HK 4.6×30mm as .30 caliber jackets

[Humbo]

Did anyone try to use HK 4.6×30mm as .30 caliber jackets? 5.7x28 is hard to come by here, 4.6x30 is a lot more common. The rim is a little larger, .315" and it's 2mm longer, which should be an advantage. I haven't tried to neck one up to accept a .30 caliber core yet.

[MUSTANG]

Interesting. Should be doable as the base/rim is 3.16/3.15 so the amount needing to be reduced is not dramatic.

I have never encountered a HK 4.6×30mm empty case myself; but do find enough 5.7x28 empty cases at the two ranges we belong to that allows me to have enough to make .30 cal jackets to play with.

[clodhopper]

Never heard of this cartridge until your post.
Should make good 30 cal jackets, but a little more care might be needed opening up the neck.
Maybe a light annealing will help prevent neck splits.

[MUSTANG]

With the 5.7 x 28 My 8s pointed bullets come out at 175 Grains with no lead at the point, but the bullet jacket is ~ 100% filled with lead.

The HK 4.6×30mm case is listed to be 1.201 inches long; while the 5.7 x 28 is listed to be 1.138 inches long. This means the HK 4.6×30mm case is 0.063 inches longer. Estimating, this means that the HK 4.6x30mm case formed into a jacket should provide a 185 grain 30 caliber bullet (10 grains heavier) with an 8s Nose if the jacket is ~100% filled and no exposed lead. I used the Corbin Core weight tables to establish the estimated 10 grain heavier weight.

http://www.corbins.com/corewts.htm

[MUSTANG]

Just for giggles I looked at the price of fired HK 4.6×30mm range brass. I found that it is going for 19 to 20 cents each. About twice the cost of 5.7x28 range brass. If one is able to find HK 4.6×30 range brass for free; then it's a good .30 cal jacket solution to explore.

I find sufficient 5.7x28 laying on the ground at the range/s to keep me about even in my usage each year. At 10 cents for 5.7x28 it is more expensive than making jackets out of 5/16 ACR copper tubing; which is why I make .30 jackets from range brass (5.7x28 and sometimes 9mm) when it's free, otherwise I make my .30 jackets from 5/16 tubing using my BTSniper .30 tubing jacket dies.

[Humbo]

Thanks for chiming in guys! I went to the range today, and came home with about 5 lbs. of 4.6x30 brass. Also the .30 caliber die set for the Hollywood press arrived today, I'm just waiting for the tie rod to show up and I can try it out. Does anyone have the instructions for the Hollywood swaging dies?
If I can get ~185gr bullets out of this brass, that would be perfect. I'm still trying to figure out which shell holder fits, so that I can start expanding the necks. As clodhopper mentioned, I'll probably have to anneal the case necks before doing it.
What's the best route to reduce these cases to proper diameter? I was thinking to get some inserts for my NOE push trough sizing dies, what size should I go for? I assume the brass has a little springback too. .305 or .306?

[clodhopper]

.300, or .301 bushings might be the way to go on sizing. With spring back your jackets could be in the .302-.304 range. The core seat operation should expand your jackets some. Then the point form operation should bring your bullets up to .308.

[MUSTANG]

.300, or .301 bushings might be the way to go on sizing. With spring back your jackets could be in the .302-.304 range. The core seat operation should expand your jackets some. Then the point form operation should bring your bullets up to .308.

I have a "Different Take" on this. The brass for the bases of many cases (5.7x28, HK 4.6×30mm, 9mm, etc...) is exceptionally thick compared to a "Traditional" jacket extruded from flat stock. These thick bases are somewhat difficult to size down; and VERY difficult to attempt to Swage up. The thickness of the brass case (soon to be brass jacket) is much less about 40% to 50% up the case - where it will more easily swage up under pressure. If one reduces the base to .302/.304 area, then there is .06 to .04 expansion required to achieve a flat based bullet where the sides are closer to barrel width.

If one reduces the brass case (soon to be jacket) to .307 or at most .306, then there is far less expansion required during swaging to get the base of the flat based bullet into the normal specs of a flat based .308 caliber bullet. {Of course a rebated Boat Tail or Boat Tail formation is a horse of another color}

[Gew]

25 ACP shell holder may be correct, .306 as was stated would be a good size to swage from.

[MUSTANG]

I am wondering about the core seater? Not knowing the wall thickness of the HK 4.6×30mm at the mouth, we can guess that the mouth wall thickness will be close to the 5.7x28; but ...? Same core seating punch may be work, but .... unknown until it is tried.

[Humbo]

I haven't figured out the core seater yet, first I need to expand the case necks, which raises another question. What is the best way to go about doing that? I was thinking to do it gradually. And what size expander should I use at the final step? I still haven't completely figured out how these Hollywood swaging dies work.
CH4D does have a shellholder for the HK 4.6x30 cartridge, but the current turnaround time seems a bit long. 25 ACP seems a bit too small, with a rim diameter of .302". The 4.6x30 has a rim diameter of .315".

[Humbo]

Here are some pictures of the .30 caliber swage die set from Hollywood. The die and parts that confuse me is the second die from the left, and the two bushings on the right. One of the bushings have a hole all the way through, the other one has a blind hole.

https://i.postimg.cc/k68t2SXh/20200826-132813.jpg (https://postimg.cc/k68t2SXh)

https://i.postimg.cc/JysXWvw8/20200826-132657.jpg (https://postimg.cc/JysXWvw8)

https://i.postimg.cc/KKCMcfFM/20200826-133151.jpg (https://postimg.cc/KKCMcfFM)

[clodhopper]

Does a .30-'06 shell fit up into the die?
If so, you might have a 30 caliber primer pocket swage tool.

[Humbo]

No, the die seems to be a pint forming die.

https://i.postimg.cc/GHNyPDXK/20200826-182805.jpg (https://postimg.cc/GHNyPDXK)

[clodhopper]

Is that the same die that has a rod sticking out of it in the first photo?

If so he loose rod and other die may be for core seating.

You will need a die similar to a Lee bullet size die to size your jacket/4.7 case.

Mustang is right about over sizing the jacket down to .301 or so.

If you can get the rim sized to .308, then you could bond the core to the jacket for a nice tight bullet.