Reloading Rifle... Question about brass

[cbass]

So, I had been testing out some 30-30 reloads and decided on my charge weight and bullet combo. Now I have some twice fired brass. When I first prepared the once fired brass (from factory ammo) here is what I did: Resize/decap, clean primer pocket, length size, inside/outside case mouth chamfer, clean.

Now that I have fired them do I need to chamfer the case mouth again? Or do I only do that again when I need to trim?

Thanks for you help!

 

[Twoboxer]

Unless there's something (else) special about the 30-30 cartridge, next steps are the same as for any rifle cartridge that should always be full-length resized (assuming you have a lever action rifle). Clean, full-length resize/decap, measure, trim as/if required etc. If the case is trimmed, chamfer to eliminate any burrs inside and out. Cases not trimmed should not need chamfering.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

I started re-loading the 30-30 about a year ago and here are a few things I found out. The brass is fairly thin and will grow if you are firing normal loads. Full-length size every time but don't size more than you need to. Measure, trim and chamfer/de-burr every couple of reloads as needed. If you don't trim you don't need to chamfer/de-burr. A wax lube works better than an oily lube. Too much lube can make dimples in the shoulder of the case. The Lee FCD works good and won't buckle the case the way a roll crimp can when too much force is used. ...that's about it.

 

[6gun]

So, I had been testing out some 30-30 reloads and decided on my charge weight and bullet combo. Now I have some twice fired brass. When I first prepared the once fired brass (from factory ammo) here is what I did: Resize/decap, clean primer pocket, length size, inside/outside case mouth chamfer, clean.

Now that I have fired them do I need to chamfer the case mouth again? Or do I only do that again when I need to trim?

Thanks for you help!

I've been reloading 30-30 since the early 1980's Sounds like your doing OK, everyone has their own methood of how to reload and you'll find more arguements in this section than in the political section, :lol:

Answer to your question no you don't have to chamfer every time, but I do to make sure I don't have a bur that might damage a bullet jacket, Chamfer just enough to feel the chamfer twists smoothly don't over do it like your sharpening a pencil couple of twists is usally enough.

I've also never trimmed any of my 30-30 brass to length, have never found any of my cases to be off enough to trim.

 

[cbass]

Thanks guys, those are some great insights!

 

[Cholo]

I've been reloading 30-aught-30's :wink: since '77. Jimbo nailed it and I can add no more. Other good info here ^^^

 

[Mobuck]

Guy brought me a Win 94 with the action locked up. I managed to get it open by using a brass punch to move the locking mechanism while using force on the lever. A rod dropped down the bore popped the case loose allowing extraction. I found the case still showed the mouth crimp even after firing. Measuring the case showed it was significantly over length. The case mouth had jammed into the throat causing pressure to rise enough to lockup the action. Investigation revealed the cases had been reloaded 4-5 times w/o trimming. It doesn't take that long to run them through a trimmer so do it every 2nd loading.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Guy brought me a Win 94 with the action locked up. I managed to get it open by using a brass punch to move the locking mechanism while using force on the lever. A rod dropped down the bore popped the case loose allowing extraction. I found the case still showed the mouth crimp even after firing. Measuring the case showed it was significantly over length. The case mouth had jammed into the throat causing pressure to rise enough to lockup the action. Investigation revealed the cases had been reloaded 4-5 times w/o trimming. It doesn't take that long to run them through a trimmer so do it every 2nd loading.

Thanks. That is good to know and I would surmise that could happen to any rifle cartridge if not kept trimmed.
I think another thing to keep in mind is if the lever or bolt is hard to close on the cartridge, find out why.

 

[6gun]

Guy brought me a Win 94 with the action locked up. I managed to get it open by using a brass punch to move the locking mechanism while using force on the lever. A rod dropped down the bore popped the case loose allowing extraction. I found the case still showed the mouth crimp even after firing. Measuring the case showed it was significantly over length. The case mouth had jammed into the throat causing pressure to rise enough to lockup the action. Investigation revealed the cases had been reloaded 4-5 times w/o trimming. It doesn't take that long to run them through a trimmer so do it every 2nd loading.

Very odd I have cases I've loaded 10+ times and still are correct length and never trimmed, I do alway check lenght each time before loading that is very important, brass and how much it expands can really very also between different brands and the mixture of brass they are using.