Reloading for a .30 Carbine

[Beacon22]

Do you have to trim .30 cal cases when you reload for an M1 Carbine? Any tips, load suggestions, etc would be great. Just bought an Inland and 3000 rounds of ammo so I know what's next.... Lots of reloading!! I load on a 650.

[Youngeyes]

Do you have to trim .30 cal cases when you reload for an M1 Carbine? Any tips, load suggestions, etc would be great. Just bought an Inland and 3000 rounds of ammo so I know what's next.... Lots of reloading!! I load on a 650.

Post back when you're at 2999 and we can talk reload.

[Beacon22]

Do you have to trim .30 cal cases when you reload for an M1 Carbine? Any tips, load suggestions, etc would be great. Just bought an Inland and 3000 rounds of ammo so I know what's next.... Lots of reloading!! I load on a 650.

Post back when you're at 2999 and we can talk reload.

Won't be long... I shoot about 1000 rounds of pisol ammo a week. Let's see how quick I can shoot that Carbine ammo. Lol

[Greg in VA]

I used to load for one and I used cast bullets, it shot very well with lead, but I don't remember the load. Have fun.....

[springy]

I used to use a Carbine for 3gun matches, years ago when just about all local matches were shot in pistol bays. 75 yards was about it. Had a ball with the rifle. Reloaded with cast lead and pulled surplus powder, and ran them around 1300 fps. Welded up a nice 42 round mag. Lots of fun until everyone started reaching out to 300 yards, and that was the end of that.

The casing is a straight wall pistol case. However it's tough and long, even with a carbide resizing die you need to lube the cases. With that long resizing stroke, the cases get shortened. Pushing bullets from 1300 to 2950 fps, the cases get stretched. Where I'm going here is the cases are all kinds of sizes. I found for reloading, there is a minimum case length and a max case length, and the same goes for each rifle. They ain't all the same. If the case is too long, the bolt won't lock. If it's too short, the extractor won't hook. I took a caliper and measured the brass until I found both limits, backed them off a couple of thousandths, and checked them after each load/fire sequence. Never had any problems.

There is not much carb brass left laying on the range these days. For brass that is too short, you're gonna have to trash it. And of course you can trim brass that is too long. For accuracy work, with no crimp, I feel that case length is not that critical, but oal would need to be closely controlled.

Other than controlling the case length, the rest was pretty much the same as pistol except for lubing the cases. You can still find surplus military powder WC820 from Pat's reloading for CQB blasting, the only commercial powder I remember was IMR4227 for accuracy work.

Bullets are here and there, commercial and mil surplus. Most of the mil surplus was magnetic jackets. If that concerns you, you always have to ask it they are magnetic before you buy.

and I'm sure there are several others that have experience to pass along.

[Beacon22]

I used to use a Carbine for 3gun matches, years ago when just about all local matches were shot in pistol bays. 75 yards was about it. Had a ball with the rifle. Reloaded with cast lead and pulled surplus powder, and ran them around 1300 fps. Welded up a nice 42 round mag. Lots of fun until everyone started reaching out to 300 yards, and that was the end of that.

The casing is a straight wall pistol case. However it's tough and long, even with a carbide resizing die you need to lube the cases. With that long resizing stroke, the cases get shortened. Pushing bullets from 1300 to 2950 fps, the cases get stretched. Where I'm going here is the cases are all kinds of sizes. I found for reloading, there is a minimum case length and a max case length, and the same goes for each rifle. They ain't all the same. If the case is too long, the bolt won't lock. If it's too short, the extractor won't hook. I took a caliper and measured the brass until I found both limits, backed them off a couple of thousandths, and checked them after each load/fire sequence. Never had any problems.

There is not much carb brass left laying on the range these days. For brass that is too short, you're gonna have to trash it. And of course you can trim brass that is too long. For accuracy work, with no crimp, I feel that case length is not that critical, but oal would need to be closely controlled.

Other than controlling the case length, the rest was pretty much the same as pistol except for lubing the cases. You can still find surplus military powder WC820 from Pat's reloading for CQB blasting, the only commercial powder I remember was IMR4227 for accuracy work.

Bullets are here and there, commercial and mil surplus. Most of the mil surplus was magnetic jackets. If that concerns you, you always have to ask it they are magnetic before you buy.

and I'm sure there are several others that have experience to pass along.

What is a magnetic jacket?

[Steve RA]

Steel - able to be attracted to a magnet. Not allowed at a lot of ranges, no idea about where you shoot.

[Beacon22]

Steel - able to be attracted to a magnet. Not allowed at a lot of ranges, no idea about where you shoot.

And they are not reloadable right? The only steel cased ammo I buy is 7.62x39 for screwing around with my AK. Started shooting the M1 when I was in a junior league when I was about 12 and I remember loving that gun, so for nostalgic reasons I went out and bought one the other day. So I plan on reloading for it as well.

[springy]

The projectile is magnetic. A little rough on the barrel, sparks when it hits rocks and steel, sometimes sets fires. A lot of ranges get a little agravated. Most of the steel bullets have a copper coating. Some think that is enough to protect your bore, but for a few dollars per 1000, I'd go with copper jackets.

I've seen some steel cases, not sure if they are burden or boxer primed, but for sure will not do your sizing die any good at all.

[DMS42]

I've used Sierra and Speer 110 FMJ and soft point and even tried the Speer 100 gr. Plinker. The Plinker didn't feed all the time, but worked the best for hunting rabbits. Powders that I've used are 2400, 4227, and Unique. 4227 worked the best for me. Loads were 13 to 14 gr. of 4227, 13 gr with the 2400 and 7.0 with Unique. I don't use the Unique loads anymore, maybe because they didn't always cycle the action. The bullets need to be crimped - either taper or roll to keep them from setting back during feeding. Set back bullets can and will cause the pressure to go up.

I've comverted all my shooter carbines to a round bolt, just because they are supposed to be just a tad stronger than the flat bolts, but then I have a no go headspace gauge.

Carbines are fun to shoot and I used to shoot mine alot.

[njl]

You will need to lube, resize, and trim your carbine brass. Lots of good info at http://www.thecmp.org/Sales/carbine.htm

[lmccrock]

Been a while since I shot much 30 carbine, but I needed to trim after about 2 reloadings. The Blackhawk was a little more sensitive to OAL than the carbine but definitely could reload 1-2 times before needing to trim. For me. YMMV.