1895 Winchester 30-03 dies

[mustanggt]

Have been wanting a nice example of an 1895 Winchester for many years. Usually the ones I fall for are 30-03 and that presents a lot of difficulties. I can reform .270 brass and make that work but I can't find sizing dies for it. Anyone have any ideas? Thank you

[Tatume]

Why not use 30-06 dies and 270 cases?

[Tatume]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?161895-Case-forming-load-Winchester-1895-30-03

[mustanggt]

Through my research 30-06 is 70 thou shorter. The neck is longer to accept the 220gr bullet from the 30-40 Krag. The accuracy is said to not be there using 06 brass. .270 is longer and gets much closer. I know initially I can get by with just necking up to fire form but eventually I will need to resize.

[Tatume]

Given that the 30-06 and 30-03 cases are identical except for a few thousandths of an inch in neck length, the -06 dies should work just fine. If I recall correctly, the accuracy issue was attributed to shooting the shorter bullet (not cartridge case) of the 30-06 in the 30-03 chamber. The 30-03 was set up for a 220 grain round-nosed bullet.

[Tatume]

The case lengths are 2.540" and 2.484" for 30-03 and 30-06, respectively. The difference of 0.056" doesn't really amount to much. The first thing I would try would be to load 30-06 cases with Sierra 220 grain round nosed bullets set to just touch the lands. Using a moderate load of H4895, I would bet a cup of coffee that they shoot well.

[mustanggt]

Thank you for the help.

[beltfed]

mustanggt,
YOu might check out forming the 30-03 brass from 280 Rem brass.
Some .280 brass I have here is 2.532" long.
beltfed/arnie

[mustanggt]

Thanks Arnie.

[cwtebay]

I have an 1895 SRC and a sporting rifle. I make my brass by fire forming 270 brass with COW. I use Lee neck forming dies for 30-06 after that and trim as needed. I load 220gr round nose with very good accuracy. I tried to use 30-06 brass initially, but accuracy was horrible!
Cheers!

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[mustanggt]

Well I went and did it. I bought a 30-03 I had my eye on. Thanks for giving me the ok, at least I'll tell my wife that.:bigsmyl2:

[bruce drake]

CH4D makes that 30-03 die set if you want top quality dies for that unique rifle. Proper sizing and seating dies will definitely improve the brass life and accuracy of the barrel itself.
http://www.ch4d.com/products/dies/caliber-list?filter-col=caliber&filter=30-03

Bruce

[cwtebay]

Well I went and did it. I bought a 30-03 I had my eye on. Thanks for giving me the ok, at least I'll tell my wife that.:bigsmyl2:Congratulations!!! I'm quite sure you will enjoy it!!!
This was a day messing around at 400 yards at the range.
p.s. my wife commandeered this rifle for deer).https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200608/44499a53ebe117afb199e881439f49f2.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200608/df30c5f167d4c8a2f5b90e58117963d8.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200608/ba6ea0ce1434350b17053e0c9e240174.jpg

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[Tatume]

The case lengths are 2.540" and 2.484" for 30-03 and 30-06, respectively. The difference of 0.056" doesn't really amount to much. The first thing I would try would be to load 30-06 cases with Sierra 220 grain round nosed bullets set to just touch the lands. Using a moderate load of H4895, I would bet a cup of coffee that they shoot well.


I tried to use 30-06 brass initially, but accuracy was horrible! Cheers!


Want to bet?

[Drm50]

I use 30/06 dies to load for mine. I found out early on that my 95 wouldn’t shoot Spitzer bullets worth a hoot. I had a buddy who shot Camp Perry matches on state team. He brought me a 20mm can of 30 Military match brass, x?. Out of all these hundreds of brass I got 72 that made 30-03s.
After fooling with several Spitzers, including J. O’Connor’s pet 150gr load, which always does well in any 30/06, I switched to RN. This was back in 70s when Rem sold bullets as components. I bought 170gr RN Core Lock universal bullet. The 95 shot these like a target gun. I killed several deer with these. I don’t have many left and can’t get any more so I save them for deer. I did buy several thousand rds of 30/40 Govt. 1905 Frankfort Arsenal. Only thing it was good for was to salvage the bullets. These are my plinking bullets for the 95. Very good accuracy. Keep in mind that the 1895 Wins are only rated for 45000.

[ascast]

good read, thanks for posting

[elk hunter]

My 95 30-03 wouldn't shoot worth a hoot with .308 bullets so I slugged the bore and discovered that it was .304 x .312. I loaded up some .312 diameter 174 grain round nose 303 bullets and it shoots much better. I did shoot some .312 diameter 180 grain round nose cast ahead of 16 grains of 2400 and at 25 yards it it shot a fairly tight cluster to the point of aim. Haven't tried any longer cases but may do that at some point just to see if it makes any difference. I just use my 30-06 dies.

[cwtebay]

Want to bet?Do I want to bet that my 2 rifles shoot better with '03 length brass?? Absolutely.

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[mustanggt]

I searched for the COAL for the 30-03 and found it is the same as the 30-06 3.340" is that true?

[Drm50]

I forget the whole story of the 30/06. I do remember that last change was 1936 for the M1 Garand I think there were 7 changes from 1895 to 1936. Some are just bullets, load. I think Barnes lays it all out in Cartridges of the World.

[Rick B]

I shoot a 95 in 30-03 made in 1915. Probably a cleanup gun.

The best cases to make brass from is 280 Remington. It’s long enough and the shoulder on a 280 Remington is .051 longer than 270W and 30-06. (Short shoulders create excessive headspace). 280 Remington shoulders can be bumped back to match your chamber. For regular loading, I use 30-06 dies backed off the shellholder. I just size the neck. Many 95 Winchester's in 30-03 and 30-06, have excessive headspace. Due to firing 30-06 factory ammo that exceeds 45,000. It stretches the action.
Rick