Please remind me again how one property sets up the die for crimping bullets in 30-30 loads. Obviously I want to get the crimp right on the crimping marks on the bullet. (Sierra 150 grain)

First and foremost the brass must be trimmed to length.
Once all the brass is the same length, Back the die off about 1/4" from the shell holder. Seat your bullet to the length you want.
Back off the seating stem so it cannot touch the bullet.
Loosen the lock screw and turn the die down to you feel it just touch the neck of the loaded cartridge. Now turn the down 1/4 turn and check to see if the mouth is starting to crimp into the bullet ( no gap). You want just enough to hold the bullet to be fed and close the gap around the bullet/case mouth.
Too far down for a tighter crimp will bulge the shoulder making the loaded round useless.
Once you have a good crimp,drop the seating stem down to just touch the top of your bullet.
Your now ready to load the next rounds for bullet seating and crimping.

The easiest way is to spend $12 on a Lee factory crimp die. It is a collet style, not too critical about length, and won't collapse a shoulder if you missed one when trimming. Great invention!

I agree with Rapidrob; seat all bullets with crimp function of the die backed off. Back off the seating stem and adjust (lower the die) until you get the crimp you want. Many can adjust their dies so the they get a crimp as they seat the bullet, but I feel it's easier and more "positive" to separate the steps...

For whatever reason, I've always had better success making it a two step process. Seat the bullet(s) and then go back and crimp as a seperate operation.

No time for doing it twice; I do what Rob said. On a 30-30 you will not notice the difference.

In my experience crimping will often push the bullet down the case just a tiny bit. So don't seat the bullet to the top of the crimping groove before applying the crimp. I will often play with the seating depth and crimping at the same time and not lock the die in place until getting the depth and crimp I want.

Go with Robs advice;thats how I do it + it works.

One thing for sure. There is definitely a fine line between a good crimp and going too far. Now I have to get out the old bullet puller!

Yes of course, you have to adjust the seating depth and the crimp depth at the same time; otherwise you will buckle your necks.
Oh, looks like you learned that already.
However, do not pull the bullets; just run them into the full length sizer a little to iron out the buckle. Just enough to iron out the brass; it will take almost no effort. Otherwise you will resize your bullets to a 306.

You mean because the crimp will squeeze them down to the crimp width when I pull them unless I straighten the brass out first before I pull them?

If a person is real gently knocking out good primers can they be used again?

No; that is impossible.
I mean run the loaded rounds into your FL die, just enough to make the buckled neck go back straight so they will chamber in your rifle. . Then shoot them.
Of course, you will want to remove your recapping rod first.
That is what I would do, and have done.
But if you want to start over, yes, you can use the primers again, but why not just remove your decapping pin first? Unless you are using Lee dies, in which case, re-use the primers.

quote:

Originally posted by lee440:
The easiest way is to spend $12 on a Lee factory crimp die. It is a collet style, not too critical about length, and won't collapse a shoulder if you missed one when trimming. Great invention!

100%

I noticed what seems to me to be a strange thing about the 30-30s that I have. I never knew this before. Even with factory ammo, the cartridge will not slide all the way into the chamber. It will stick out about 3/8ths of an inch and takes a bit of pressure to push all the way in. On all of my bolt action rifles the cartridge will drop right in all the way, whether it is my reload or a factory round.

I have eight Model 94 30-30s and none of them do that. If factory ammo does not fall right in, there is an issue with your chamber.

It appears that the issue is not with the chamber. Rather, it is that the lifter, or whatever that part is called that lifts the cartridge and guides it into the chamber, is sitting high so it stops the cartridge from easily going into the chamber completely. I have had this particular rifle for a long
time and never noticed that before.

And no, I am not going to grind it down.

your description is vague, but I suspect your bullet needs to seat deeper or you need to full length resize some more and many lever guns have sloppy chambers mostly in front of the base..If it feeds factory then that's the oal one should use on a lever action as well as the base diameter..

Hope this helps. Sometimes its hard to solve a problem without gun in hand. A round that's too long interferes with the lift of the round. A round that won't chamber has not been full length resized, could be the die or your not allowing for the "bump" required to fully resize a case in most instances.

Another problem is not trimming your brass every reload with a lever gun, and I suggest using a file trim die as its more accurate.

Rapid Bob and 440 gave you the answers, both work just fine.

His chambering problem is not ammo related; as he stated, his cartridge carrier (lifter) is sitting too high. If he has a Model 94, there are at least 4 different versions of this for 30-30s, from pre 64 milled, to post 64 stamped, cast, and milled. Anyway, the fix is easy, either replace it, weld up and re-fit the carrier stop on the underside of it, or grind off the nose (easiest fix) But the OP said he does not want to do that. Or it could be bent; the stamped ones are not made very well. But that is all assuming he has a M94; if he has a Marlin, then that is easy to fix too. Actually easier.
Those carriers are pretty reliable.