30-30 Cartridge OAL and bullet crimp

[Land_Owner]

I may have made a "mistake" toninght.  I has been a long time (5 years) since I last reloaded 30-30- rounds.  I got out the Load Book and the sketch on the cover indicates the case length should be 2.039".  So I trimmed 200 cases to 2.039".

The sketch indicates the cartridge OAL to be 2.550"...120 fully loaded rounds mic'd at 2.525".

In retrospect, should I have measured the 150 gr Speer FN bullet length and subtracted the seating depth to the mid-point of the crimp and then subtract the remainder from the cartridge OAL to find the case trim length?  Seems logical.

I dont know how the additional 0.025" (short cartridge) plus head space "jump"-to-the-lands is going to affect accuracy at 100 yards.

[cwlongshot]

The cases OAL has no bearing on what bullet is used. 2.039 is a max legnth IIRC, not a trim to legnth. Even so, you should be fine.

 Bullet legnth is such that as long as its shorter then OAL max. (With in reason) It will feed and shoot adequately thru a lever action rifle. (The primary rifle for this caliber) If your loading for say a single shot, crimping and OAL is not a important for feeding and seating a bullet to be close to rifling can be advantageous for accuracy.

Long story short, you should be just fine. Shoot some and see what you get.

CW

[45-70.gov]

you are a lot  more  picky than i am

as long as they  feed and  you are  not in  a high dollar tournament

you should be fine

[Siskiyou]

Landlord:  I hit the same spot in the road.  I had not loaded for my 30-30 for a longtime.  I started out to load one hundred rounds, but then I had some powder left over and found another ten cases.

Like you I consulted a manual for overall case length and the verified it with my case gauge.  I trimmed a case on my Forrester case trimmer to the proper length, set the trimmer and went to work trimming cases.

I checked a couple of my newer manuals before starting the process in case of change.  One thing I had not picked up in the pass was a recommendation by Sierra in Edition V.  Sierra recommends adding a step to the process.  Sierra recommended seating the bullet without crimping it, but make crimping an additional step.  After seating my batch of bullets I adjusted the die to the correct length for crimping, and quickly crimped all the bullets.  I paid special attention to this because I had been given a box of old factory ammunition.  One of the rounds had backed into the case.  While I was setup I corrected that load.   Once setup it did not take long to crimp the 110 rounds.  I was pleased with how the crimps came out.  I have encountered hunters in the past who problems with bullets falling out, or getting pushed all the way into the case.

I let the crimping groove in the 150-grain Hornady Round nose control my seating depth. 

I have a lot of room on my Lyman T-MAG-II turret press to add a LEE 30-30 factory-crimping die.  They do not cost much and would be a welcome addition to the collection.
http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=000157040781

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=0000690822

I have always enjoyed reloading my own ammunition but reloading the 30-30 Winchester proved to be a little more satisfying this time around.  I believe part of it is that case length, and crimping are more critical with this round then the others I reload.  The thin 30-30 case shoulder is subject to collapsing if the die is not adjusted correctly.

I am loading for a Marlin 336 and it is a pleasure to work with it.

[Land_Owner]

you are a lot  more  picky than i am

I am teaching four boys aged 13, 16, 17, and 17 inclusive, the "finer art" of bullet reloading.  I have LOTS of time.  These boys are doing a lot of the work themselves and they get to shoot the loads they make.  In this way, I get a lot of loading done quickly, teach the boys proper technique, get to shoot a bunch, and have a blast, literally, with my two boys.  When they get better with making bullets, I can hunt more and they will be better shots and hunt more too.  BTW Tim, I picked up (from my niece) a 45 ACP SS Colt Defender, 380 Blued Walther PPK, and 357 Mag. SS Ruger snubby.  I need dies, cases, bullets, powder, primers, and some advice on charge weights and bullets.  But that's another thread or two...

Siskiyou...I can remove/loosen the threaded rod that seats the bullet and spin down the die to "encourage" a greater crimp in the bullet canilure as another step in the process.  I too am concerned with bullets seating deeper within their cases as they ride in the tubular magazine of the Marlin 336 rifles my boys use.  I have another 400 cases to prep and load.  My oldest boy has a "new" (to him) Marlin and his first 30 rounds are groups from 33.1 grains of Winchester 748 Ball Powder to 34.2 grains and 150 grain Speer FN's.  He is going to shoot groups of three and see for himself the widening and closing of group size as a result of powder charge (and his shooting prowess).  Then we'll load up a few hotter and cooler loads around the "selected" powder charge and shoot again.  Then we will settle on one powder charge for this lot of powder and make some fixed charge bullets for his hunting and target shooting use.

It all should be real instructional and fun.  I am having a good time with the boys.  They are enjoying Dad's company.  I am stoked...

[charles p]

Seems to me there are two factors to consider. 

1.  Magazine feed length (but you are tubular rather than box magazine)
2.  Max length to ogive where bullet touches the lands

A spire point bullet, for example, can be longer than a flat or round nose of similar weight.  The OAL is useful to know, but it's the length to the portion of the bullet that hits the lands that matters most.

I have no experience with lever actions.  My experience with OAL situations stem from bolt action experiences.  I may be all wet on this one.

[Dee]

I shoot a Model 94 Winchester, bought new in 1958. It probably has had less than 2 boxes of factory loads thru it in this 50 years of ownership, but has had HUNDREDS of reloaded rounds thru it.
Trim the case to prescribed length, and lightly CRIMP IN THE "PROVIDED CANELURE" on the bullet. It ain't rocket science. It's that simple. UNLESS, your shooting them in a box magazine, or single shot. Then you can play.
I put a Lyman aperture sight, and a post front sight on it YEARS AGO, and can consistently hit 1 gallon water jugs at 270 yards with my loads.
I use a gauge on all re sized brass, and if they are not OVER LENGTH, I don't trim them. I set my bullet depth to the canalure, and lightly tap the case mouth against the crimping groove in the die to crimp it in. It takes practice, but I have had about 38 years of it. This is an easy round to load for tubular magazines, and as I said, it ain't rocket science, but I suppose you could make it complicated if you chose to. It's a good round to start kids out on, and old farts like me like it too.
After playing with other rounds for years, it is now, once again, my ONLY big game rifle now, and I am well armed for anything in North America with it, despite what gun writers and other so called experts say.

[45-70.gov]

i  like  the lee crinps

you can get a cheap bullet poller and start  over

but i would just shoot a few  and  see how they do

your particular gun  might prefer that seating depth

if  they are just  not that good shoot them  up
practice  your freehand shooting  to emty the brass