Want to start reloading 30-30 rounds, any good advice?

bigdeano88 · Member Joined: Aug 23, 2007 Posts: 27

I've been shooting and hunting since I was about four years old and twenty years later I'm finally sick and tired of paying 4 times the price for factory loads. My other rifles use mostly NATO rounds which I can pick up real cheap but my 30-30 Winchester gets expensive if I want to go put a lot of rounds through it. I understand the basics of reloading through some reading that I have done but am not confident enough in my novice knowledge to leave it to myself to go and buy stuff I either don't need or don't have the skills yet to use. If anyone knows of any good books I could read to get me started or could educate me on what I need to start reloading my rounds that would be GREATLY appreciated!

Bushmaster

Welcome to this fine site. We need more Winchester people here. (Ha ha ha 1895zz). I load .30-30 for an old Mod 94 .30 WCF. I would recommend Lyman 48th Edition. It is a good starter on reloading and has a lot of good load data as well. One of the dies that will make loading .30-30 much easier is a Lee Factory Crimp Die (FCD). It helps illiminate crushing the shoulder of the case which on the .30-30 case is it's weakest place during seating and crimping the bullet and case mouth. It'll mean that you will seat the bullet on one pass and crimp it on the second pass...If all you are loading is .30-30 you may only need a single stage press or I would recommend a turret as you will start loading other calibres as well (It's an adictive hobby)...

Several of us on this site load .30-30 and I'm sure we can solve most, if not all, of your questions. Either that or confuse you even more. Very Happy

We will be glad to help...

Again...Welcome to the site...Sit back. Have a beer, join in and enjoy (before that 1895zz [Marlin man] arrives)...

Deleted_User_2665 · Super Member Joined: May 06, 2006 Posts: 380

bigdeano88 wrote:

I've been shooting and hunting since I was about four years old and twenty years later I'm finally sick and tired of paying 4 times the price for factory loads. My other rifles use mostly NATO rounds which I can pick up real cheap but my 30-30 Winchester gets expensive if I want to go put a lot of rounds through it. I understand the basics of reloading through some reading that I have done but am not confident enough in my novice knowledge to leave it to myself to go and buy stuff I either don't need or don't have the skills yet to use. If anyone knows of any good books I could read to get me started or could educate me on what I need to start reloading my rounds that would be GREATLY appreciated!

For starters, I would aquire as many current reloading manuals as I could stand to buy, Nosler, Barnes, Hornady, ect.....Hodgdon puts out good info as well.

I'm still reloading with the same RCBS starter kit I bought back in the 80's and just recently bought a digital powder scale...which was a good move. You get a Speer book with an RCBS kit by the way.....

Over the years I added an RCBS powder measure, a hand cranked Forster case trimmer/neck turner, experimented with various other hand tools, made a bunch of loading blocks and kept lots of records........

Don't get suckered into a bunch of complicated and expensive gear, it's out there and it works just fine but it's not required to produce very accurate ammo. I made 7x57 ammo years ago with a Lee Loader and a hammer that shot VERY WELL in my Ruger 77, as an example of probably the crudest way to reload.

A man can slum along with a single stage press in fine fashion for many years before needing anything more fancy...

The most important thing with reloading is to develope good Safety Habits, the rest is learning to be 100% consistant with everything else. The key to accuracy is consistancy.......

Don't skimp on dies though, good dies produce good consistancy....

Simple things often make a big difference, like choosing a no headache case lube. Hornady One Shot addresses that for me.

Lots of steps are also not needed, as I've found out from years of expermenting in a self taught mode of opperation. Unless you want to produce bench rest ammo, which I think is a lot of Voodoo anyway, many things can be overlooked in the quest to build affordable MOA reloads.

If you need help just ask................

bigdeano88 · Member Joined: Aug 23, 2007 Posts: 27

Thanks for the help! The Lyman T-Mag II Turret expert kit was one of the kits I've been looking at buying. The other one I've been looking at is the Lee Deluxe Turret Press Kit. With all your experience, which one is the best choice and a product that will last and be versatile or is there something better for someone just getting into the hobby? There is a significant difference in price but as far as I can tell I can't find a large difference between them. I've been looking at the kits because I'd like to buy the majority of the tools I'll need together if at all possible. Gives me peace of mind and helps insure that I won't forget one if I shop around and buy em all separate only to realize that I forgot something and then have to wait another week or two for shipping to get started.

Bushmaster

I've been using a Lee turret three hole for the last 18 years (same one). I have a Lee single stage that is used for resizing/decapping and priming. If I had the extra cash back then I would have gone with the T-mag, but... Make sure you get a scale and calipers to go with that kit. A case trimmer of some kind is a must with rifle cases also. A case tumbler (vibrater type) is also a good idea. Some may disagree, but I really don't care. Very Happy

fireball 3

Welcome to the site, and ditto to what Mr. Bushmaster says. He's our resident guru here Worship

....IMO... Just my .035 worth. Dave Very Happy

1895ss

Bushmaster wrote:

Welcome to this fine site. We need more Winchester people here. (Ha ha ha 1895zz). I load .30-30 for an old Mod 94 .30 WCF. I would recommend Lyman 48th Edition. It is a good starter on reloading and has a lot of good load data as well. One of the dies that will make loading .30-30 much easier is a Lee Factory Crimp Die (FCD). It helps illiminate crushing the shoulder of the case which on the .30-30 case is it's weakest place during seating and crimping the bullet and case mouth. It'll mean that you will seat the bullet on one pass and crimp it on the second pass...If all you are loading is .30-30 you may only need a single stage press or I would recommend a turret as you will start loading other calibres as well (It's an adictive hobby)...

Several of us on this site load .30-30 and I'm sure we can solve most, if not all, of your questions. Either that or confuse you even more. Very Happy

We will be glad to help...

Again...Welcome to the site...Sit back. Have a beer, join in and enjoy (before that 1895zz [Marlin man] arrives)...

I agree with the Bushy guy in the .... "Welcome to this fine site" bigdeano88 but that's as far as it goes. I wouldn't reload for the 30-30. Very Happy

unless you are shooting those 30-30 cartridges in a MARLIN model 336. Haha

Cause we all know the winny model 94's just aren't accurate enough to bother with. Very Happy

Further more a .35 remington in a Marlin Model 336 would be a better choice all around then the 30-30............ Smile

hunterjoe21

1895ss wrote:

I agree with the Bushy guy in the .... "Welcome to this fine site" bigdeano88 but that's as far as it goes. I wouldn't reload for the 30-30. unless you are shooting those 30-30 cartridges in a MARLIN model 336. Cause we all know the winny model 94's just aren't accurate enough to bother with. Further more a .35 remington in a Marlin Model 336 would be a better choice all around then the 30-30............

LMAO

Try some strings on it Bushy.......

Guitar season is here...........

fireball 3

hey 1895ss. We here at home have BOTH m94 wins 30-30 and marlin 336 in 30-30. Like um both, good guns. Dave Very Happy

1895ss

fireball 3 wrote:

hey 1895ss. We here at home have BOTH m94 wins 30-30 and marlin 336 in 30-30. Like um both, good guns. Dave Very Happy

It's ok Dave to tell Bushy how you really Shocked

feel about the win 94. Very Happy

Bushmaster

Bigdeano88...You still with us? We really do want to help. Even with the reteric we just need your input to get us serious again...

bigdeano88 · Member Joined: Aug 23, 2007 Posts: 27

Hahaha, yeah I'm still here, sorry got in a car wreck in some foul weather and I've been dealing with that. And FYI 1895ss, my brother has a Marlin 336 and even mounted a scope on it and I can still outshoot him with the iron sights on my 94 out to about 100 yards ;-) How many cases can I fit into a decent tumbler and what are the pros/cons of using one? Cuz I'm all for the wash em and bake em in the oven method! I'd fill those cookie sheets right up!

Bushmaster

How long from turning on the water to cooling time after removing them from the oven. And the worry that one or two may still have moisture in them??

After firing and while you are setting up they can be in the tumbler getting clean enough to resize and decap (15 to 20 minutes). After resizing/decapping it's time to measure, trim and debur/campher then back into the tumbler for about an hour to two hours. Wha-la. Clean and shinny. Ready to prime and reload...No moisture and probably a much shorter time because you can be doing other things like deciding what you are going to reload them with or cleaning that .30-30 rifle...

My 18 year old Lyman Turbo 1200 tumbler will do 50 to 75 (?) rifle cases at a time...I know I've had 50 in there at least a few times...

Hope no one was hurt and the vehicle was just dinged...

bigdeano88 · Member Joined: Aug 23, 2007 Posts: 27

I was doing some reading supplied by our boys at Lyman and said that you can use soap and water and then stick em in the oven at 200 degrees for two hours... however if you swear by the tumbler then I think I'll take the tried and proven method. Any advice on a quality set of dies? And no worries on the wreck, rolling downhill at 10mph cuz I was making a turn that is notoriously nasty and eats cars for a living and there happened to be a lot of oil on the road. Turned the wheel, car turned for an instant, and then despite my efforts to regain traction went straight into an embankment. No injuries, just a dinged up left front fender and my pride!

bigdeano88 · Member Joined: Aug 23, 2007 Posts: 27

Oh, and a good tumbler along with those dies? Also based on the reading I've done what's the actual medium used inside said tumblers? No one seems to say what it is they just go on about how the tumbler medium takes care of all the moisture and residue and such and that after a while you should replace it.