Notes on Loading the .30 Carbine

[EddieCoyle]

With CMP's release of all of those M1 Carbines, I figure that it's a good time for me to post some of my recent experiences loading this caliber.

I used a mixed set of dies to load these (RCBS belling and seating dies with Lee Carbide sizing and a Lee crimp die). The .30 Carbine loads like a pistol cartridge but with a bit of a twist. Even with a carbide sizing die, it takes a lot of force to resize the unlubed cases, and they tend to really stick in the sizing die too. This makes sense; the .30 carbine case is tapered, so when you go to size it, the die doesn't contact the case until the ram is almost all the way up - then it has to size the whole length all at once. The .30 Carbine brass is also considerably thicker than typical pistol brass.

As a result, I decided to lube the cases. I sprayed them down with Hoppes Dri-Lube which quickly dries to a whitish powder. This made all the difference in the world. After applying the lube, sizing and extraction was much easier. When I was done loading, I gave the finished cartridges a quick trip through the tumbler to remove the powdered lube.

After some experimentation, here's the load data that I used:

Cases: Mixed headstamps (mostly Federal and CBC)
Bullets: Hornady 110gr FMJ
Primers: CCI 400 (small rifle)
Powder: 14.5 grains of Hodgdon H110
C.O.A.L.: 1.680"

The charge weight of 14.5 grains is right in the middle of the recommended load range for H110 (14.0 to 15.0 grains). I got the C.O.A.L. from the powder manufacturer's website. At this length, the cartridges just fit into the M1's magazine. I might go 0.010" shorter next time.

This evening, I fired a 15-shot string through my chronograph and the results were very consistent:

High: 1904 fps
Low: 1872 fps
Avg: 1888 fps
Std Dev: 12

The accuracy was very good as well. The group below is from the 15-shot string that I ran through the chrono. The target was at 50 yards, and I was shooting sitting down with my elbow on a table. I used my WWII surplus (but non-CMP) carbine. I was also concentrating more on not hitting the chrono than I was on hitting the target:

Still, it's a pretty good group - about 3-1/2" except for one called flyer that coincidently hit the bullseye (I looked to see where my brass was going on that shot). I only had time for one magazine tonight. I'm looking forward to trying again after I sort the cartridges by headstamp and take my time shooting from a better rest.

I highly recommend this load.

 

[RKG]

What I do for .30 Carbine is run one lubed case through the sizer and then 2-3 unlubed ones; works just fine.

 

[BIG GUN]

A few years back, I loaded a 6 gallon bucket full of brass, around 5000 rounds. I used 16 lbs. of TCCI 1680 powder behind a 120g cast from lino SPBT bullet. Lee dies, w/carbide sizer, no lube, on a Dillon 550. I don't recall any problems, and the shot fine in an M1 carbine, Ruger Blackhawk, and a TC Contender, with little leading if any. Not as flashy as H110, but the powder was dirt cheap at the time.

 

[vellnueve]

I just ordered a large quantity of bullets to load into my brass, much of which has been sitting around unused for up to ten years after being fired.

I've been trying to find load data for a 110 grain JHP. Anyone know of any loads?

 

[WVBob]

My Ruger likes 14.4 of H110.

 

[Scrivener]

I just ordered a large quantity of bullets to load into my brass, much of which has been sitting around unused for up to ten years after being fired.

I've been trying to find load data for a 110 grain JHP. Anyone know of any loads?

I used the data for 2400, straight from the manual.

 

[vellnueve]

I have Lyman's 48th but it doesn't list the JHP... Guess I'll have to find yet another manual.

I've seen 14.5 of H110 listed elsewhere and it's in line with the FMJ 110gr loads, but that still doesn't give me OAL information.

 

[vellnueve]

I started cleaning and sorting through my brass and just to test I ran some through the deprimer/resizer. It was definitely hard to get them to resize, but more importantly none of my LC 52 brass will deprime. It pushed the depriming pin out of the die. Anyone know how I deprime these cases? I was under the impression that all .30 carbine, including military surplus, was boxer primed.

 

[coastie]

Is it boxer primed? Some of the LC is actually chinese knock off. I cant remember the year and if it was boxer primed.

Added- Just checked the Chinese LC is 52 and berdan primed. That might be what you have. Look for the 2 little holes in the bottom of the case. This is berdan. If that is the case then throw it in the scrap bucket.

 

[vellnueve]

Yep it's that. Would explain the asian characters on the boxes as well (and the 7.62MM designation on the boxes)

I guess I'll put them aside and use them for plinking some day (shooting at, not shooting with)

Just picked up Speer's 13th and I like the loads I see for the .30 carbine JHP. I think I'll load a couple dozen cases with the 13-15 grains of 296, the 110 JHP, and a magnum primer. 1981 FPS will ruin a home invader's day. The only problem I find I run into is that the CMRs limit the amount of stuff we can have at one time so I have to run through a couple hundred primers before I can buy more.

 

[vellnueve]

Help!

I was running some brass through the dies to make some dummy rounds and get everything properly adjusted for when Collectors gets some magnum small rifle primers in stock, and I noticed something that I haven't noticed before on .30 carbine brass. I use Lee dies (sizing, expander, seating, crimping) and after resizing, which is tough but not bad enough for me to want lube, the bottom of the case is noticeably wider. I know it is a tapered case, but it's almost like the bulge I see on my .40 SW out of Glocks. However, the case measurements at that end of the case seems to match up fine with the specs. Should I worry about this?

 

[EddieCoyle]

Help!

Should I worry about this?

Not if it will chamber in your carbine. Just for the record, mine didn't do this (bulge).

 

[vellnueve]

Well, my carbine doesn't get here til tomorrow, thanks to an awful Airtran experience which I will not digress upon here, but I will test to see if it chambers properly.

 

[Pilgrim]

I think the carbine s very underrated for accuracy. The right target is with elbow on the table at 50yds using milsurp ammo.

My Winchester is extremely and naturally accurate.

The Goose shot it and he was amazed how easy it is to hit what you want with it.

I gotta get into reloading really soon.

 

[WVBob]

Help!

I was running some brass through the dies to make some dummy rounds and get everything properly adjusted for when Collectors gets some magnum small rifle primers in stock, and I noticed something that I haven't noticed before on .30 carbine brass. I use Lee dies (sizing, expander, seating, crimping) and after resizing, which is tough but not bad enough for me to want lube, the bottom of the case is noticeably wider. I know it is a tapered case, but it's almost like the bulge I see on my .40 SW out of Glocks. However, the case measurements at that end of the case seems to match up fine with the specs. Should I worry about this?

No. As long as it matches the specs your fine. I use the One Shot spray before I deprime and size. I put 100 to 200 in a box, give it a quick spray, close the box, give it a few shakes, spray again, and let them sit for 5 min. Then deprime them. The One Shot says you don't have to clean them only wipe them down but I put mine in the tumbler for an hour.

 

[jhrosier]

Resizing .30 Carbine brass

I noticed the comments about needing to lube the brass when using the Lee carbide dies and it got me curious.
I have a RCBS AmmoMaster press that I bought years ago for loading .50 BMG.
We don't need no stinkin' lube.
The AmmoMaster is a massive press, well suited to heavy work, with a foot and a half long handle and an inch and a half diameter ram. It takes just a little more than two fingers to resize the .30 carbine cases and I ran two hundred through as fast as I could stuff them into the shellholder. The die was noticeably warm after this exercise.
If you are planning to buy a single station press for rifle loading, this one might be worth considering. Midway lists the press for just over $240.
It is probably a liitle bit overkill for .30 carbine, but just about right for the big magnum rilfe cartridges.

 

[EddieCoyle]

If the die was getting warm, I'd've lubed regardless of how many fingers it took to resize the cases.

 

[jhrosier]

If the die was getting warm, I'd've lubed regardless of how many fingers it took to resize the cases.

maybe, but like I said, I was mostly curious to see if the cases would start to stick in the die or whatever. There was no resistance when lowering the ram at all and every case was perfectly sized with no steps or bulges near the head.

These were all once fired factory PMC cases from back in the 80s when I shot the .30 carbine in a TC Contender for NRA Hunters Pistol Silhouette. I'm guessing that the TC has a pretty tight chamber so the cases never expanded much past the neck area.

I never found a handload, at that time, that would shoot as well at 100 meters as the PMC factory ammo and it was almost as cheap to shoot as handloads so I just shot the PMC for a year and put all of the brass away.
I now have a Ruger Blackhawk in .30 so I'm going to have another try at handloading for it. I had bought a couple of bandoleers of the Korean milsurp ammo but the brass is soft as butter and the cases stick in the chambers.
The PMC brass seems to be better quality so there is a chance that it will work better.

I'm thinking about using 2400 in stead of H110 to see if it burns better in the handgun.

If anyone has any experience loading the .30 carbine for handgun, I would be interested in comparing notes.

 

[RKG]

Case lube, where necessary, addresses three issues: (a) the force required to insert the case into the die, (b) the risk of getting a stuck case, and (c) potential damage to the case itself from an excess application of force. Having a press of greater than normal mechanical advantage addresses (a), does nothing for (b) and may compound (c).

Lube is not required for carbide straight wall pistol sizers because the only sizing surface is a ring inside the die near its mouth; the amount of force applied to the case at any one point is small. A .30 carbine case is not straight walled and a carbide .30 Carbine sizer does not use a ring. Rather, at the end of case insertion travel, you are suddenly trying to resize the entire length of the case at once.

 

[vellnueve]

The force for me to size a .30 carbine case is a bit, but nothing excessive. I don't lube my cases although I might with the next batch just to see if it makes a difference in the results (I doubt it, though, refer to my seperate thread about my experience loading .30M1)

 

[8thring]

30 Cal carbine reloading

hi; anybody relaod the m1 carbine with cast of jacketed bullets? what molds and powder work best? do you need a taper crimp die? any leading or fouling with gas checks? thanx

 

[BIG GUN]

I reload for the carbine, ruger pistol, and Contender. All cast bullets. My mold is a Lyman 311410 sized to .310 using lino. and a chg. of 15G of Accurate 1680. No leading or fouling.

 

[bodybagsryan]

Is it boxer primed? Some of the LC is actually chinese knock off. I cant remember the year and if it was boxer primed.

Added- Just checked the Chinese LC is 52 and berdan primed. That might be what you have. Look for the 2 little holes in the bottom of the case. This is berdan. If that is the case then throw it in the scrap bucket.

You may find some if not all of the Chinese ammo is corrosive. Had some extremely bad experiences with it.
Also in the accuracy dept. with factory Federal Am. Eagle ammo, my Postal Meter shot a 5/8" group at 50 yds. a few years ago. My M2 is quite accurate too but have not shot it too much over the winter.

 

[RKG]

Help!

I was running some brass through the dies to make some dummy rounds and get everything properly adjusted for when Collectors gets some magnum small rifle primers in stock, and I noticed something that I haven't noticed before on .30 carbine brass. I use Lee dies (sizing, expander, seating, crimping) and after resizing, which is tough but not bad enough for me to want lube, the bottom of the case is noticeably wider. I know it is a tapered case, but it's almost like the bulge I see on my .40 SW out of Glocks. However, the case measurements at that end of the case seems to match up fine with the specs. Should I worry about this?

If you try to size .30 Carbine without lube, even in a carbide die, you may be swaging metal back toward the head of the case.

 

[DW357]

Big thread bump

I've been loading 30 carbine for the past couple weeks with the exact load data as EC outlined (the same as in my Lyman manual) and it shoots very accurately and the recoil is about the same as some PPU factory ammo I have. I was curious if anyone uses plated 30 cal bullets in their carbines with decent results? I see Berry's website says you can run their 110 gr 30 carbine bullets up to 1950 fps. I chronographed a few shots yesterday using a fellow range member's chrono. High was 1920 and low was 1875 fps.

The Hornady 110 gr bullets are running me about 16.5 cents shipped which are now sold out from the vendor I use. The plated bullets are currently $111 per 1000 shipped so that's a decent savings per round. Anyway, I know many people aren't a fan of plated bullets but was curious if others have had decent accuracy/reliability using plated bullets in their M1 Carbines.

 

[Wadcutter]

hi; anybody relaod the m1 carbine with cast of jacketed bullets? what molds and powder work best? do you need a taper crimp die? any leading or fouling with gas checks? thanx

I use the Lyman 311410, with Lyman alloy #2. No gas check on for this mold. I've been using IMR-4227. Note that the Lyman book suggests a lot of loads which will not cycle the bolt, so say away from the really fast powders (e.g. Unique) for the M1 carbine.

I haven't found a need for taper crimp die and haven't noticed any leading.

Edit: Didn't realize how long ago that question was asked. Hopefully someone will find the info useful.

 

[DW357]

I use the Lyman 311410, with Lyman alloy #2. No gas check on for this mold. I've been using IMR-4227. Note that the Lyman book suggests a lot of loads which will not cycle the bolt, so say away from the really fast powders (e.g. Unique) for the M1 carbine.

I haven't found a need for taper crimp die and haven't noticed any leading.

Edit: Didn't realize how long ago that question was asked. Hopefully someone will find the info useful.

Yeah I was bumping this thread back from the dead lol.

 

[Steve Marshall]

Andrew, make sure those bullets are rated for 1950. The usual ones aren't. The newer ones have a thicker plating and might be called double struck or something like that. Something I didn't see is that Carbine brass tends to grow. You might want to check brass length also. I have one batch of Remington that grew twice. Then it stopped, but I recall one that was something like .030 over max when I got it.

 

[DW357]

Andrew, make sure those bullets are rated for 1950. The usual ones aren't. The newer ones have a thicker plating and might be called double struck or something like that. Something I didn't see is that Carbine brass tends to grow. You might want to check brass length also. I have one batch of Remington that grew twice. Then it stopped, but I recall one that was something like .030 over max when I got it.

Yeah according to their site they are rated for 1950 fps but if you buy from one of the many resellers it's not a guarantee its the double struck bullets.

I need to check my brass length also. I haven't bothered measuring or trimming yet but I will next time I'll be reloading some later this week.

 

[mac1911]

Yeah according to their site they are rated for 1950 fps but if you buy from one of the many resellers it's not a guarantee its the double struck bullets.

I need to check my brass length also. I haven't bothered measuring or trimming yet but I will next time I'll be reloading some later this week.

I set my trimmer up to 1.280 trim length when I did my large batch of mixed 1x fired they where all over 1.290" I have fired about 150 of the 2000 I loaded with out issue and use W296. I quickly measured 10 cases fired from these loads.
case measurements where from 1.280-1.288
Now the cases I trimmed where fired from many different guns and many where beyound 1.300"? loose chambers, thin brass, IDK. I have a mix of brass the bulk is LC and Aguila. I did not seperate by HS. as for accuracy my rounds and both rifle and shoot the black of a SR 1 @ 100 yds shooting prone. good enough for me!