I have been loading straight wall cases (44 mag,45acp/lc) for over 20yrs. I am going to start reloading for my 30'06, I have 100 Lake City match cases to start with. My question has to do with reloading bottleneck cases, lube,sizing,etc. Also with powders, loads, etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

quote:

Originally posted by dbking:
I have been loading straight wall cases (44 mag,45acp/lc) for over 20yrs. I am going to start reloading for my 30'06, I have 100 Lake City match cases to start with. My question has to do with reloading bottleneck cases, lube,sizing,etc. Also with powders, loads, etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You didn't say exactly what your questions was. Loading bottle necked rounds is pretty straight forward. Two die sets consist of a sizer/decapper die and a seating die. Size and decap, prime case and charge, seat bullet.The instructions in the die set are easy to follow.

If the LC brass hasn't had the primer crimp removed you'll have to do that. As far as loads go ,look at any of the manuals out there (both off and online) and you'll find enough loads for the '06 to keep you off the streets and out of the bars for a long time.

dbking:
You didn't say if your rifle is a bolt a semiauto or other action. This can have an affect on your reloading technique. It will also impact your powder loading choices.

The BIG difference in loading straight wall vs. bottleneck cases is the NEED to lightly lube each case before you resize. If you don't you will learn how to use a stuck case remover. Also there is no need to "bell" the case necks prior to seating bullets.

You mention having LC match brass. Excellent choice. It is good quality brass. But Millitary brass is thicker walled therefor less usable internal space. This requires lowering your starting loads about 10%(below the load book's begining load data). The match brass dosen't have a crimp so you won't need to fuss with that.

muck

...about the venerable -06, if you stick with IMR 4895 and 150 grain bullets, you will have reloaded a round that can be used safely in any rifle chambered for said round.

If you are reloading for a bolt action gun and use Lee Collet dies to just neck size, there will be no need to lube the cases. If you're loading for a semiauto or pump, you'll need to full length size and probably use small base dies.

I've found sizing wax or the various spray on case lubes to be least messy. When you get the little divots on the case shoulder (yes, it will probably happen to you), it's because you used too much lube. You will also need to put a little lube on the inside of the case necks.

At least with 165 & 168 grain bullets, I've found Varget to be a very accurate powder in the .30/06.

I like to use the Lee Case Lube. It is wax based instead of oil based. It comes in a tube like toothpaste. I put a bit on a paper towel and then use that to wipe the outside of the case lightly. I also put a bit of lube on a cotton swab (Q-tip) and wipe the inside of the case neck with that. That is BEFORE sizing the cases.

30-06 is one of the easiest cartridges to load. A large number of powders and bullets give excellent results with it.

I would recommend full length resizing your cases in the beginning. As someone wrote above, if you are loading for anything other than a bolt action rifle, you will need to full length resize every time. For bolt action rifles, neck sizing may be sufficient, and it will usually give better accuracy. You can use a full length sizing die to do only neck sizing by backing off the die a short distance -- maybe a millimeter or two -- so that the case does not go the full length into the die.

For starting powders, I would recommend H414, IMR4350, H4350, IMR 4064, RL19, or H or IMR 4895. Numerous others will work well too. (I myself do not like Varget, although some other shooters praise it highly.)

I would start with 150, 165, or 180 grain bullets. Of the non-premium bullets, Sierras tend to give excellent accuracy -- frequently the best accuracy of all.

When you get a bit of loading experience, you can then try different weight bullets to see which gives better accuracy in your rifle. You can also try different powder charges, from beginning to max, to see which performs best for you.

Use a recognized loading manual, and start with a load that is given there as a good one. Since you are using military brass, its internal capacity is less than Remington, Winchester, Federal, and other commercial brass, so you should start with a load that is at least 10% below what is given as the maximum for the powder and bullet you are using.

Military brass also has a band around the primer pocket, so you need to trim that band off before you can re-prime the cases. (I am not familiar with military match cases -- they may not have this band, as someone wrote above.)

Any good large rifle, non-magnum primer will work very well in the 30/06: CCI 200, Winchester WLR, Remington 9 1/2, Federal 210. There are differences among them, but you need not be concerned at all with that when you are beginning loading.

You should trim your cases when they get long. I use the Lee Case Length Gauge and Trimmer, and I recommend this system highly. I trim my cases every time I load them, but that is not strictly necessary. What it does is keep them consistent in length, which is an advantage for accuracy.

After sizing and before charging and loading your cases, it is a good idea to clean them to get rid of the case lube and the grime that tends to accumulate on the cases. You can use a tumbler for that, but it is not necessary. I simply wipe the outside of the cases with a piece of fabric onto which I've sprayed Remington Bore Cleaner. I also clean the inside of the necks with a clean cotton swab.

I also ream the inside of the primer pockets with a Lee Primer Pocket Cleaner tool before I re-prime the cases. That too is not really necessary, just nice.

Priming is done best with a priming tool such as the Lee Autoprime or equivalent tool from another manufacturer. You can use your loading press for priming, but it is slow, cumbersome, and not as easily controllable.

Re: LC '06 match brass & primer pockets: The ones I recently purchased from Hi Tech came with an inert primer and no crimp to remove. Indeed, I didn't even have to "uniform" the primer pockets. Is this typical of LC, FA or other milsurp match brass?

Paul
The NO crimp on millitary brass is what makes it "match" brass. Match ammo isn't going to be fired in a fully automatic gun. In all other respects it is the same brass.
Only other difference is "match" ammo is loaded with a balistic hollowpoint bullet. At one time it was considered a NO NO to shoot the enemy with an evil hollowpoint bullet there fore the match ammo had a knurling around the case, near the head. This made it easy for the UN or other war crimes investigation to see that we did not use "bad" bullets to kill people?
Just some random info.

muck

muck, Thanks for the heads-up on milsurp match brass!

Thanks for the info. By the way I will be reloading for a 50's era FN mauser and I might reload for my Garand(but later). Again thanks.Time to go have some fun!

One other thing: It helps to chamfer the inside and outside of the case necks after trimming the cases and before seating the bullets. This removes any burrs from inside and outside the case mouth and allows the bullet to enter the case more easily. There's a RCBS-Wilson hand tool that does this very well; the tool costs about $10. Lee also makes a much cheaper tool to do this, but it's not as good. You don't need to do this to cases that have not been newly trimmed.