School me on .30 carbine

[AMProducts]

.30C is probably my least favorite caliber to reload (except maybe 38-40), even if you get the carbide dies, you MUST lube the cases, otherwise they will become hopelessly stuck. The .30C is a tapered case, and always requires lube. I've never noticed any issue with the lee shell holder, however I think most of the time I was loading this caliber I was doing it with an RCBS shell holder.

The Lee FCD is well worth it with this caliber, as using the standard crimpers (most of the ones that come with the dies are roll crimp SRSLYWTAF?) you will likely roll the case mouths over and the rounds will never chamber. I don't remember spending much time playing with OAL on these cartridges as the brass usually split before it grew too long, and pushing light-ish loads didn't cause a lot of lengthening of the brass. I've tried H110, Lil'gun, 2400, and a number of other powders (I don't think I tried 4227 but I know I meant to, as I have a jug of it in my powder magazine), H110 was the most solid performer, it never gave me any issues as far as cycle and consistency. Lil'gun was similar, but IIRC did give me some higher velocities but nothing crazy. 2400 was an unhappy medium, it seemed everyround was either under-powered (and wouldn't cycle) or was over-powered and was expanding the brass excessively.

IIRC AA#9, H110 and WC820 are practically all the same powder. WC820 was the original powder developed for the .30C load, along with a NMNC primer (it was the first cartridge in US inventory to not use a corrosive primer by default). Either way, all powders that perform well in this caliber are super-fine, and have a tendency to jam most powder dispensing mechanisms (all of the lee branded measures are really bad about this) with the RCBS/Hornady units being close behind. The major difference between the two is that the metal parts of the RCBS/Hornady tend to build up a fine layer and then stop crudding up after a while, the lee units need regular disassembly. Dillon measures just spill powder everywhere, which is really no change from their normal operation.

Either way, the .30C is a fun caliber to shoot, but definitely not one of my favorites to load for. It's pretty much pointless to do any kind of experimentation with it due to the limited number of available bullets, (you can use .32ACP pistol bullets that are either sized down to .308, or load gingerly) and the really narrow range of powders that work well.

I still have 2 M1 carbines sitting in the closet. One of them has a split gas piston, it still works but I'm reticent to shoot it much for fear of it getting worse. I've been toying with the idea of rebarreling it to 5.7 johnson.

 

[ageingstudent]

.30C is probably my least favorite caliber to reload (except maybe 38-40), even if you get the carbide dies, you MUST lube the cases, otherwise they will become hopelessly stuck. The .30C is a tapered case, and always requires lube. I've never noticed any issue with the lee shell holder, however I think most of the time I was loading this caliber I was doing it with an RCBS shell holder.

The Lee FCD is well worth it with this caliber, as using the standard crimpers (most of the ones that come with the dies are roll crimp SRSLYWTAF?) you will likely roll the case mouths over and the rounds will never chamber. I don't remember spending much time playing with OAL on these cartridges as the brass usually split before it grew too long, and pushing light-ish loads didn't cause a lot of lengthening of the brass. I've tried H110, Lil'gun, 2400, and a number of other powders (I don't think I tried 4227 but I know I meant to, as I have a jug of it in my powder magazine), H110 was the most solid performer, it never gave me any issues as far as cycle and consistency. Lil'gun was similar, but IIRC did give me some higher velocities but nothing crazy. 2400 was an unhappy medium, it seemed everyround was either under-powered (and wouldn't cycle) or was over-powered and was expanding the brass excessively.

IIRC AA#9, H110 and WC820 are practically all the same powder. WC820 was the original powder developed for the .30C load, along with a NMNC primer (it was the first cartridge in US inventory to not use a corrosive primer by default). Either way, all powders that perform well in this caliber are super-fine, and have a tendency to jam most powder dispensing mechanisms (all of the lee branded measures are really bad about this) with the RCBS/Hornady units being close behind. The major difference between the two is that the metal parts of the RCBS/Hornady tend to build up a fine layer and then stop crudding up after a while, the lee units need regular disassembly. Dillon measures just spill powder everywhere, which is really no change from their normal operation.

Either way, the .30C is a fun caliber to shoot, but definitely not one of my favorites to load for. It's pretty much pointless to do any kind of experimentation with it due to the limited number of available bullets, (you can use .32ACP pistol bullets that are either sized down to .308, or load gingerly) and the really narrow range of powders that work well.

I still have 2 M1 carbines sitting in the closet. One of them has a split gas piston, it still works but I'm reticent to shoot it much for fear of it getting worse. I've been toying with the idea of rebarreling it to 5.7 johnson.

I actually got out and shot it today as I didn't have to work for once. Surprisingly it only had 3 failure to feed in 100 rounds. I think it is just the magazine spring because all 3 failures were within 5 rounds of the bottom of the mag and every fired case ejected just fine. I thought I would have more issues considering how neglected the rifle looked. I sure like IMI ammo. It runs well in my Ruger AR also. I have H110 and 4227. I'll be trying some work ups of those soon and I also have the Lee crimp die. I had looked at some other die sets that had a roll crimp and passed on them because I too thought that was kind of bush league for a cartridge that is supposed to headspace on the case mouth. It's super fun to shoot. I'm looking forward to having Mrs. Student try it because she is petite and has a hard time with heavy rifles.

 

[Lindy]

 

[Phred]

Now don't give me a bad time about the tacticool carbine. I also have two very nice original M1's. A Rock-Ola, and a 5 digit Inland. I built this as a fun shooter. I did add a new Criterion barrel which is probably responsible for the good groups. I'm 66 and after cataract surgery I couldn't see the open sights any more. Therefore, the 1x red dot. I've used W296, 4227, & H110. The H110 & W296 was most consistent with 14.6 gr. These were chron'od @ 1865 fps. 14.8 sounds like a lot, but it was still well under the magic 1900fps that the original specs called for. I'm also picky about bullet wt. and case sizing. I enjoy reloading the carbine, and it's rewarding to load mor accurate rounds than the factory ammo. Cheers.
Phred

 

[ageingstudent]

Now don't give me a bad time about the tacticool carbine. I also have two very nice original M1's. A Rock-Ola, and a 5 digit Inland. I built this as a fun shooter. I did add a new Criterion barrel which is probably responsible for the good groups. I'm 66 and after cataract surgery I couldn't see the open sights any more. Therefore, the 1x red dot. I've used W296, 4227, & H110. The H110 & W296 was most consistent with 14.6 gr. These were chron'od @ 1865 fps. 14.8 sounds like a lot, but it was still well under the magic 1900fps that the original specs called for. I'm also picky about bullet wt. and case sizing. I enjoy reloading the carbine, and it's rewarding to load mor accurate rounds than the factory ammo. Cheers.
Phred

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Nice. What do you think about the everglades fmj projectiles? I was looking at those the other day.

 

[Phred]

As far as the Everglades ammo, I have mixed feelings. They appear to be made well, are priced less than others, and they all go flying out of the barrel. However, they have the worst weight variance of any other brand I've tested. For example, the last batch I weighed there was over two grains spread, while the Sierra Pro-Hunter #2100 had less than .5 grains difference. So I weighed each one and put them into equal groups, and loaded them as sets. This is a lot of extra hassle, but at the range it's worth it not having rounds hit all over the target. I usually don't go shooting just to throw lead down range. This is my hobby so I look at accurate loading as another part of shooting. It's also rewarding to have targets that show results of all your hard work. Carry on Sargent.
Phred

 

[HB of CJ]

Phred: Very nice indeed. Anybody you know of who makes a decent rear mount scope mount base for the USGI M1 Carbine? Has anybody had any real success using that dinky weak rear top receiver dovetail? How difficult was it doing the chamber reaming?

Our to-go-to guns are all USGI M1 Carbines. A couple M2s. My old eyes also beg for a good optic for the Carbine. Also I am getting pressure from the extended nuclear family and friends. They want to change from Carbines to the AR15 platform. I am resisting.

Does anybody make a decent folder for the Carbine? I have had bad luck with CH.....TE folders. Three in a row. The guns do not fit. One of my desires, (dreams) is to fiddle like you are doing with your Carbine. MOA goal. Wish me luck. Hand loading. Much fun!

All Oregon State, US Code Laws And NFA Rules Apply. Hundreds of AR15 builds. Fourteen, (14) gages and tools and seven, (7) USGI Carbine books so far. Addicting. Yikes!

 

[Phred]

The Choate stock in the picture was a terrible fit. Lots of die grinder, scraping, swearing, etc. to make it fit. The rear screw in dove tail mounts are really poor. I'm working on a rear mount made with an aftermarket 2" rail mated to a stock MI sight base. I'll post some pics in the forums next week, and make reference to that in this thread. I won't get rid of my carbies, but I did add an AR to my mix. Cheers.
Phred

 

[ageingstudent]

As far as the Everglades ammo, I have mixed feelings. They appear to be made well, are priced less than others, and they all go flying out of the barrel. However, they have the worst weight variance of any other brand I've tested. For example, the last batch I weighed there was over two grains spread, while the Sierra Pro-Hunter #2100 had less than .5 grains difference. So I weighed each one and put them into equal groups, and loaded them as sets. This is a lot of extra hassle, but at the range it's worth it not having rounds hit all over the target. I usually don't go shooting just to throw lead down range. This is my hobby so I look at accurate loading as another part of shooting. It's also rewarding to have targets that show results of all your hard work. Carry on Sargent.
Phred

I got some plated to get started I've heard mixed reviews on the plated but I'm pretty good at getting them to work. At some point I'd like to get some lead bullets for it and powder coat them. Of course now I'm working 6 to 7 days a week so getting my trigger on is becoming a challenge.

 

[ageingstudent]

So I'm putting together my workups for my 30 carbine loads today with h110 and 4227. I notice that the 4227 load data goes from 13-14.5 in the data chart and that 14.5 is compressed. The load is starting to compress at 13.6 grains, how much can you compress 4227? Any ideas? I have only done lightly compressed loads in the past. If I compress about a grain of powder at 14.4 is that acceptable?

 

[Mikej]

Can't help you there as I've not loaded for .30 Carbine yet. Being relatively new to reloading I don't feel good about compressed loads so.....

I thought I read that H110 was the original powder for it though, so that's what I have and will use when I do reload for it.

 

[ageingstudent]

Yeah I've got one set of h110 loaded up and another of the 4227. I'll be sure to post some results when I get a chance to shoot'em. I'll probably test these at 50 yds with 5 shot groups just to see where I'm headed with this circus.

 

[Rewinder]

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[ageingstudent]

Alliant 300-MP is a good powder along with Sierra 110 FMJ bullets. Half jackets are cheep. but Sierras are good for a four inch or less group at a hundred with a Criterion barrel and 3 power Nikon P-223 scope . Randy

Nice thank you. I managed to get a whole 2 hours to myself last weekend and tried some H110. The upper left target is a 6 shot group at 50 yds with the stock peep sights. They didn't feed well though I think the bullet profile I'm using needs a shorter OAL based on the way they hung up on the feed ramp and chamber mouth. 14.2 - 14.4 grains seemed to work best with H110. It shoots high even on the lowest sight setting. I was aiming at the bottom of the sheet of paper. Interesting how much worse the accuracy got going up the ladder in charge to 14.8 grains.

Disregard the lower right target that was my 1907 Winchester I was just checking the zero. At least that one is on!