.30 Luger from .223

Here's a rough and ready way to form .30 Luger cases from .223 / 5.56mm.

Make a wooden jig to allow you to hacksaw .223 cases to an appropriate length. Deburr the shortened case with a file, and then run it through a .30 Luger trim die. You will need an extended shell holder to do this. The trim die has the same contour as a sizing die, and will easily form the shoulder and neck. File to length while it is in the die. If you got lucky making your jig, there won't be much filing to do. You now have a .30 Luger case with a neck that is way too thick.

Place the case in a 9mm shell holder from a Lee trim gauge, crank it down tight (a vise and pliers are handy here), and fasten the spud in a drill press vise. Hold the vise loosely and position it so that an 8mm reamer in the drill press will self center. Advance slowly until the entire neck is reamed. Remove case, knock out the shavings, and chamfer.

Run through your usual sizing/expanding dies, it's then ready to load - but will have less internal capacity than commercial brass. The ones I made from PPU .223 had about 6% less, so reduce your charge accordingly.

.223 cases are slightly smaller than .30 Luger, so the fired case will look a little pudgy were it expands above the base.

There are other and better ways to form cases, but this let me do it with an 8mm reamer ($9 from eBay) as my only expense. I had fun, but won't be doing this anymore unless the commercial brass supply runs dry.

Nice write up. Sorry no replies to it. Must not be many folks needing 3 Luger.

Nice write up but why bother? Commercial brass is readily available at a modest price plus published loading data will not be valid for the reformed cases as internal volume will be radically different creating higher pressure with a given load.

That's a hard way to go when Fiochi has commercial available.

YUP
Possible but WHY
Easier to use commercial brass and use the
spare time for other things ... like SHOOTING

Mike

p.s. same thing with 7.62x25 brass, for years I made it out of 223 or 9mm Win mag brass, but now
I BUY it :)

What I did was to get an RCBS trim die, and run the case up and whack it off with a jeweler's hack saw.
Then I took a Forster inside neck reamer and fitted it in the electric RCBS case trimmer and inside neck reamed and final trimmed at the same time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lXo96H-h7k

Worked well, but a pain rather than buying

I did something similar forty years ago when 7.63 Mauser was unobtanium. After going to all that trouble, you were further aggravated because, like the Luger, it launched brass into low orbit. With good commercial brass available it is not worth the effort.

Yes, you are right, indeed! - it is too much work when commercial brass is available at reasonable prices. I was just on a high that I could create useable brass without breaking the bank. No need at all to do it unless the commercial supply goes away. Bill

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Originally Posted by Bill*B

Yes, you are right, indeed! - it is too much work when commercial brass is available at reasonable prices. I was just on a high that I could create useable brass without breaking the bank. No need at all to do it unless the commercial supply goes away. Bill

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And...that's the whole point of much of what we do. It's because we can. I mean...why cast lead when you can just buy jacketed bullets, right?

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Originally Posted by trails4u

And...that's the whole point of much of what we do. It's because we can. I mean...why cast lead when you can just buy jacketed bullets, right?

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Exactly.....the answer is not that it makes sense but because you CAN. See the title of this topic folks "CASE FORMING"
What color would the text need to be to evoke Captain Obvious?
I enjoy turning one case into another. I am envious of the folks who make 40 jacketed bullets out of 9mm cases, someday.......

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Originally Posted by Tonto

Exactly.....the answer is not that it makes sense but because you CAN. See the title of this topic folks "CASE FORMING"
What color would the text need to be to evoke Captain Obvious?
I enjoy turning one case into another. I am envious of the folks who make 40 jacketed bullets out of 9mm cases, someday.......

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If you want futility then try making 7.62x38R Nagant brass from .223!
Attachment 253991

I just trim and resize starline 9x23 super comp. I do that for the higher pressures in the Glock with 30 Luger barrel, since the 9x23 is more strongerer. In the end, though, 30 luger are common these days. But hey, wouldn't be the first time I tried something just for the fun (?) of it.

Mike

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Originally Posted by 17nut

If you want futility then try making 7.62x38R Nagant brass from .223!
Attachment 253991

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That's fun, but I just reload the commercial boxer primed stuff or use 32-20 brass with the bullet exposed...

Mike

I appreciate the info posted by Bill in the OP.
I treat my Starline 30 Luger brass like it's match grade. In other words, I don't want to lose it when shooting field style outdoors. I get tons of FREE 223/5.56 brass at the range. It's all over the place! Sure, we can bust our butts cleaning and sorting it, only to sell for pennies a piece. Or, we can make better (Hehe, sorry, couldn't resist!) cartridges out of it.

I use 223 brass to make 762x25 because I get it free at range and only needed to buy neck trimmer and dies. a pain but have everything else already.

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Originally Posted by 17nut

If you want futility then try making 7.62x38R Nagant brass from .223!
Attachment 253991

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Not futility, I did it to see if I could before buying a Nagant revolver fully understanding that revolver had the potential to becoming a wall hanger if the brass supply dried up. I load commercial brass because it is currently available.

But I know if push comes to shove, I can make functional brass.

I never shot a nagant revolver but have 2 sets of grips that came with reloading bulk purchase

I appreciate the thread as I'm considering a project in 30 Luger for a small carbine for rolling rabbits.

Bruce

Forgive me for reviving an old thread, but there is a better (still cheap!) way.

Chuck the formed case in your drill press. Push the chuck end of your reamer into a piece of hardwood with a hole drilled in - just large enough for a tight friction fit, to hold it erect. Lower the case onto the reamer. It wants to self center - you will almost always get a nice clean job. The case is tough, and the drill chuck won't hurt it at all.

Details: expand your formed case neck before doing this. An 8mm reamer will then give a neck thickness that is just about right, after final full length sizing/expansion.

LOL, this thread bring back memory's.

Back in the mid 1970's Dad came across a 5 gallon bucket of fired 5.56 blanks.
I was the person who got to crank the press handle and use the hacksaw and case trimmer
We had several guys wanting 30 Mauser ammo, so Dad bought a RCBS file trim die, and extended shell holder.
He set the press up so I could use a hacksaw to trim the case maybe 1/32" too long.
I then swaged the primer pockets on all of them.
Ran them all thru the FL size die
Dad made up a reamer to inside neck ream and overall trim at the same time on the Forester case trimmer

I also had to cast all the boolits, and lube/size them.

Then set up and loaded all those cases.
Spent a lot of time that winter working on them and I was paid about 10 cents a round but it made several gun owners happy.

J Wisner

I to have done the way you posted, 30+yrs ago when there was none to be had. and it was a nighmare but it was the only dog & pony show in town. all of the ammo that was to be had was MILL-SURP,& it was all BERDAN primed. thank you for posting for those who like the challenge.as stated I have been there & done that.

Once owned a Mauser pistol, did the same as you did. I also made up some from 38 spec brass. I had no lathe so used a little needle file to change the rim and make a ejector groove.

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Originally Posted by James Wisner

LOL, this thread bring back memory's.

Back in the mid 1970's Dad came across a 5 gallon bucket of fired 5.56 blanks.
I was the person who got to crank the press handle and use the hacksaw and case trimmer
We had several guys wanting 30 Mauser ammo, so Dad bought a RCBS file trim die, and extended shell holder.
He set the press up so I could use a hacksaw to trim the case maybe 1/32" too long.
I then swaged the primer pockets on all of them.
Ran them all thru the FL size die
Dad made up a reamer to inside neck ream and overall trim at the same time on the Forester case trimmer

I also had to cast all the boolits, and lube/size them.

Then set up and loaded all those cases.
Spent a lot of time that winter working on them and I was paid about 10 cents a round but it made several gun owners happy.

J Wisner

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Thanks for sharing, I love reading old stories like this. I had neighbors when I was a kid that made 4x8 signs for a construction company, dad mom and two boys all worked together. They would buy the plywood paint them then layout the letters and paint them too, the money from that bought them nice vacations.

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Originally Posted by Dan Cash

Nice write up but why bother? Commercial brass is readily available at a modest price plus published loading data will not be valid for the reformed cases as internal volume will be radically different creating higher pressure with a given load.

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Good way to save powder

Thanks, guys. I love those stories. Brings me back to the days when I grew up dirt poor, in Northeastern Tennessee. Then, this sort of stuff was have to - now, its just for fun. If your time is money, then give StarLine $115 for 500, and be done with it! But, if you can afford to play around ...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bill*B

Forgive me for reviving an old thread, but there is a better (still cheap!) way.

Chuck the formed case in your drill press. Push the chuck end of your reamer into a piece of hardwood with a hole drilled in - just large enough for a tight friction fit, to hold it erect. Lower the case onto the reamer. It wants to self center - you will almost always get a nice clean job. The case is tough, and the drill chuck won't hurt it at all.

Details: expand your formed case neck before doing this. An 8mm reamer will then give a neck thickness that is just about right, after final full length sizing/expansion.

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I might give that a try and see where it goes! Thanks