Reloading Military .30-06 cases . . . .

[glassparman]

OK so I'm working on reloading about 1200 cases for .30-06. About half of it is US Military so it is boxer primed.

Someone told me that I should back way off on the loads with Military cases because of the case being thicker and stiffer.

Any opinions on this??

Any proven load comparisons between Commercial and Military?

I was just going to use 48 grains of IMR 4895 with a 150 gn FMJ flatbase bullet for plinking.

Michael

[CEDaytonaRydr]

OK so I'm working on reloading about 1200 cases for .30-06. About half of it is US Military so it is boxer primed.

Someone told me that I should back way off on the loads with Military cases because of the case being thicker and stiffer.

Any opinions on this??

Any proven load comparisons between Commercial and Military?

I was just going to use 48 grains of IMR 4895 with a 150 gn FMJ flatbase bullet for plinking.

Michael

You don't have to "back way off", per se. You just have to check that you aren't compressing a load that was not meant to be compressed. Military cases are like civilian cases, in the respect that there are many different variations in their capacity, from different headstamps. Just make sure you're not compressing or over-charging and you should be fine...

Also, you will need to swage your primer pockets...

[glassparman]

CEDaytonaRydr,

thanks for the info.

Why do you swage the pockets? I know about trimming the crimp out but is the pocket different in some way that requires altering?

[Dutch Henry]

Military ammo has crimped primers. If you attempt to reprime the case without swaging the pocket first, there is a good chance for at least a damaged or exploded primer. RCBS makes a primer pocket swage that does both small and large primer pockets. IMO it's the best way to do this job.

Re: Military cases: They are usually thicker at the web than commercial cases, are heavier and have less internal capacity. For that reason, your starting loads should be about 10% under the listed loads for commercial cases.

[CEDaytonaRydr]

Re: Military cases: They are usually thicker at the web than commercial cases, are heavier and have less internal capacity. For that reason, your starting loads should be about 10% under the listed loads for commercial cases.

Per the Hodgdon website, he can load up to 53gr or 4895 with that projectile. At 48gr, he's already almost down 10% from max with his proposed load data. I think he's okay...

[bballwizard05]

Per the Hodgdon website, he can load up to 53gr or 4895 with that projectile. At 48gr, he's already almost down 10% from max with his proposed load data. I think he's okay...

I would not recommend 53g. Military cases are thicker, and the NRA write-ups about reloading the case says to reduce a recipe by 1.5g for military cases vs civilian. The recipe I'm using called for 49g, so I worked up a 47.5g load and it has functioned well thus far with 150g FMJ.


And a big +1 to the Hornady crimp swager. Chucked it in my drill and made quick work of 200 rounds.

[Pete1979]

I have used 48gr with 168gr bullets and Lake City cases with no issues at all and I use the CCI #31 which is supposed to be like a mag primer.

With a 150gr flat base you should be just fine.

[Don the savage]

I load 49 gr of imr 4895 in greek hxp brass and have no issues. The primers are a pain to remove but the staking on the pocket isnt bad. Lake city 7.62 is much worse. If you have some tight pockets Lyman makes a hand held swager that works well.

[CEDaytonaRydr]

I would not recommend 53g.

He's not loading 53. He's loading 48...

Per your own "rule of thumb", 10% of 53 is 5.3, minus 53 equals 47.7. If you round that up to the nearest full grain, you've got 48. I don't see any problem with the OPs proposed load data...

[glassparman]

Thanks for all the knowledge. I read somewhere that .30-06 plays best for accuracy at the lower end so I had already decided on 48 grains.

I just got a brand new Savage 116 in .30-06 out of jail so I plan on testing that load and working from there this weekend.

Michael

[ironpete]

Just throwing other stuff out there:
1) If you'll be using your reloads in a Garand just be aware of the gas system restictions (or get an adjustable cylinder lock)
2) +1 for the Dillon swager. I just did a couple of thousand cases pretty easily.
3) I've seen huge case volume variances (especially with my lot of LC69) but if you stay mild it should be OK. As always check for pressure signs.

-Pete

[CEDaytonaRydr]

Just throwing other stuff out there:
1) If you'll be using your reloads in a Garand just be aware of the gas system restictions (or get an adjustable cylinder lock)
2) +1 for the Dillon swager. I just did a couple of thousand cases pretty easily.
3) I've seen huge case volume variances (especially with my lot of LC69) but if you stay mild it should be OK. As always check for pressure signs.

-Pete

I have the Dillon Super Swager as well. Great tool!

[kurac]

I load the 147-150gr FMJ's with only 46gr of IMR4895, I have gone down to 44gr and my Garands still functioned. Above 46gr, the accuracy was not better and the brass and my shoulder took more of a beating.

[sofbak]

........

And a big +1 to the Hornady crimp swager. Chucked it in my drill and made quick work of 200 rounds.

.... If you have some tight pockets Lyman makes a hand held swager that works well.

Hand held swages from Hornady and Lee? I'd like to see a pic or link to those please.

[CEDaytonaRydr]

The only thing I don't like about the cutting swagers is that they take off material from a place that I'd rather not. They work fine, but I prefer the Dillon (or tools like it) that simply re-form the primer pocket. Just my .02