30-30 Win Reloading question

[hawaii0228]

Hello Guys

I have a question about 30-30 Win cal. reloading.

I have Winchester 30-30 lever action rifle.

Do I need Full Length Sizing Die or Neck Sizer Die??

and Do I have to Crimp the bullet firmly???

Thank you Happy new year to all members

[buffybuster]

Yes, you need to FL resize. Leveractions don't have the camming power to extract tight cases.
Yes, you need to crimp the bullet firmly in the cannulure, if you intend on feeding them through the tube magazine.

[scrat]

DISAGREE.

Answer both. you should get a set of dies to full size and neck size.

Buy some new brass fire load it and fire it from your gun. Check the brass if goes in your gun easily then you can neck size only. However there are some things you need to know about a 30-30. If you buy ammo or reload at or near the max. Then yes you should full size the brass same time you will also need to check the case length as 30-30 brass does stretch when full length sized. Also a good crimp is necessary buttttttt dont over crimp as this can cause the neck to ballon. if this happens the ammo is junk. IFFFFF you could not necksize only a 30-30 cartridge the LEE LOADER would not work. However the lee loader does work and works rather well. I now have several types of ammo for my 30-30 some i load heavy and some that are so so. the brass will last a lot longer on light loads. Trail boss is soooooo brass freindly for the 30-30. However H4895 at 28 grains with a 150grain is so awesome same with H748. but they do their toll on the brass. you must look for stress cracks after shooting these types of loads as the brass will become weak. I probably have about 1000 empty brass for my 30-30 ready to go any time. fun as heck to shoot.

[gunboat]

In general I agree with scrat -----
All my 30/30 reloads are with cast bullets and have never been FL sized. I give them a light crimp. Model 1894 win and mostly 311291 bullet also used 311316.

[10fcp]

I have always FL sized for my Marlin. I'm sure you can ocationally neck size to save brass but I don't shoot mine like my target rifle so no need for my to get 15 loads out of each piece of brass. I have always crimped to, not real heavy but definately put a firm crimp on it.