Anything pertaining to .30-30 is, by definition, a labor of love. Thank you so much for remembering us in the plain, simple & effective community. SUBSCRIBED tonight. DOUG out
Thanks so much. I bought a SS 30-30 6 years ago and have saved every round I put through it. About 300+ rounds now I want to learn about reloading them. Thanks for the great start. The brass is the first key to great shooting. Thanks Yoda...
A really informative video. For the 45 plus years I’ve been shooting lever guns I have never neck sized cases for all of the reasons you’ve so graphically demonstrated. My same 30-30 ammo goes into both Marlins and Winchester rifles. Great job! I hope to see more 30-30 videos.
Thank you for your good information. I'm new to reloading and you take the mystery out of reloading that kept me from trying it for a number of decades
Getting started to reload 556/223, 9 mm, and 30-30. Still trying to find powders and buy addition equipment to start my reloading. On behalf of guys like me thank you for passing on your knowledge.
Thanks fortune cookie,. I've Got a Marlin 336w and have buckets full of 30/30 ofb . Im interested in more 30/30 reloading vids from you. I'll check your archives
same here, more 30/30 reloading videos please. Ive been doing pistol reloading for some time now but want to get into rifle as well. My son has a 336 and I want to reload for him. Love all your videos.
Another great video from you! I've been reloading along time but I always learn something from you. I've tried neck sizing before when I was NRA competitive shooting when I was younger. But now in the situation I'm in I reload for 2 30/30 rifles, and 8 30/06 rifles that my son and I hunt with. So trying to keep ammo separated for each rifle became a logistical nightmare! Lol! But great input by you the important difference between lever action and boltaction camming action strength. A lot of new reloaders don't know that, glad you mentioned that. I know I'm shortening my case life by always FL sizing, plus loosing some accuracy potential. Since I FL size so much, do you suggest annealing my brass? I'm getting 8 to 10 reloads normally on my brass before I start getting splits etc. , so I believe that's adequate enough. Your thoughts if you have time thanks.
very good technical video about what is going on. The important problem of pushing the shoulder back is case separation before long. The brass stretches down above the case head and gets thinner each time till it separates, a condition that must be avoided.
I have been neck my 30/30 for quite some time now. My rifle is a Winchester 94AE. I load the magazine and it chambers rounds just fine. However I don't load my rounds hot but use minimum powder charges. My fun plinking/small game load is a 154 grain cast bullets over 6.5 grains of Alliant Red Dot powder. Thank you so much for your excellent videos, especially on the 30/30.
the neck sizing will help the extension of brass life, but does it help to improve accuracy, if so your ahead on both counts, -both shell life and accuracy. and thats a win win for all handloaders. NICE WORK.
I just found your channel, I'll be a new reloader soon and I'll be reloading for the 30-30, 32 Win Special, 444 Marlin, etc. This is an excellent video, thank you for making it. I'm a Marlin accumulator, as opposed to a collector because I buy guns to shoot. I'm sure I'll be referencing your channel periodically as I get my reloading room set up.
Wow! Thanks for the lesson. Once fired brass at 1.29 each this can really save you some dollars. This one step will save the aggravation of a round not chambering. Pulling bullets and starting over is never fun.
Great info. Good to know. Moving the shoulder too much is definitely not a good thing. I think i understand all of it. I have a Marlin 336 and a Savage 340 i will be loading for. I may endeavor to keep the brass separate for each rifle.
See a whole lot of lever action 30 30's at the gun shows, hope to pick one up soon. Need to have good sizing, all the ones I like are lever action :-) Thanks Steve, see ya on the next one :-)
My 30-30 FL sizing die is set up with a .035" gap between the shell holder and resizing die to achieve a .002" bump on the shoulder. My rifle is a 1980s Win M94 Trapper Carbine (no safety). In this rifle I found that shoulder/body width makes for tight insertion in the chamber and not so much the shoulder bump.
D Swann, That is because you need to bottom the die on the shell holder to size the web of the case (the web is the portion on the lower case just above the rim). When you back a die out to just bump the shoulder back, you are no longer full length resizing the entire case length. This is why 30-30 brass does not live long in reloading cycles; full length resizing with the shallow bottle neck of the 30-30 case allows the brass to flow out to the case neck mouth requiring frequent case turning for over-all case length. It is something you need to accept when hand loading for this cartridge. The 30-30 plays by its own rules in a sense when it comes hand loading. I first played with this cartridge near 40 year ago and it still requires you to chase the case every time your reload a lot (a group) of cases. It is the last cartridge on the planet I want to reload cases fired out of another rifle.
@@Chuck_Carolina The web of the case is just fine, not a problem fitting my chamber. My point in my comment was to illustrate how far my die was adjusted from the shell holder to achieve a .002" bump. The shoulder width is what makes a snug fit in the chamber but it is not so tight as to inhibit loading.
@@Chuck_Carolina I've got 100 Winchester cases that are the same lot from 1988. They have been trimmed once after 3d firing/sizing and they were annealed once before 4th resizing. I had 40 cases from Winchester factory loads that I threw away after 6th load due to split necks (before I started annealing).
@@SniperC175 That is exactly what I wanted to know: we had plenty of brass back then and just recycled it often. I acquired a 30-30 a few years back and want to figure this silly cartridge out and why it didn't load well for me in the past. Thanks for your response,
My model 94 has such a generous chamber that 2 thou bump chambers the same as neck sizing. Chambering is not the problem, the biggest issue is when loading through the feed ramp into the tube magazine, I have to size back closer to factory specs ie 1.475 - 1.480 inches (factory ammo is around 1.470 inches CBTO) to avoid the shoulder interfering with the feeding into the magazine. For convenience and ease of loading I'll just have to sacrifice the brass when the dreaded shiny ring occurs.
Hi FortuneCookie45LC, my nephew just bought himself a beautiful Henry X in 30-30 and I’m going to teach him how to reload his cases using the method that you use in this video. My question is was size/number Hornady headspace comparator gauge is best suited to measuring headspace in 30-30 cases? I hope that you haven’t been badly affected by those floods in California over the past few days. Cheers 🍻
Checking with the rim probably started with military rifles to use unskilled labor. True head space is called off the shoulder. It is built into the reamer. It is not a brass problem, you just have a liberal chamber. Most lever guns have no recess cut in the chamber for the rim, so you are really checking nothing when you check with SAAMI headspace specs for a 30-30. If you are that worried about your brass, you would be better off with another barrel and cutting it close.
This was a good lesson on what's going on in the chamber of the gun. Very nicely done. I wonder if the 30-30 collet dies are meant for the odd 788 bolt action 30-30 or something.
I have a Savage 340 bolt gun. I have used the old Lee Loader which only neck sizes back in the 60's and 70' before I had a press and FL dies. The problem I had with the Lee Loader was probably from the thin cases, some lube on the necks may have helped. I am currently thinking about the Lee Collet dies to eliminate this problem.
@@52blakeley19 Cool, I had to look that gun up. Cookie has done several videos on the collet dies. Gives a good rundown on them. No lube is a good thing about them.
Just started to reload the 30-30, my neighbor had an old neck sizer he brought back from Alaska. He used his brass enough times the necks would crack and apparently he never had a problem, except when other people would use his ammunition in their guns. His were fire formed with his rifle and there are variants in different chambers, some are tighter, some are looser, if they were too tight they wouldn’t fit. I have lots of brass and don’t shoot much, so I will probably stick to neck sizing.
Thanks FC45LC. Do you by any chance cast and reload for the .32 Winchester Special? I know that .32 WS is similar (but different) than the 30-30. Not nearly as popular either. I would love to hear what you have to say about the .32 Win Spec! Thanks for the video, keep up the good work!
ALL my shouldered brass, bolt or lever action ...I bump the shoulder untill the lever or bolt "just closes" with no effort! Cases with older chambers last much much longer added with annealing every 2-3 loading case stretch is kept to a minimum, no fancy or expensive extra tools required just use your full length die and turn it down 1/8 turn at a time and try it in your rifle.
Thank you for your information. I just got started with 30/30, and since it's a rimmed cartridge, any of your expertise will be helpful with creating quality reloads
Great info Fortune Cookie. Question with the plated Berry bullets, do you taper or roll crimp them for the 30-30? I use Berry's in pistol calibers and only use taper.
I know this an old video, but one thing he failed to do is remove.Those fired primers out before you did measurements.The primers puff out a bit and make your measurements basically worthless I know this because when I was a newbie reloader.i didnt Remove the primer' First and my measurements Were all over the place.I couldn't figure out what was going on till I learn to do that
Mr FC, I'm not clear, how you are able to back-out the resizing die to accommodate the desired length and still completely resize the full length of the case?
Ghost, the principal is the same, no matter how many rifles you have. Size them all to the shortest chamber. Your brass life will suffer if resizing .02 or more every time. 2-3 reloadings vs. 8-10.
Fortune Cookie, you have helped this newbie more than you will ever know, thank you!! I have one question after watching one of your videos yesterday. I am powder coating and so far it is working well. You said that when powder coat is used there is no need for a gas check. Am I correct in this? Thanks!
Keep in mind that the .30-30 operates at a low enough pressure that it won't completely fill the chamber on one firing. After pushing the should back .002" - .003" and refiring you will likely have a new longer zero. This doesn't happen in higher pressure cartridges like the 308.
Eugene - Thanks for your kind remarks. But there is something to be said for milder ammo that one can use to knock over a crow on a 60 yard fencepost. Have a great day, Steve
Fired brass is almost always short on the shoulder by about .00 2 I have no idea where in the world you get that idea. Take a casting of your chamber so that you know what the shoulder Dimension is that's the only way a comparator gives you something to compare! You don't understand how to measure things, stop doing the video get it right and then redo the video. You can also pull back a little bit on the full-length sizing die and not push the shoulder back so far. You seem to forget that rifles don't always have the exact same chamber dimensions from one rifle to the next. I'm really irritated that you don't know how to adjust a full-length resizing die.
Anything pertaining to .30-30 is, by definition, a labor of love. Thank you so much for remembering us in the plain, simple & effective community.
SUBSCRIBED tonight.
DOUG out
Thanks so much. I bought a SS 30-30 6 years ago and have saved every round I put through it. About 300+ rounds now I want to learn about reloading them. Thanks for the great start. The brass is the first key to great shooting. Thanks Yoda...
A really informative video. For the 45 plus years I’ve been shooting lever guns I have never neck sized cases for all of the reasons you’ve so graphically demonstrated. My same 30-30 ammo goes into both Marlins and Winchester rifles. Great job! I hope to see more 30-30 videos.
Thank you for your good information. I'm new to reloading and you take the mystery out of reloading that kept me from trying it for a number of decades
30-30 shooter from Norway. I love my Winchester 94 from the 60`s. Great video and I have seen all you have on youtube. Thank you!!
Getting started to reload 556/223, 9 mm, and 30-30. Still trying to find powders and buy addition equipment to start my reloading. On behalf of guys like me thank you for passing on your knowledge.
We love the old school 30/30 deer rifle here in Wisconsin !
@John Beige yes sir, we do. My two sons and myself use it for most everything.
Steve... Thank you once again for your detailed explanations. Excellent tutorial. Shoot lots and stay safe.
Thanks fortune cookie,. I've Got a Marlin 336w and have buckets full of 30/30 ofb . Im interested in more 30/30 reloading vids
from you. I'll check your archives
same here, more 30/30 reloading videos please. Ive been doing pistol reloading for some time now but want to get into rifle as well. My son has a 336 and I want to reload for him. Love all your videos.
I liked listening to your voice while doing narration. You have the perfect voice for making videos. Keeps you informed and focus.
Another great video from you! I've been reloading along time but I always learn something from you. I've tried neck sizing before when I was NRA competitive shooting when I was younger. But now in the situation I'm in I reload for 2 30/30 rifles, and 8 30/06 rifles that my son and I hunt with. So trying to keep ammo separated for each rifle became a logistical nightmare! Lol! But great input by you the important difference between lever action and boltaction camming action strength. A lot of new reloaders don't know that, glad you mentioned that. I know I'm shortening my case life by always FL sizing, plus loosing some accuracy potential. Since I FL size so much, do you suggest annealing my brass? I'm getting 8 to 10 reloads normally on my brass before I start getting splits etc. , so I believe that's adequate enough. Your thoughts if you have time thanks.
( bows to the reloading master ) excellent video lots of knowledge being passed on
Thanks for putting this up, Steve. I guess I missed there 2 years ago.
very good technical video about what is going on. The important problem of pushing the shoulder back is case separation before long.
The brass stretches down above the case head and gets thinner each time till it separates, a condition that must be avoided.
I have been neck my 30/30 for quite some time now. My rifle is a Winchester 94AE. I load the magazine and it chambers rounds just fine. However I don't load my rounds hot but use minimum powder charges. My fun plinking/small game load is a 154 grain cast bullets over 6.5 grains of Alliant Red Dot powder. Thank you so much for your excellent videos, especially on the 30/30.
the neck sizing will help the extension of brass life, but does it help to improve accuracy, if so your ahead on both counts, -both shell life and accuracy. and thats a win win for all handloaders. NICE WORK.
Thank u fortune cookie , we never expected such vast information on the famous 30-30
Great video ! Thank you for the info , I just learned something very useful for my 30-30 reloads 👍
I just found your channel, I'll be a new reloader soon and I'll be reloading for the 30-30, 32 Win Special, 444 Marlin, etc. This is an excellent video, thank you for making it. I'm a Marlin accumulator, as opposed to a collector because I buy guns to shoot. I'm sure I'll be referencing your channel periodically as I get my reloading room set up.
Interesting
I have the same calibers,
Especially the ect, part,,,,
Wow! Thanks for the lesson. Once fired brass at 1.29 each this can really save you some dollars. This one step will save the aggravation of a round not chambering. Pulling bullets and starting over is never fun.
Great info. Good to know. Moving the shoulder too much is definitely not a good thing. I think i understand all of it. I have a Marlin 336 and a Savage 340 i will be loading for. I may endeavor to keep the brass separate for each rifle.
Thanks for the information on this video it has helped me in understanding the ins and outs of the 3030 bought the gauges and works great.
I enjoy your videos.. always so down to earth.. just good common sense.. 🇺🇸👍🏻
See a whole lot of lever action 30 30's at the gun shows, hope to pick one up soon. Need to have good sizing, all the ones I like are lever action :-)
Thanks Steve, see ya on the next one :-)
Good video the hornady tool is great I could not do with out mine God bless and have a great day
Thank you fc45lc, you are an excellent teacher !
You can do the same thing with belted magnum cases.
I swear I see a Marlin 39 century limited rifle on the bench. You are such a tease.
My 30-30 FL sizing die is set up with a .035" gap between the shell holder and resizing die to achieve a .002" bump on the shoulder. My rifle is a 1980s Win M94 Trapper Carbine (no safety). In this rifle I found that shoulder/body width makes for tight insertion in the chamber and not so much the shoulder bump.
D Swann,
That is because you need to bottom the die on the shell holder to size the web of the case (the web is the portion on the lower case just above the rim). When you back a die out to just bump the shoulder back, you are no longer full length resizing the entire case length. This is why 30-30 brass does not live long in reloading cycles; full length resizing with the shallow bottle neck of the 30-30 case allows the brass to flow out to the case neck mouth requiring frequent case turning for over-all case length. It is something you need to accept when hand loading for this cartridge. The 30-30 plays by its own rules in a sense when it comes hand loading. I first played with this cartridge near 40 year ago and it still requires you to chase the case every time your reload a lot (a group) of cases. It is the last cartridge on the planet I want to reload cases fired out of another rifle.
@@Chuck_Carolina The web of the case is just fine, not a problem fitting my chamber. My point in my comment was to illustrate how far my die was adjusted from the shell holder to achieve a .002" bump. The shoulder width is what makes a snug fit in the chamber but it is not so tight as to inhibit loading.
@@SniperC175 Just curious; how many cycles do you get out of your brass, do you Annelle and how often do you trim case length?
@@Chuck_Carolina I've got 100 Winchester cases that are the same lot from 1988. They have been trimmed once after 3d firing/sizing and they were annealed once before 4th resizing. I had 40 cases from Winchester factory loads that I threw away after 6th load due to split necks (before I started annealing).
@@SniperC175 That is exactly what I wanted to know: we had plenty of brass back then and just recycled it often. I acquired a 30-30 a few years back and want to figure this silly cartridge out and why it didn't load well for me in the past.
Thanks for your response,
My model 94 has such a generous chamber that 2 thou bump chambers the same as neck sizing. Chambering is not the problem, the biggest issue is when loading through the feed ramp into the tube magazine, I have to size back closer to factory specs ie 1.475 - 1.480 inches (factory ammo is around 1.470 inches CBTO) to avoid the shoulder interfering with the feeding into the magazine. For convenience and ease of loading I'll just have to sacrifice the brass when the dreaded shiny ring occurs.
Very good explanation on this. Thanks!
Wondering if you like the 30 cal Hornady 100gn. Short jacket for plinking? On your 30-30?
Hi FortuneCookie45LC, my nephew just bought himself a beautiful Henry X in 30-30 and I’m going to teach him how to reload his cases using the method that you use in this video. My question is was size/number Hornady headspace comparator gauge is best suited to measuring headspace in 30-30 cases? I hope that you haven’t been badly affected by those floods in California over the past few days. Cheers 🍻
Why not just use a Wilson case gage if full length resizing?
That's what I prefer to use to come up with the same measurements.
You make reference to a low recoil and accurate load. I would be curious to know more, thank you.
Great video I been wondering about this for sometime now
Great video and great information
Checking with the rim probably started with military rifles to use unskilled labor. True head space is called off the shoulder. It is built into the reamer. It is not a brass problem, you just have a liberal chamber. Most lever guns have no recess cut in the chamber for the rim, so you are really checking nothing when you check with SAAMI headspace specs for a 30-30. If you are that worried about your brass, you would be better off with another barrel and cutting it close.
Very informative. Nice, thanks.
This is great info, very useful.
Thanks for the info.. Very concise explanation...
Always love learning in the hot lead zone, this was my first express experience though!
This was a good lesson on what's going on in the chamber of the gun. Very nicely done. I wonder if the 30-30 collet dies are meant for the odd 788 bolt action 30-30 or something.
I have a Savage 340 bolt gun. I have used the old Lee Loader which only neck sizes back in the 60's and 70' before I had a press and FL dies. The problem I had with the Lee Loader was probably from the thin cases, some lube on the necks may have helped. I am currently thinking about the Lee Collet dies to eliminate this problem.
@@52blakeley19 Cool, I had to look that gun up. Cookie has done several videos on the collet dies. Gives a good rundown on them. No lube is a good thing about them.
Neck sizing works great I have both and almost never full-length size 30-30 anymore.
Just started to reload the 30-30, my neighbor had an old neck sizer he brought back from Alaska. He used his brass enough times the necks would crack and apparently he never had a problem, except when other people would use his ammunition in their guns. His were fire formed with his rifle and there are variants in different chambers, some are tighter, some are looser, if they were too tight they wouldn’t fit. I have lots of brass and don’t shoot much, so I will probably stick to neck sizing.
Great video, thank you very much...
Thanks FC45LC. Do you by any chance cast and reload for the .32 Winchester Special? I know that .32 WS is similar (but different) than the 30-30. Not nearly as popular either. I would love to hear what you have to say about the .32 Win Spec! Thanks for the video, keep up the good work!
I think if i purchased once fired brass, I would full length resize for the first loading and bump the shoulder on the rest of the loadings.
i trim the 30-30 ,neck size it lee collet and take a 10 mm auto carbide die to size the body if needed
My once fired cartridges chamber just fine. Did you try reloading your once fired brass?
I always full resize and crimp reloads, just a peace of mind
ALL my shouldered brass, bolt or lever action ...I bump the shoulder untill the lever or bolt "just closes" with no effort! Cases with older chambers last much much longer added with annealing every 2-3 loading case stretch is kept to a minimum, no fancy or expensive extra tools required just use your full length die and turn it down 1/8 turn at a time and try it in your rifle.
Less budget friendly, but check out the Redding competition shell holders
I'm always learning. Thank you.
Thank you for your information. I just got started with 30/30, and since it's a rimmed cartridge, any of your expertise will be helpful with creating quality reloads
You can use pistol casing that fits over the neck and save 50 bucks
I guess I should get the hornady kit
Would you recommend a digital caliper ?
Great info Fortune Cookie. Question with the plated Berry bullets, do you taper or roll crimp them for the 30-30? I use Berry's in pistol calibers and only use taper.
I know this an old video, but one thing he failed to do is remove.Those fired primers out before you did measurements.The primers puff out a bit and make your measurements basically worthless I know this because when I was a newbie reloader.i didnt Remove the primer' First and my measurements Were all over the place.I couldn't figure out what was going on till I learn to do that
Mr FC, I'm not clear, how you are able to back-out the resizing die to accommodate the desired length and still completely resize the full length of the case?
Great tool!
Hi, I reload my cases with Trail Boss 9ng and lead bullet for the range shooting! super cheap load! cheers mate!
TheWheels1965 Which bullet have you found the best for 30 30 ,thanks mate?
@@interman7715 Any lead bullet should be ok, as long as you keep the speed below 1000.
Does this same strategy apply when loading 5.56 NATO?
I have 5 different 30-30 rifles so have to full length resize my ammo. Have 3 different 30-06 rifles so 30-06 also gets full length resize
Ghost, the principal is the same, no matter how many rifles you have. Size them all to the shortest chamber. Your brass life will suffer if resizing .02 or more every time.
2-3 reloadings vs. 8-10.
Fortune Cookie, you have helped this newbie more than you will ever know, thank you!! I have one question after watching one of your videos yesterday. I am powder coating and so far it is working well. You said that when powder coat is used there is no need for a gas check. Am I correct in this? Thanks!
Can you use a 270 WSM FL die to resize neck only of 30-30 to step down to eventually get to a 6mm BRM for my G2?
Nice job
What size bushing do you use for the30-30 ? Thanx
Case expansion is also a consideration. Near max loads can cause flat primers with neck sizing only.
Are you powder coating your 30-30 bullets? Are you still using HF paint?
your insisting i need that hornady tool, but cant I just use a caliper and subtract .003?
He is measuring the shoulder not the overall length
Very helpful
Great info thank you!!!
The first thing you want to do is run headspace of the shoulder& not the rim.
Sheeze I have the dies but no gun in that caliber.
Thank you
Yep, I think we'll all find that our lever action rifles can display good accuracy when the cartridge isn't rattling around in the chamber. {;>)
Keep in mind that the .30-30 operates at a low enough pressure that it won't completely fill the chamber on one firing. After pushing the should back .002" - .003" and refiring you will likely have a new longer zero. This doesn't happen in higher pressure cartridges like the 308.
The brass is also thinner than 308 also, so it will fill the chamber on one firing.
1 picked price
Compare-a-tor
Never full-length size brass for Lever Actions.
That’s true about that but you are hot load man 🤟🥃🍺👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸❤️❤️❤️✝️✝️✝️
Eugene - Thanks for your kind remarks. But there is something to be said for milder ammo that one can use to knock over a crow on a 60 yard fencepost. Have a great day, Steve
You spent almost NO time showing how to adjust the die.
Fired brass is almost always short on the shoulder by about .00 2 I have no idea where in the world you get that idea. Take a casting of your chamber so that you know what the shoulder Dimension is that's the only way a comparator gives you something to compare! You don't understand how to measure things, stop doing the video get it right and then redo the video. You can also pull back a little bit on the full-length sizing die and not push the shoulder back so far.
You seem to forget that rifles don't always have the exact same chamber dimensions from one rifle to the next. I'm really irritated that you don't know how to adjust a full-length resizing die.
It is because brass has spring back after firing.
Did you ever go to test those berry plated bullets with 72 grains of Unique? In your 30-30 ?
Winchester 3030's have sloppy chambers to begin with.