[wcp4570]

I load my 30carbine with the Lee 3 die set and it works fine. I use the MDie for 30-06 & 30-30 but I'm sure it would work for 30 carbine. I also have long stems to swap out to make it fit what I need to fit. I found a gun shop that had Lyman parts so I loaded up on the parts I need for all calibers except 6.5.

[gsdelong]

Larry, maybe it is me that needs the education I was not aware that the lee expander had the 2 step spud before the flare. I use a lot of lee die sets but have always used the m die expander from lyman for what I think is a better way to get a cast boolit started, especially the lyman spear points I am loading in my ruger blackhawk. You look like you know what you are talking about, so have I stepped in the great lee debate or are you educating me that there is no difference? If you do not have experience with the m die there are several threads on here explaining the perceived benefits for expanding a case for a cast boolit. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?4351-Lyman-M-Die-Measurements-Needed http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?44058-Lyman-M-die-or-Lee-universal-expander Greg

[Buckshot]

............So far as I know the expander dealie in the Lee die sets is their "Powder Thru" setup and isn't appropriate as all it does (basically) is to put a flare on the casemouth. It's very short and those I've seen wouldn't reach all the way through a .300 Savage caseneck :-)

..............Buckshot

[Larry Gibson]

I was hoping to be educated on the Lee expander die as I use the Lee carbide sizer with the RCBS expander and seater for my 30 carbine loads. Buckshot has educated me.......thanks.

I would think some could be taken of the bottom of a 30 Short M die body so it would work with a standard 30 expander that has been shortened. I'm assuming you are asking for the length of the expander plug for the shorter 30 carbine case and bullet seating depth?

Larry Gibson

[brassrat]

I sawzalled thru a long die body to get it short enough to do pistols. I got a noob on the Lyman phone and no callback. Their website is sorely lacking on info for the m-die system as is the web.

[gsdelong]

Took me a while to get back to this. The m-die is a modular system m1 body m2 body 2 different stems and the the spud that does the actual sizing. I was trying to figure you why lyman markets every other caliber I am aware of as a long or short m die with the appropriate stem and right caliber spud. The lyman catalog show a special m-die for the 30 carbine that not a short or a long. Still have not had time to make it out to the shop but I am assuming it takes a long spud in a short body which would be unique to there whole system. I happen to purchase a whole stack of old stock dies for a really good price. My goal was to add them to my existing m dies and use some of my extra spuds to cover all the bases the 30 carbine just seams to be an oddball.

Larry I was not trying to be a smart aleck, you just seemed like you had been around enough to have run across the m-die before, so I thought maybe I was asking something obvious.

I have been known to ask a stupid question that embarrassed me the minute I pushed the post button. I now know how to clean up any embarrassing posts.

By the way I load 30 carbine for a 30 blackhawk [smilie=b: and a 14" contender only so things are a little different than the rifle guys.

Greg