Reloading 30 carbine

[rb765]

Sorry for the noob question. This post is for my edification at this point and not a how to or request for recipe. Just looking to dispel a possible FUD before I get too far. Before I posted this, I searched for the answer and got 2487 hits, but of the first 1400, I did not find anything, so here it goes. On my wish list is a 30 carbine. I know it's not the greatest round but I like how light the gun is and think it would be an awesome gun for plinking and maybe for a little short range hunting of med sized game like hogs or coyotes. When I mentioned that I wanted this gun to a friend, he told me that reloading for this caliber is a bit of a pain. He said the cases were tapered and that an extra step was needed for reloading, not like a straight walled pistol cartridge. What extra step could he be talking about? He also said the guns are picky about ammo and the loads used.

Now with all that said, I have not heard any of this before and not sure if fully trust the source of this info. He's a great guy and an avid collector and shooter, but not sure how up on reloading he is, so I am putting this out to all you reloaders. Is this cartridge a pain to reload and not worth the effort, or go ahead and invest in the gun and reloading equipment? If the cartridge is a pain to reload compared to others, I may push this gun down further on my wish list and get it when I can afford to just buy all the ammo for it.

Also, is it possible to load hollowpoints in this caliber to use for hog hunting? If it is as picky as my friend said, I was just wondering if the flat fronts of hollowpoint cause feeding problems. Thanks in advance for any assistance with these questions.

[ap1040]

A 30 cal carbine case is a straight wall case like most pistol rounds. In both my Lee and Lyman manuals they do not mention it being tapered or extra steps to reload.

I've reloaded a few hundred rounds and have not had any problems with the ammo, using a turret press btw.

As far a bullets, I've only seen 110 gr ball ammo for the carbine, not sure if flat or HP will work.

The gun is fun to shoot, the case is easy to reload, brass is more expensive then 5.56 or most pistol rounds but is available. Get the gun and enjoy it.

[FLIGHT762]

The .30 Carbine is an easy round to reload for. The only thing you have to check is to be sure the cases are not too long and are under the maximum SAAMI length. There was some .30 Carbine ammunition on the market that the cases were too long and was causing out of battery firing. I hand loaded for it many years ago, but not recently.

The .30 Carbine is not a suitable Deer/Hog caliber for a novice. It just doesn't have the power. I wouldn't shoot anything bigger than a Coyote with it.

If you want something to hunt medium game, the 7.62X39 MM would be a better caliber.

Soft point, hollow point and short jacket plinker bullets were available when I reloaded for it. I haven't looked to see what's available today, I imagine they're still available.

[rb765]

Thanks for the responses. I think the M1 just moved back up on the list.

[kurac]

I load for the .30 carbine a lot, you will need a three die set much like a strait walled pistol cartridge. The brass is much thicker than pistol brass so even though most sizing dies are carbide, it is advised that you lube your brass. You will also want to trim all brass since it headspaces on the case mouth.

The only other issue is that there is not a lot of options for bullets. I mostly have 110gr FMJ's and 110gr softpoints. I believe there is a hollow point option out there but I forget who makes it. At about 2000fps and at close range, I think soft points will work.

For brass, I love the Lake City pulldown stuff, If you don't hot rod it, you should be able to get at least 10 reloads out of it. Poly Gun bag has some in stock, along with bullets.

[JNunez23]

I have about 35 or 40 .30 carbine brass pieces if you want them. I'll never have a use for them.

Just PM me.

[JAGGUY]

I cast for my carbines using the Lee 120 grain gas checked boolit. Makes it cheap to shoot. Never had any issues with the gas system after using cast for the last 5 years...

[Agustav]

As mentioned before...

A little lube on the case before sizing make the operation smoother (I always lube the case).

Also, make sure to trim to length. That would solve most of the issue!

Good luck!

[gunboat]

for cast loads -- 311316, 311359 and 311410 work well in MOST carbines.
311410 is about 130gr can be driven about 1500fps and could be hollow pointed --
my tuppence