30-30

tailchasers

Long Time Member
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ROOKIE ALERT!!
Supposed to be cheap and easy they said! "Cast some bullets Al, for that 30-30 throw in some Unique powder and plink away"! Those SOB's....
Every single time I seat a bullet the depth is different by several thousandths. Grrrr!! ?? THEN some of the bullets spin in the casing! ??? AND some of the casings cut the bullet!!!????
Lyman 170gr cast bullet, powder coated, gas checked, and sized. FC once fired brass. About threw the die out the shop door!! And I doubt it's the dies fault!!! Think I'll take a walk.....

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That's crazy you have both spinning bullets and others that don't fit. Wonder if the die is not sitting far enough down in your press to fully put the brass into the die chamber? Figure it would have to be a gross distance- but if the neck isn't tightly in that chamber then the bullet will float around while being pushed in?

Meaning- is the base of the seating die about 1/16" from the shell holder?

Wild guess I know...
 
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Or....

Those old bastard dies have a bunch of gunk in them at the top of the chamber, and/or the brass length is too long for the chamber with the gunk, deforming the rim at the top of the neck when pressed upwards, and when the bullets are pressed in they are either getting shaved by that deformity (causing the spin) or the bullet presses through the deformity causing the split case.

Wilder guess, I know...
 
I just can't figure how it could fold that neck down like that if it's fully inside the die chamber. Boggles the mind...
 
Either the expander or neck sizing portion could possibly be out of round. You can check if you have a concentricity gauge. One thing I sometimes do when sizing, is size about half the casing, back it out just enough to grasp it with your fingers and give it about a half turn and finish the rest of the sizing. Maybe the die is just garbage. Doubt it, but it could have a non 308 caliber ball that was replaced and it may be 303-311 or whatever those dimensions are and was never caught. I’m curious as a MF as to what it is. Start with a good cleaning with carb cleaner and a plastic brush chucked up in a drlll.
 
You can stop worrying about them being a couple thousandths different in length. That’s inconsequential. The neck tension issue probability lives somewhere in between your bullet mould, and your powder coating oven.
 
Look at that brass around the neck where it didn't crunch and along the case all the way down to the rim. It looks like it hasn't been lubed at all. It also looks like the brass might not be completely vertical as it enters the die.
 
Did you size the cast bullets?
30-30 and 25-35’s were also the only reloads I would crimp. Only shot them in my old model 94’s.
 
Did you size the cast bullets?
30-30 and 25-35’s were also the only reloads I would crimp. Only shot them in my old model 94’s.
I was going to ask the same thing but his post says he has gas checked and sized them. I’ve never coated my cast bullets but I wouldn’t think they would take to a gas check very well. The checks may not be seated and crimped properly.

I’m thinking he has multiple issues going on. If he isn’t chamfering the case neck it’s easy to catch the neck with the bullet and crush it. If his bullets are loose enough to spin in the case then either the bullet or case isn’t sized right.
 
Each bullet is sized after powder coating and I have not crimped anything yet. The gas checks seat like they should although it does take a bit more of a push though.
 
When you say you haven’t crimped anything yet are you referring to crimping the case in the bullet? That won’t prevent crushing the case but a uniform crimp would keep the bullets from spinnng in the case. I’m sure you know this because if you’re casting and sizing bullets you obviously have loading experience.

Are you having this issue with copper bullets? If not then that would point to the bullets being your issue. What are you using to lube your bullets? That brass concerns me with those multiple rings around the base. Are you putting a chamfer inside the case mouth and is the crush coming from the same side of the die every time?

30-30 brass is usually thinner walled than other brass because it operates at lower pressures and can be more delicate and crush easier because of that. You shouldn’t need to gas check bullets that are powdercoated like yours are. What diameter is your sizing die? Is it possible that gas check over powder coating is making your bullet .001”-.003” oversized at the base? That would cause bullet fit issues going into the case and catching the neck to crush it.

Good luck, keep us up to date.
 
Tailchaser
Hope you figure out the issue and come back and tell us. A lot of times people never come back and explain how they fixed their issue. Some here have given you some good places to start looking.
 
Last ones I reloaded had gas checks too but a different powder coat. With everything sized to .309. They reloaded beautifully. Since they're powder coated there's no lube on the bullet. Is that wrong? I pulled back on sizing after noticing the stress on the neck.
I am out of pocket until the weekend so can't work on the problem. Just adding to the list of possible issue and solutions.

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I’d bet it’s the dies are sizing the neck to much creating to much neck tension.
Have you measured the inside diameter of a sized case?
Also disassemble the die and give it a good cleaning.
 
Never tried powder coating bullets. But after seeing yours I read a few articles on it. Seems interesting and will have to try it. The main concerns I see in your photos are what looks like major scratches on the neck, and the bulges in the neck. Definitely take the above advice and take apart your die and clean it. Did the bullets come out of the die hard like it was stuck?
 
For sale. Well used set of rcbs 30/30 dies.i got this set as a hand-me-down truly oblivious to thinking dies can or would be bad. Especially RCBS stuff. Taking measurements shows inconsistency on sized brass.
 
Clean the inside of the dies with brake cleaner or acetone and some Q-tips. Make sure there isn’t dirt and bullet lube in the nose of the seating die. Flare the case mouth a bit so the base of the bullet is not getting cut by the case.
 
Clean the inside of the dies with brake cleaner or acetone and some Q-tips. Make sure there isn’t dirt and bullet lube in the nose of the seating die. Flare the case mouth a bit so the base of the bullet is not getting cut by the case.
I clean my dies right before or after I use them. I like to use carburetor cleaner. Another good trick is to use the case prep center (Lyman) and with the rotating brush that I use for case necks, put two or three patches on it with a little bit of carb cleaner and plunge it up and down. The 22 cal brush will hold the cleaning patches because of its bristles and when doubled or tripled, it provides a nice snug fit for the inside of the die. It’s the right height for the inside of most dies too. Usually the case prep center is out and active during the time dies are in use.
 

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