I just purchased a GI carbine and would like to reload for it. I will use a ball powder like H110-W296-AA#9 . What experiences have you had with these powders? And what primers have you used? I will be loading 110 grain fmj's into Sellier&Bellot brass after I shoot the factory S&B rounds I have.

I plan on getting the Lee Carbide dies as well. Any other info would be appreciated.......................Chainsaw

Carbide dies or not, plan to lube the cases. That is the admonition from Lee with their dies and though I think I remember the "term military brass" I think it applies to all 30 caliber carbine brass. I have loaded by lubing about 1/4 - 1/3 of the brass and have never had problems with my LIMITED experience with loading for the carbine.

If you can find someone to share the order you may want to look into getting some WC820 from HiTech or Jeff Bartlett.
I do not have HiTechs address handy but Jeff's site is www.gibrass.com.

Jeff also has (had?) some brass and bullets at a reasonable price.

I went out and looked it up, try, http://www.iidbs.com/hitech for HiTech information.

LouisB

Just an opinion of course

[ 12-13-2002, 05:31: Message edited by: TCLouis ]

Chainsaw,

Below is the URL for HiTech.

http://www.hi-techammo.com/

Abe and TC, Thanks for the info. So in other words the 30 carbine Lee dies won't work like the 9mm Lee dies I have.

Here is another addy for milsurp where I have purchased powder and bullets etc.

www.patsreloading.com/patsrel/prices.htm

This group, which measured somewhere around 0.562-inches for 5-shots at 100-yards.
It was fired using a Marlin 62 in .30 Carbine with Leupold 4x optics
Case: Remington
Primer: Remington 6-1/2
Powder: 15.4 grains of 2400
Bullet: Sierra 110 grain Round Nose
Velocity: 2,136 FPS @ 15' from muzzle


This group, which measured somewhere around 2.557-inches for 6-shots at 100-yards.
It was fired using a Ruger Blackhawk in .30 Carbine with open sights
Case: Remington
Primer: Remington 6-1/2
Powder: 15.4 grains of 2400
Bullet: Sierra 110 grain Round Nose
Velocity: 1,703 FPS @ 15' from muzzle

I have always used RCBS carbide dies, and do not lube the cases.

Chainsaw, I used to load the 30 Carbine for an AMT handgun. Didn't shoot too bad, although the muzzle flash was impressive. Sold the gun to finance a different project and because I got tired of chasing down the extracted and flung brass. Guess I thought I might get another 30 Carbine some day since I kept the dies and some brass. Doesn't look like I'll be going that direction again. If you're interested in the dies and brass, let me know and we'll talk. The brass is R-P, 1 box (#100), once fired for $7.50
The dies are Lee 3 die set (carbide), including storage box and powder dipper for $21 (good shape). Prices don't include shipping. I don't recall ever lubing the cases when using the carbide dies. Gary T.

Chainsaw, I used to load 30 carbine by the K's. My favorite was 311316 Lyman cast bullet. I would suggest you go with a well made cast bullet with gascheck. This bullet out of the lowly carbine would cut a jackrabbit in half. FMJ's would scarcely slow them down.

Lot of tricks about these little rifles. Buying jacketed ammo for them is pretty much a waste of money with the low velocity possible. And their accuracy potential is poor as well. I believe acceptable military accuracy when the guns were purchased was 12" group at 100 yds. Most will do more like 5 or 6" group. But they are a lot of fun to hunt with if you keep things in their limits.

I even took mine deer hunting once. Shot a nice 8 pt whitetail buck thru boiler room. He ran about a dozen paces and piled up. I got within about 50 yds before shot.

Email me if you're interested in using 2400 and I'll look up my load. 2400 is good powder for them and probably a bit more economical.

You will lose good % of your brass each time you go out. Best see if you can find a source of military once fired. I used to buy it in 1,000s and that way you can afford the brass loss.

Good luck and have fun with it. P45

"And their accuracy potential is poor as well. I believe acceptable military accuracy when the guns were purchased was 12" group at 100 yds."

Government specifications stipulate "... 1.5 inches at 100 yards at 1900 fps ...". And I have found every GI carbine, using GI ball, to meet those requirements, 62 years after it was introduced.

The .30 Carbine is not a .300 Magnum, by any means, but it is a fun cartridge to shoot, and cheap as well...

Chainsaw,

I've used all those powders and they all work well, but I agree with Pecos45. The 2400 will go farther and I myself have not noticed any significant accuracy differences between powders. I also like the 311316 Lyman bullet, but even with a gas check you have to make them HARD! I once had a batch of bullets that were not too hard, after a hundred rounds my carbine "quit rocking". My gas system was all plugged up with lead that bled through the gas port in the barrel.

Lately I've been using "Oregon Trail Bullet Company" bullets, they work swell. As for Lee's carbide dies, I've never lubed theirs or anyone elses carbide dies. I have never had a problem, either single stage press or from my Load Master (which works good for me). It's a fun gun, hope you enjoy it!

Regards,

Eric

Thanks for the replies, I will probably buy some surplus as I have used it before in other calibers.

I need to get some AA#2 anyway so I've got two jugs to start with.

Chain, I've reloaded tons of .30 Carbine with the Lee carbide die and have never lubed the cases in any way. I never saw anything in the instructions mentioning lube and I thought that was the idea behind buying carbide instead of a regular steel die. I've never stuck one nor noticed anything bad like case stretch.

Like yours, my gun is mil surplus. Can't remember the exact maker. The great thing about mine is that it will feed a 110gr semi-jacketed HP that I found. Can't remember who makes it, but one of the mainline ammo companies (probably Hornady, Speer or Sierra). The intended purpose for this round is probably in something like a Contender or maybe some of those revolvers chambered in .30 Carbine, but it feeds fine in my rifle, so I shoot a lot of them. I first tried this bullet prior to Y2K, thinking that if the civilized world as we knew it really ended, this would make one whale of a self-defense rifle, but not with FMJ bullets. The cool thing about this particular bullet is that you get the advantages of a lead nose with a HUGE HP, plus you get a copper jacket that prevents lead buildup in your bore.

I forget exactly which powder I use with this bullet, but I'm pretty sure either H110 or 2400 will work.

Kentucky Fisherman, If you ever check what bullet that is let me know. If you find the loading data you worked up I would appreciate you letting me know. Thanks ----Chainsaw