Does anyone know a supplier of .30 carbine bullets from the following molds?
Lee 90362 C309 - 113 F (flat point)
Lee 90364 C309 - 120 R (round nose)
Saeco 254 115 gr. (slightly pointed nose)
Saeco 302 120 gr. (round nose)

All of these molds produce bullets with a grimp groove.

I know that Western Bullet sells 115 gr. .30 carbine bullets with a crimp groove made from the Lyman 311359 mold (sharp piont nose). I would rather have a round or flat nose.

Western also have the Lyman # 3118 bullets (normally around .311-.313 ? diameter) and I have an email into them about sizing it to .309 diameter for me before delivery. Or I could buy a Lyman 450 sizer press and a .308 or .309 die on eBay for less than $100 and size the # 3118 myself.

Are there any other possible molds/manufacturers?

Based on my experience with my .32 auto, bullets with a crimp groove give more consistent ballistics than a tapper crimp on a staight sided bullet.

Thank you

You have a PM.

The extactor on the Automag .30 carbine positions the cartidge in the chamber in nearly identical location, but slightly rearward than head spacing on the case mouth.

The gas operated M1 carbine probably doesn't have the case ejection sensitivities that the Automag 30 has. The Automag .30 is a blow back design relying on balancing the energy available from the recoiling case and slide with the energy absorbed by the hammer spring, main recoil spring and cartidge ejector resistance.

I think that variations in recoil energy caused by variations in bullet crimping are causing occasional case ejection failures. When cases don't eject completely, the explosion is noticably less powerful than when they do eject completely.

The factory Automag.30 recoil spring in my gun and the one shown in a picture in the owner's manual have been clipped on one end to make it shorter. Apparently the factory was struggling with case ejection consistency too. I bought a spring winding tool on eBay (see completed item number: 3852582051) and I am going to work on that side of the equation also. But getting consistent explosions is the foundation for fixing this problem. Using cast bullets with a crimp groove in my Colt 1903 model .32 hammerless pistol (that head spaces on the slight rim) gives very uniform explosions in my opinion. I am going to file a crimp groove in a few bullets using an electric drill as a lathe and see if it solves my case ejection problems. If it does, I will order some .30 carbine bullets with crimp grooves.

Thank you everyone for the information.

Automag30 -
Interesting and thorough. I've always thought the .30 Car. would make a great semi-auto pistol boolet.

I just loaded some Lyman 311415's (GC 117 gr.). Haven't had the chance to launch them yet (Ruger BH and US Postal M1).

Again, something to look into, I've heard that the friction on the sides of the case holds the bullet moreso than the crimp.

I agree with you on variation of ignition resulting from variation of tension - from my experiences with blackpowder cannon and mortars. Greater mass also provides for better igition and burn time.

In .30 Carbine I have a reloading die set that has an expander somewhat like the M expander of Lyman. It bells the case well, but also opens up the case so there is too little pressure on the bullet. (I'm sizing to .311 as the cylinders are .310 and the grooves right at .308")

I wonder if you've noticed any difference in tension in seating the bullets? As I noted above the diameter of the bullets will make a difference. Also any variation of cleanliness of the case would also be important.

In reloading for the BH, I am crimping slightly (taper crimp)into the forward driving band. That's giving me both the crimp and allows the cartrige mouth to contact the forward edge of the chamber (used to do that with a .45).

Food for thought.

Automag...where are you located? I have a 302 Saeco, a 254 Saeco and a 3118 and their respective hollowpoint counterparts and could supply you with a few for trial.

The 3118 shoots better than the Saecos in both the Blackhawk and a Standard Products carbine particullarily in the the hollow point version. In the carbine, the 311465 Lyman is the champ. A old Ideal 308244 weighing in at 94 grains was the best light plinker in the carbine./beagle

Automag, trk:

Back in the 1940's, just after WW II, Kimball Arms in Mass. made a "Woodsman"-shaped blowback semiauto for the .30 Carbine. They had the same problems, and ended up roughening the chamber to delay extraction and help balance things out. Apparently, it never worked reliably, and had vanished by the early '50's. The .30 Carb. is a tough proposition for a handgun!

floodgate

Have you loaded any cast bullets for your .30? Despite the reputation for being slicker in the barrel, lead does seem to have more friction against brass than jacketed bullets. I am not saying that it will solve the problem, but it would be worth looking into. Luckily, you can try this with the same lot of bullets...and I do understand that sometimes, even cast bullets need to be crimped. H110 loads in my 45 Colt Blackhawk is one such example. I still had to ask.

btw, were you thinking of useing the roll crimp die for a 32 revolver cartridge?