reloaded ammo question

[Juststartingout]

Hi there, I just recently got to fire my Ruger Blackhawk .30 Carbine that I got from my dad. He had 50 rounds of reloads that are, 13 grains-2400 powder and 108 grain bullet. That's what he wrote on the label. Now, mind you, these are 25 years old and always kept in a cool dry place. Out of the 50 rounds only one was bad. It did fire but the bullet only came half way out of the cylinder and that round got jammed in the barrel. Just wondering what happened. Bad primer or powder? Or maybe the casing was crimped to tight? I am wanting to start reloading my self and I dont want this to happen again. Any info would be appreciated!

[cycloneman]

Any number of things. Not sure if anyone will be able to pin point the exact reason.

Undercharge, no charge who knows.

Overcrimp no way. Bad primer - na. Bad powder - na. I am going with undercharge or no charge at all. More than likely no charge at all.

[Alpo]

Sounds like contaminated powder. Either that or none in the case. That does happen, now and again, usually when you get too complacent - "I've been doing this forever, and I know what I'm doing". I've been loading for 30-something years, and I've done it. Twice.

If there was good powder in there, and the primer fired at all, it would have burned the powder and it would have gone. So you either had bad powder or no powder.

"Case crimped too tight" could not have caused that problem.

[Juststartingout]

Thanx guys. I will be trying to reload all my calibers as this is my new hobby and I frking love shooting.

[3/2 STA SS]

I have Lake City Match Ammo from the 1960's that have been stored in ammo cans for years and still fires like the day it was made...It is all how you store it and initially load it. Good luck in the new hobbie and $$ saving venture of reloading!!

[soundguy]

I agree.. I've fired plenty of milsup 8mm in turk rifles from the turn of the century..

my guess on that 30carbine was no charge.. primer was enough to pop the projectile into the rifleing..

soundguy

[ryan42]

I have had this happen once.I reloaded 50 rounds and one got stuck in the barrel no powder.Now when I reload before I seat the bullets I take a flashlight and inspect every round to make sure the all have powder before I start the bullet seating step.Since then have had no problems.Ive learned you cant have distractions,phone,people talking to you.I have total concentration when im reloading.It all comes down to safety first.

[BullShoot]

Yes! I ALWAYS use the flashlight before I start seating bullets. I got started doing that because a buddy didn't - he ringed the barrel and was darn lucky he didn't blow the end of the barrel.

I have found - on inspection with my flashlight - cases with no powder and double-charged cases. Not very often, rarely in fact, but believe me, if you load enough rounds over a long enough period of time SOMETHING is likely to happen.

[ozo]

I would say that round had no powder.....by mistake.

[ozo]

Please, please, please.....
research reloading the .30 carbine for a revolver......
it is tricky at best.....because it is rimless and headspaces !!!
If you don't know what that means......find out before
you load and fire any rounds......for your safety !!!!!

[Alpo]

ozo, all ammo headspaces.

[ozo]

Originally Posted by Alpo

ozo, all ammo headspaces.

".......
.because it is rimless and headspaces !!!"

[ozo]

"Since the .30 Carbine headspaces on the case mouth, case length is critical to proper ignition. Ignition problems can be avoided by trimming all cases to a maximum length of 1.285 inches and using a taper-crimp die. In other words, treat the .30 Carbine the same as you would a 9mm or .45 ACP—with the light recoil, you won’t get bullet pull in the other chambers. Plus you need to use Small Rifle primers (as specified in all load manuals) to prevent pierced primers or cylinder lockup due to primer flow or case setback."
"I also recommend carbide dies to eliminate the need for case lube, which if not totally removed will likewise allow cases to set back and retard rotation of the cylinder."-----
Dick Metcalf-Technical Editor-Shooting Times
http://hunting.about.com/od/guns/l/aastruger30bh.htm

[ozo]

"Since the .30 Carbine is a rimless cartridge, it must headspace on the front of the case mouth in the Ruger's cylinder. This means no crimp on the bullet which can be a problem in a revolver. In this case, recoil is not enough to cause the bullets in the remaining cases to move forward. But, a good crimp is usually necessary to get the powder burning properly. The answer to the later problem is a taper crimp die which puts a long firm pull on the bullet in the loaded brass. It is also necessary for the best accuracy."--J. Taffin

[Alpo]

It headspaces on the mouth. Some cartridges headspace on the rim, some on the neck, some on the belt, and some on the mouth. But they all headspace.

Your statement, "Because it's rimless and headspaces", therefore, made no sense. What you said in the other two posts - "it's rimless and headspaces on the mouth" - is correct.

[Juststartingout]

After reading all of this I need to know if you can shoot the .30 carbine in both the m1 carbine and the ruger blackhawk revolver? Can I use the same reloads I make in both guns with out any promblems?

[woolleyworm]

Originally Posted by Juststartingout

After reading all of this I need to know if you can shoot the .30 carbine in both the m1 carbine and the ruger blackhawk revolver? Can I use the same reloads I make in both guns with out any promblems?

You should be fine to shoot them in either gun. Once you get the measurements for your chamber and cylinder, you can compare and see if there is any difference in the headspacing dimensions between the two.

You will most likely find that there will be a huge difference in what loads the carbine likes and what the BH will like. That's what makes handloading so interesting and fun.

[JLA]

Since youre loading for a revolver and a gas operated autoloader develop the load in the M1 carbine, it will need to function the mechanism.. The revolver will shoot anything indiscriminantly so itll be happy eating whatever the M1 likes to eat.. Consider it the fat kid at the party, as long as there cake, he aint complainin.

[Juststartingout]

That was funny JLA! I am new at reloading but have everything to it. Passed down by my dad. I have yet to fire my M1 carbine but have shot the RBH a few times. How many yards is the M1 good for?

[Alpo]

In what way "good for"?

Since the Army considered it a replacement for the 45, they were quite happy if you could put a 15-round magazine into an eight-inch circle at 100 yards.

I remember, in the American Rifleman, many years ago, some woman that used one for high-power rifle competition. But she found that, because of the bullet design (short and stubby, like a pistol bullet, instead of long and pointed like a rifle bullet) that accuracy fell off drastically after about 125 yards, and she switched to an AR, and is probably still happily winning matches.

My daughter, at 15, used one for deer hunting, but I limited her shots to 75 yards or less. I did not trust it to cleanly kill a deer at longer range.

At 500 yards I would NOT stand down-range and let you shoot at me with one.

[Juststartingout]

Thanx ALPO! I was just wondering what the limit was with iron sights for the M1.

[Sherrer1*]

A little advice to you that was told to me by my father when I started reloading. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR RELOADING MANUAL. What I mean is dont exceed your maximum load charges without fully understanding what the consequences could be. I have seen to many people become bull headed and try to exceed their maximum charge loads trying to improve thir own NEW cartridge and get hurt. One guy blew his rifle up twice and new it was going to happen so he used a string to pull the trigger. how F***ing stupid. All I am trying to say is read and investigate ask lots of questions before doing something if you dont know. Thats what everyone on the forum is for; answering questions. I enjoy reloading and it saves me money but when I started I asked hundreds of questions and still do. I also no a young guy in Mobile Alabama that lost two fingers from double charging a 44 special. I dont like hearing about people getting hurt from reloads. pay attention to everything and then recheck it.

- Follow the data to the letter; do not substitute components at first.
- Start low and work up, don’t ever start with the max charge listed or exceed the max charge.
- Some data sources only shows the maximum charge, in this case reduce by 10-15% and work up from there.

[Juststartingout]

Thanx Sherrer1. I do plan on following the manual untill I get used to reloading and trying to find out what my guns like.

[JLA]

I had an inland GM and Alpo is spot on with the accurate range of the rifle. I could keep it inside 4 MOA out to 150 but after that even just another 50 yards at 200 yds, bullets started scattering. The low BC of the projectile is to blame. And the rifle with a mere 17 inch barrel is only good for about 1900 fps with a 110 gr bullet. I handloaded 90 gr XTPs for my wife to hunt with and they were more than deer gun accurate at 100 yds, but because of the large aperture I too limited her max range at 75 yds and set her blind and feeder up accordingly. The .30 carb is enough to cleanly kill a deer at woods gun distances so long as youre shooting a good hunting bullet. 110 gr ball aint gonna do it cleanly unless you get a headshot or a direct heart shot.

[soundguy]

i've been loading up a bunch of ladder test ammo for range this week. gonna take a few of my bolt and one SA 30-06 out and load up for them and see what they like.. fun..