Reloading M1 Carbine

[blove]

Is anyone out there reloading 30 M1 Carbine with Lee Dies. I'm having some trouble with mine. Is anyone reloadin this round with other makes of dies.

[PAdutchman]

I reload 30 carbine with RCBS dies. What's the problem you are having?

[cobra81]

I'm using Lee Carbide dies for .30 carbine. Work great. Just ignore the part in the instructions about not needing lube. You NEED lube. YMMV, but for me, lubing every 3rd or 4th case liberally works great and avoids stuck cases.

You don't say what type of problems you are having. Could you please elaborate?

[PAdutchman]

I agree with Cobra. Regardless of what the instructions might say you need to lube the cases. I got more brass stuck in a 30 carbine die than all the other thirty some calibers I load for combined. I lube every piece of brass just like I would a bottleneck case.

[Longdayjake]

The .30 carbine is tapered. For some reason that makes it much harder to resize without lube. The cool part is that with lube it is super super easy.

[steelman762]

You need a lube pad and to lube the cases before resizing. You don`t need much on the case just a film. If its a carbide die you don`t need lube. But what is the problem. I never had any problems with LEE or any of the other makes. There is a learning curve as with everything. Need more info.

[Longdayjake]

If its a carbide die you don`t need lube.

Yes you do!!!

[Sevens]

As was said a half dozen times, you MUST use lube even with carbide dies in this round. And I've had Lee dies in this caliber since '92 and as far as I recall, they tell you this right there in the instruction sheet that comes with the dies.

Yep, it's a real effer and this is because it's a tapered case. To be able to shape the case mouth end properly, the somewhat fatter case head is going to get tight as heck when it gets up in to the die.

And your loaded round will end up looking a little goofy, or "wasp waisted" where you can often see the outline of the slug as it sits in the case.

Now what is the actual problem you are having with it?

[blove]

The problem I am experiencing is it is very difficult to press the case into the die. I have tried using One Shot lube and it makes it a little easier but there is a ridge at the base of the case after resizing. I decided the die was defective so I sent it back to Lee Precision. When I talked to the person who checked it out he said it is within specks so is sending it back to me. Meanwhile I started doing some measuring on my own. By measuring some of the brass that I had resized I found that all measurements were about .005" smaller than the specs in the reloading manual. However when I talked to the man at Lee again he still defended his statement that the die is in specs. His only suggestion to me was that I only press the case part way into the die. Does that seen like a reasonable solution? If you're reloading M1 Carbine do you do a full resizing or only partially? Would appreciate some input.

[plainsman456]

It sounds like the pressure ring on the brass.Don't worry they all get it.Just lube them and go shoot.

[Longdayjake]

First of all, lee dies suck. Second, I took some sand paper and wrapped it around a drill bit. Then I let it run inside my die for a while until I felt that I had gotten a little bit of the steel off. Then I took some steel wool and wrapped it around the drill bit and polished the sucker for a long time. Things got a little warm but now it works a million times better. I would not recommend doing the same unless you really really think you can get away with it and not hurt anything.

[hodaka]

Nothing wrong with Lee dies but a squirt of One Shot is can hardly be caused lubing. The stuff is crap. Get some Imperial and your problems will go away, but do what you want as you seem to ignore this advice from a dozen others.

[salvadore]

Lee dies are alright, started out with a lee loader and a hammer.

[medalguy]

I reload carbine with RCBS dies and CASE LUBE!! Gotta use the lube. Imperial is great, or just use any good lube like RCBS on a pad. Also watch your case length-- since the carbine round headspaces on the case mouth, case length is very critical. And use LUBE!!

[PAdutchman]

I have to agree. I tried One Shot on the 30 Carbine and it wasn't that good on that particular caliber for me. I use RCBS Case Lube and a lube pad and my brass sticking issue went away on the 30 Carbine.

[Unclenick]

Lots of lubes out there. Spend a buck and a half on a bottle of STP oil treatment at Walmart and you'll be fine.

The drawings given in most manuals (don't know about yours) are maximum case dimensions. The have a tolerance of +0, -some number. In the case of .30 Carbine, it is +0, -0.008". So, your case mouth diameter with a bullet seated in it could be anywhere from 0.328" to 0.336" diameter and still be within specifications. That corresponds to neck thicknesses from 0.010" to 0.014" thick. The die has to size the case down enough so the thinnest brass will still be narrowed enough to grip a bullet. This means the inside of the neck has to be about .307" or so, which means the neck on a sized case, after expanding might be as small as .327" or as much as .335". If your cases have that range, you are OK.

the taper on the case makes the second half of the sizing more difficult because the case is expanded in the chamber to bring the wider bottom portion of the taper back up to size each time. That's a lot of brass working when you straight size it all the way down. So, try sizing it just an eighth of an inch or so beyond where the base of the bullet seats to. If you get into problems with it feeding, then you'll have to go back to full length resizing, but if it works with partial sizing, then no harm, no foul.

[Hook686]

I use Lee Carbide dies for .30 M1 Carbine and have to use a dab of case lube to keep the rim from breaking off when the resized case is extracted from the sizing die. The .30 Carbine case may be straight wall, but it is not parallel straight wall.

I use RCBS-2 case lube. A couple of drops on a cotton ball make it easy to dab my thumb and finger on the lubed cotton ball a rub on half a dozen cases before resizing.

[blove]

Thanks to everyone. It is obvious that I am going to have to lubricat my brass. I have learned a lot about the M1 Carbine round through this forum. When I get my die back I will first clean it well and start using a good lube. Again, Thanks to all for your input. will report further down the road.

[Clyde]

Hello everyone!
I am also having a problem reloading .30 carbine. When ever I resize my brass (CBC from Magtech rounds), it stretches it up to 16/1000 of an inch in length. I do lube my brass using Imperial. I originally thought it might be my dies, as I started using Lee carbides. I am now using Hornady dies and seeing the same results. This is the first time I have resized this brass, is it normal to stretch that much during resizing?

[Sevens]

There is no "normal" amount of stretching because each different head stamp is different in the quality or makeup of the metal, so each can stretch more or less and it's not to any set standard. That fact that your brass is stretching when you size it IS normal.

This is a case which will need to be trimmed, and you trim it after you have sized it. You'll find with most brass that it stretches the most the first time you size/trim it, and then it tends to stretch less over time.

[Unclenick]

Pretty much anytime you have a load that is peaking over around 30,000 psi, you can get brass stretching in some degree. This is worse in a generous chamber. The case expands to fill the chamber, and when you run it into the sizing die, the narrowing brass has to go somewhere. Since the die only allows it to flow forward, it gains length. How much it stretches will depend, as Sevens said, on the brass. It work-hardens with resizing so it usually stretches less in the future because the harder brass springs back more after expanding to fill the chamber under pressure. How much also depends on chamber's individual dimensions, obviously. A very hot load can also stretch it more.

Case trimmer time.

[Clyde]

That makes good sense! Thanks for all the info!

[wncchester]

"His only suggestion to me was that I only press the case part way into the die. Does that seen like a reasonable solution? If you're reloading M1 Carbine do you do a full resizing or only partially?"

"He" is correct, there is no point in driving a .30 M1 case as far into a carbide sizer as it can go. At best, doing so makes for a funny looking "wasp waist" as Sevens mentions and it causes premature case splits too.

Excepting a very rare individual deffective die (which will always be replaced) all die brands work fine if the users know what they're doing.

[dewcrew8]

dont no about lee dies but I use carbide rcbs and dillon dies and use dillon lube and no problems. alot of people say not to lube . why not it only help you!!

[zxcvbob]

You need lube for this one; even with carbide dies. Dillon spray lube works, so does Kiwi Mink Oil. If you have a lube pad, you can use castor oil. Gear oil (especially synthetic) ought to work but I haven't tried it.

Don't even think about trying automatic transmission fluid unless you just want a stuck case.