30-30 Lee loader??

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Nath
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30-30 Lee loader??

Post by Nath »

I need to ask the board with more knowledge than me.
Does the 30-30 Lee loader only neck size the brass? I have heard that this may be the case which is not ideal for a lever action!

What do you all know in this matter please?
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765x53
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Re: 30-30 Lee loader??

Post by 765x53 »

Yes, the Lee Loader neck-sizes only.
If the fired case chambers in your rifle, no problem.
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Re: 30-30 Lee loader??

Post by Nath »

765x53 wrote: Mon Jun 13, 2022 11:48 am Yes, the Lee Loader neck-sizes only.
If the fired case chambers in your rifle, no problem.
I've read of horror stories of brass not chambering.
Am I correct in thinking brass quality might play a part?
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Malamute
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Re: 30-30 Lee loader??

Post by Malamute »

If they were fired in your gun they will likely be OK, at least for a while before needing full length sizing. I started out with a lee Loader for a model 94 Winchester and had no problems using my own brass. Some loads didnt chamber in friends guns, thats when the neck vs full length sizing becomes more of an issue.

Checking them in your own chamber before loading pretty well tells the story.
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Re: 30-30 Lee loader??

Post by AJMD429 »

,
A friend of mindn used to use 303 British Lee Loader kit in his bolt action Enfield successfully, but bolt actions do have more camming force for chambering. However I shot his reloads from his rifle and don't recall having to 'force' them to chamber. ''

I used a Lee 'Target' Loader (same kit but with inside neck reamer and micrometer seating die) for 6mm Remington and reloaded much of that brass at least ten times. Medium level loads with 4831 powder.

One other compact option would be the Lee 'Hand Press' - it uses regular dies, and does whatever 'sizing' the dies are set for.

Also - if you use light loads the brass supposedly won't stretch as much.
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Re: 30-30 Lee loader??

Post by Rusty »

I have a .30-30 Lee loader that I used when I was shooting my T/C Contender super 14. It loaded some of the most accurate loads I've ever loaded. At 50 yards 3 rounds could be covered with a dime. I don't have the Contender any more but I do have an H&R Handi rifle in .30-30, it works fine for that.
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Re: 30-30 Lee loader??

Post by Nath »

Thank you gentlemen.
Much appreciated.

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Re: 30-30 Lee loader??

Post by Blaine »

I've always been told to keep an eye on brass length, and trim when necessary, and if you only use it for just one rifle, all should be well.
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elmo123
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Re: 30-30 Lee loader??

Post by elmo123 »

I had one in 22-250 that I used until it left me with a casing stuck in the chamber of my Remington 788. This encouraged me to buy a Lyman single stage press with a set of dies.
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Re: 30-30 Lee loader??

Post by Nath »

elmo123 wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 6:50 am I had one in 22-250 that I used until it left me with a casing stuck in the chamber of my Remington 788. This encouraged me to buy a Lyman single stage press with a set of dies.
Hmm, that is a worry!

I can see me going to a set of dies and the hand press! I priced it up last night.
3x the cost but should work out better in the long run.
Thanks everyone.
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Re: 30-30 Lee loader??

Post by Bridger »

As was stated earlier I haven’t had any problem with my Winchester 94 and my lee loader reloading brass that was shot in my gun, though I’ve only used it for a 100 rounds or so. The problem I’ve had with mine is that it doesn’t seem to crimp jacketed bullets worth a stuff, or either it doesn’t size the neck properly one of the two. After sizing and crimping the bullet in place I can still fairly easily push the bullet back down into the case with my thumb. Not very trustworthy in a tube fed rifle. All the jacketed bullets I ever loaded in it I wound up turning a deeper crimp groove in them on a lathe so they’d crimp and stay in place. So my kit has always been a pain in the butt. One day I’m going to send it off to lee and see what’s wrong with it. I bought a 4 die set for my press and never looked back.
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Nath
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Re: 30-30 Lee loader??

Post by Nath »

Thank you.
I've opted for a two die set.
Funnily enough, I loaded four rounds and the seating die does not offer any crimp!
If I put the loaded round in the die, bullet seater backed out the case mouth and bullet only connect with the crimping section when two deep for the shell holder to be present!
I can see me having to turn some off the bottom of the die to allow for the shell holder!
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Re: 30-30 Lee loader??

Post by AmBraCol »

Nath wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 6:00 am Thank you.
I've opted for a two die set.
Funnily enough, I loaded four rounds and the seating die does not offer any crimp!
If I put the loaded round in the die, bullet seater backed out the case mouth and bullet only connect with the crimping section when two deep for the shell holder to be present!
I can see me having to turn some off the bottom of the die to allow for the shell holder!
What brand die did you get, Nath? I loaded up a bunch of 30-30 for my brother a couple months ago while sitting with Mom as she recovered from a bad health situation. Lee dies, if I recall correctly. I always do seat and crimp in separate steps. You might look for a Lee "Factory Crimp Die", if they are available on your side of the pond. I just used the standard Lee die and it worked fine, but a case can be made for their FCD for use in tubular magazines.
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Nath
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Re: 30-30 Lee loader??

Post by Nath »

AmBraCol wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 8:00 am
Nath wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 6:00 am Thank you.
I've opted for a two die set.
Funnily enough, I loaded four rounds and the seating die does not offer any crimp!
If I put the loaded round in the die, bullet seater backed out the case mouth and bullet only connect with the crimping section when two deep for the shell holder to be present!
I can see me having to turn some off the bottom of the die to allow for the shell holder!
What brand die did you get, Nath? I loaded up a bunch of 30-30 for my brother a couple months ago while sitting with Mom as she recovered from a bad health situation. Lee dies, if I recall correctly. I always do seat and crimp in separate steps. You might look for a Lee "Factory Crimp Die", if they are available on your side of the pond. I just used the standard Lee die and it worked fine, but a case can be made for their FCD for use in tubular magazines.
They are Lee dies Paul.
I also like to do it as a separate operation.
It is strange because the Lee case trimmer did remove brass from the case to begin with.
I'm going to take measurements of the fired brass, check the data for case length and see where the cutter is at etc!
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Re: 30-30 Lee loader??

Post by Nath »

Looks like my cutter is a wee short!
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Re: 30-30 Lee loader??

Post by Nath »

Looks like I'm going to have to remove .060" from the die in order to crimp after using the Lee cutter I got.
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Re: 30-30 Lee loader??

Post by AJMD429 »

.
Wow never had a Lee that was cutting short...! I'd give them a call and get a replacement for sure.

Be sure the shell holder is snug though.

I chuck the cutter in my drill (had to turn down the cutter end) and keep it strapped down and running, then it is really fast to grab a cartridge, slip it into the shell holder, twist the base part tight, then press it onto the cutter, pull it off, un-twist enough to dump out the cartridge, and repeat the process. Way faster than chucking the shell holder as many do. But I did learn to be SURE the base is snugged so trimming is not only uniform, but never over-trimmed.
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Re: 30-30 Lee loader??

Post by Nath »

AJMD429 wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 12:53 pm .
Wow never had a Lee that was cutting short...! I'd give them a call and get a replacement for sure.

Be sure the shell holder is snug though.

I chuck the cutter in my drill (had to turn down the cutter end) and keep it strapped down and running, then it is really fast to grab a cartridge, slip it into the shell holder, twist the base part tight, then press it onto the cutter, pull it off, un-twist enough to dump out the cartridge, and repeat the process. Way faster than chucking the shell holder as many do. But I did learn to be SURE the base is snugged so trimming is not only uniform, but never over-trimmed.
Next thing to measure is the cutter mandrel.
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EdinCT
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Re: 30-30 Lee loader??

Post by EdinCT »

Nath,
If that's a Lee cutter maybe they will send you a factory Crimp die for free and that will solve that problem. However are you sure your crimp die doesn't work? I have never had that issue and 50 years ago I had more problems with too much crimp.
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Re: 30-30 Lee loader??

Post by Nath »

EdinCT wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 7:35 am Nath,
If that's a Lee cutter maybe they will send you a factory Crimp die for free and that will solve that problem. However are you sure your crimp die doesn't work? I have never had that issue and 50 years ago I had more problems with too much crimp.
Thanks Ed.
I've now adapted the seating die. It will crimp now, to much if I'm not careful!
I know I should not of has to and the cutter is the correct length. Maybe I've done something wrong!
All I know now is I'm good to go.
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