Loading for the 7-30Waters

[JRiddle]

I've finally found a 7-30W barrel for my contender, now time to start loading for it.  I've reloaded for years and am quite a fan of Lee products.  Looking at die sets I see that Lee only offers this in the Limited Production Pacesetter, which is full length only, with a factory crimp die sold extra.  One of my questions is, Will this die set be able to take me from 30-30 brass to a 7-30 without any other steps or equipment?  Then my next question,  Would it be a good thing to get the RCBS neck sizer die to use for subsequent loadings after I have done my initial sizing and loading with the Lee, and then fireformed the brass?  Any info/suggestions from you guys that have done it would be appreciated.  Also I will probably start out using Win748 as I have quite a bit on hand for my .223s and .308s.  Anyone have any suggestions on a powder that they have found that works better than 748 would also be appreciated.  Thanks guys, and good shootin'
JR

[Keith1]

JR,
   I can't help you out on the Lee dies. Mine are just regular RCBS and they work fine.
   The powder that I use is 748 and it really works good with a Nosler 120 grain BT. In the Lyman manual #47 they called 39.5 grains of 748 Max and that is what I use. It's real accurate and produces 2492 FPS from my 14 inch barrel.
Regards, Keith

[DANNY-L]

Im using the same 14" contender,I had good accuracy with 748 then tried imr 4064 that turned out great for me. I use sierra 120gr pro hunter,37gr imr 4064,cci200,col 2.800 with a 2x7 Burris I can put groups under 1"@100yds off of a good rest.

[powdersmoke]

     I have Lee dies and have no problem going from 30-30 to 7x30 then fire forming.    Stan

[Lloyd Smale]

any die set should take the necks down to 7mm without trouble. Keep in mind that you will need to fireform the brass no matter which die set you use. I have rcbs and do neck size my brass once its fireformed. I too use mostly 748 in mine. I load 120 ballistic tips with 37 grains of 748 and a ww primer. It is the most accurate load in my gun and shoots under an inch at a 100 yards if i do my part.

[shot1]

Once you fire form your cases you can use your full length die to part size the case. Don't screw the die all the way down to the shell holder. You can tell how much you are sizing the case by using a candle and smoke the neck and shoulder of a case. When you size this case it will smudge the black where the die is touching. Experiment with this. I like to just size enough of the neck to hold the bullet but not touch the shoulder much more than just a bump if needed.

[fast*eddie]

I bought a set of the Lee Deluxe Rifle Dies for the 7-30 waters several years ago . I was able to get some 30-30 brass that I resized . Reloaders were talking about how they used different methods to fire form the brass . One of the Gurus on here said to just do your regular reload and fire it ( fireform ) that way . I shot my only pistol deer ever with a necked down 30-30 brass and fire formed the round when I shot the deer .

[hoghunting]

 I get good accuracy with 748 in a mid range load for fireforming. But with 3 different bullets, I could not get an accurate hotter hunting load. My best loads are with Hornady 120 gr SP with RL-15. They work extremely well on hogs and deer.