.30/30 Brass question...

[Carlsen Highway]

How much difference does it make reloading mixed brass in a .30/30 (Win94)?

[Hobie]

I don't worry about it. HOWEVER, I trash brass that varies too much from the norm. Experience will dictate what the norm is but mostly I worry about insufficient neck tension. I get 1½-2" groups from my several .30-30s.

[jnyork]

Only thing that can screw things up is the different case lengths which will give you varying crimps. Best to trim all of them to spec, all's good then.

[AJMD429]

Only thing that can screw things up is the different case lengths which will give you varying crimps. Best to trim all of them to spec, all's good then.

The Lee Factory Crimp dies (rifle type, at least) also help out there.

[ollogger]

I dont worry bout it with 30-30 mostly shoot cast bullets & use the Lee factory crimp die
some cases have been loaded 15 times

ollogger

[Griff]

If I'm making target ammo for some specific match... I like Federal brass, once fired. Otherwise, I have Rem, Peters, UMC, Win, W-W, Winchester, PMC, and several other brands I can't remember off the top of my head.

[J Miller]

"IF" I'm going for extreme consistency such as sighting in a new to me rifle or just being anal about it, I'll segregate the brass for brand, head stamp within the brands and number of times loaded.

I trim ALL my brass using a Forster trimmer and I get my best crimps using the crimper in the seating die. I have a Lee FCD but find it does good work on cast which I don't shoot much of, and some jacketed bullets. It's lousy on others.
Actually it's not worth the money I spent on it.

What differences does all this make from my Win 94s? Maybe a half to three quarters of an inch at 100 yards.

I get the best consistency by full sizing all my cases and keeping them all trimmed to the same length.

Joe

[Chuck 100 yd]

What those other fellers said + 1.
Fulllength sized and trimmed is the place to start.

[6pt-sika]

I keep Winchester headstamps seperate from Remington headstamps and thats the extent of it !

But then I don't shoot a 30-30 much if at all anymore .

[765x53]

I keep Winchester headstamps seperate from Remington headstamps and thats the extent of it !

But then I don't shoot a 30-30 much if at all anymore .

+1. Winchester brass for my '94, all other head stamps for my 336.

[Carlsen Highway]

Thanks for your replies guys. I have a bunch of all kinds of brass but have stuck religously to one headstamp that I have the most of out of habit from my other rifles, it suddenly occurred to me that it might not make much difference with a low pressure round like the .30 WCF.

I have used a Lee crimp die for crimping and always trim all my brass to the same length, I actually havn't bothered with trying to crimp with the seating die, I might try that and see how it goes.

[earlmck]

I trash brass that varies too much from the norm. Experience will dictate what the norm is but mostly I worry about insufficient neck tension.

Like Hobie I've tossed a few that didn't produce about the normal "feel" when seating the bullet because in trying to tighten up velocity spreads of my reloads the neck tension seems to be first place to start.

[Carlsen Highway]

It occurs to me - wouldn't the crimp automatically take care of differences in neck tension?

[buckeyeshooter]

realistically, unless I am shooting from a benchrest. the difference in accuracy from using the same lot of brass will be less than the wobbles in me shooting the gun offhand. I don't worry about it.

[Griff]

It occurs to me - wouldn't the crimp automatically take care of differences in neck tension?

If you full-length size, your exander button should give you a consistent neck tension, unless your brass has thinned dramatically. And, yes, a solid crimp should overcome some slight differences in neck tension. There will come a time when the brass has been work-hardened enough, thinned enough that it will not hold a good size, the "spring" in the brass has gone. Depending on your particular rifle, you may never see that; I have one rifle that eats brass on the 3rd reload, with cracks in neck and shoulder (aftermarket barrel and hot loads).

[M. M. Wright]

I do separate by headstamp and save all the odd stuff for the "odd" cases I make for other stuff from 30-30 brass. I make 30 Remington, turn off the rim and add an extractor groove, and 41 Colt, (a lot of lathe work) from old 30-30. Don't do a lot of load development for the 30-30 and shoot it very little but I get a lot of brass from friends and neighbors who save it but don't reload. Good stuff to have though.

[COSteve]

It occurs to me - wouldn't the crimp automatically take care of differences in neck tension?

In a word, no. The neck is sized when empty and later the bullet is inserted into it. As the bullet is a bit larger in dia than the inside of the case, it creates a tight interference fit along the entire cylindrical area of the bullet. Crimping is performed on the case with the bullet already installed and it drives the case rim into the bullet's canalure to help lock it in place during recoil. The issue is that brass has some spring back while lead doesn't so too much crimping will actually make the bullet loser in the case rather than tighter because the lead will stay deformed while the case mouth expands away from the bullet slightly.

[TedH]

I can't say for certain in the 30-30, but in cases such as the 44 mag and 454 Casull, neck tension is far more important for consistant ignition than the crimp you put on the case. I would assume the same would hold true for the 30-30.