Lee Loader .30-40 reloads for Handi

[Clambo]

Hi Yall,

As it is I am just getting back into shooting and hunting after a long hiatus.  Got an SB2 and a stock/forend set now. ( thanks again revbc!  ) Have decided to purchase a. 30-30 barrel and rechamber to. 30-40. I used to reload and will again, at least for the .30-40. I dont want to spend a fortune for just one rifle so Im gonna go the old Lee Loader route. Is there any reason I cant?  Will neck sizing alone cause me any problems I may not be aware of?  I cant think of any but Im new to reloading for Handis.

Thanks Guys

Clambo

[Dinny]

It depends on how much you shoot and how much brass you have. I think neck sizing works in a singe shot for only a few loadings of each piece of brass. If you shoot occasionally and have 100+ pieces of brass you'll be fine. Just remember that the brass has to be fired in that chamber before you neck size and load it for the first time.

Thanks, Dinny

[clearwater]

I have a 30-40 handi. Cast loads don't lengthen the brass, but full load jacketed bullets do after a couple of firings.


Break action may not close safely after awhile.


I would just use the lee full size dies and one of these


http://www.cabelas.com/product/Lee-Hand-Press-Kit/1172297.uts

[gcrank1]

Having done both with a variety of calibers I can +1 on the OK for low-mid pressure loads, and for specifically reduced velo, cast bullet loads, though the neck dia. is sized down far enough to tightly hold the nominal jacketed bullet dia. for caliber which is not the optimum for lead bullets. The cost of many Lee Loader sets are now so close to a basic 30-40 conventional dieset that I really recommend 'biting the bullet' and getting set up such. The Lee Handpress has worked well enough for me that I now have two (as well as a turret press and a Rockchucker), they are just 'handi' too. It is nice to batch some cases while in my livingroom with a good movie and my wife & dog (yes, in that order...) rather than down in the mancave.
Now if you have a 30-40 hand pounder and want to try it out first, go right ahead. My guess is that some not too distant point you will want/need to FLS some of your cases and then what to do? If you have to buy one you will still get to that point and it might start to look like you would have been money ahead to have gone the whole hog.
So, if you want to load the 30-40 to its potential you will need a dieset, if not you may as well keep it at 30-30 and not top loads either.

[Clambo]

Thanks. Thats exactly the kind of info I was looking for. When I was last in the reloading game they didnt have such a thing as the Lee hand press. May as well get one. I used to have pretty much everything they made at one point. I have a feeling I will again one day. Just trying to keep it simple. Couple hunting rifles, a .22, a shotgun, and a handgun. Lets see if that lasts. 

[Badnews Bob]

I have a whole room full of reloading equipment, I still use a Lee hand press for some things.  You can put it, a jug of powder, some primers-n-bullets, cases, and your dies in a small suitcase and take it with you or set it in a closet out of they way when not in use.

[revbc]

I have a 30-40 handi. Cast loads don't lengthen the brass, but full load jacketed bullets do after a couple of firings.

Break action may not close safely after awhile.


I would just use the lee full size dies and one of these

I agree with clearwater on the lengthening of the brass.  It's been my experience with jacketed rounds that it will not group well because of inconsistent lockup.

[Clambo]

Do you guys believe that the accuracy inconsistencies are purely a result of lockup inconsistencies?  Just curious....and a little confused. I used to neck size only a lot of. 308 for a Rem 788 I once owned. They were some of the most accurate rounds I ever fired. Same with a .243 I once had. Of course they were bolt guns. I understand that serious benchrest competitors neck size only as well. Naturally I want to assemble the most accurate rig and load I can. Hoping for Dinny- like results.

Thanks,

Clambo

[bigchiefj]

I know a bolt action will cram a neck sized case into the chamber better than a Handi. When it comes to a bolt action, I love the claw extractor.  I neck size everything but handgun brass. Just make sure your fired brass hasn't had the shoulder blown too far forward so it will chamber properly.


I've really thought about trying to figure out how women think because this gun and ammunition reloading thing is getting too complicated!

[gcrank1]

The bolt gun has huge camming ability to get a max size case into the chamber and the lugs lockup is tremendous compared to the break-action of the H&R. Once the case is only a few thou' long the gun may not lock up, or not lock well and open when fired.
Example: A guy I know had a friend reload his H&R cases of X caliber. The friend has the same caliber, but in a bolt gun. He has set his dieset so it chambers of a reload in his boltgun 'just right'. They wouldnt chamber up and allow the action to close on the H&R. Needless to say, he about tore his hair out trying to figure out what was going on before he asked me about it. Geesh, he even kept 'slamming it closed' to force some and then used a hunk of dowel and a hammer to pound a couple 'close ones' in far enough to shoot it! 
Once he had the friend 'knock them apart', full length resize, and checked case length the next batch fit perfectly.

[Clambo]

Got it. Thanks for clarifying a few thins for me. I have a lot of reloading experience but is been over a decade and my memory is not that good. Lots of grey areas. Im gonna pop for the Lee hand press. It will keep up with the amount of centerfire rifle I shoot, maybe 250 rds per year per caliber. The things I am interested in dont require volume. After finding my jacketed and cast loads I rarely switch. Eventually I want to experiment with and hopefully succeed with paper patching. Always been interested in that. The internet makes so much more possible. Back in the 80's if you didnt know someone there was no way to gain information.

Clambo

[revbc]

Frame flex on a break action........doesn't matter what stripe, T/C, H&R, or CVA will allow brass to lengthen.  No such issue on a bolt gun.

Inconsistent lockup is an accuracy issue on a break action.

[clearwater]

IMR 4350 or reloder 19 give me best results for jacketed bullets 150 grain through 220 grain.