Winchester 30-30 cartridge - The Firearms Forum

perry · 01-09-2012, 06:24 PM

What is the minimum safe length of a empty, resized and trimmed 30-30 Win cartridge?
Reason for asking I mistakenly trimmed them to 2.004 when the maximum resized trimmed length is listed as 2.040 in the Hornady manual. Should I just scrap them or are they ok to reuse. I should mention they are factory brass I shot once.

woolleyworm · 01-09-2012, 06:31 PM

A few thousandths I'm not too concerned with, but .036, that's alot. Were they over length after one firing? I personally would toss them, you've lost alot of area in which the bullet seats and I would worry that you may be at a point where bullet set-back from recoil would be a risk.
Do I think that if you were to reload them once that you'd be ok, yes, but is it worth a few dollars worth of brass to find out that, nope, I was wrong? NO.

perry · 01-10-2012, 04:54 AM

Thanks, their out of here. It was just a stupid mistake.

LDBennett · 01-10-2012, 06:13 AM

perry:

Wait a minute!

The difference in the amount of the bullet in the case is just 0.036 inches by your numbers. But the minimum trim length is 2.029 not 2.040 inches. That means you lost 0.025 inches of case. That's a spark plug gap and is really nothing. You have lost little if any bullet retention capacity of the case's throat, in my opinion. We often move the bullet out of a case to get the bullet almost touching the lands of the barrel more than that.

Where you might have trouble is getting the shorter round to feed through the action but I doubt that. All you can do is load up some dummies and see if you do. Load the bullets such that the crimp groove is used and you will not have a problem of collapsing bullets in the loading tube. You might also might want to revert to a starting load. While some guns like lots of jump to the lands and others like to have the bullets almost touching the barrel's lands, you only find out what the rifle really likes through trial and error.

Now if you want to be totally safe then throw the brass away but I can tell you I would not.

LDBennett

Bindernut · 01-10-2012, 08:46 AM

I agree with LD. You can use that brass with no problems. You will have to adjust your crimp die to get a good crimp on the shorter brass but that's not a big deal.

Also as LD stated, the max case length is 2.040" (2.039" in some books), but the trim-to length is 2.030" (or 2.029"). That 0.025" that you're missing isn't going to make enough of a difference with a bottleneck rifle cartridge to matter except for the crimp.
The 30-30 headspaces on the rim (or on the datum line of the shoulder if that's how you set your resizing die) and not on the case mouth.
Now...if this was a straight-walled case, then I'd say you will have to scrap them, but not in a bottleneck case.

I've done the same thing before with .270Win brass. I mistakenly trimmed them to .25-06/.30-06 length (2.484" instead of 2.530", for a difference of 0.046"). I still had enough case neck length to hold the bullet and that lot of brass worked just fine.

reynolds357 · 01-10-2012, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perry

What is the minimum safe length of a empty, resized and trimmed 30-30 Win cartridge?
Reason for asking I mistakenly trimmed them to 2.004 when the maximum resized trimmed length is listed as 2.040 in the Hornady manual. Should I just scrap them or are they ok to reuse. I should mention they are factory brass I shot once.

If it were in something accurate, I would say scrap it. 99% of .30-30 are 3 minute rifles anyway. Having that in mind, I doubt you will ever notice the difference. Now, if you did that to your 6ppc,

perry · 01-10-2012, 04:43 PM

Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated.

The_Rifleman · 01-11-2012, 05:31 AM

I have 10 cases that are about 2.015" long and use them regularly with sub-moa accuracy without issue.

todd51 · 01-11-2012, 06:16 AM

Hey Rifleman, glad to see you posting again. Missed your input.

woolleyworm · 01-11-2012, 03:38 PM

How many are 2.004 and how many cases do you have total? If you do use them, I'd recommend that you mark them clearly so that you don't mix them up and remember to adjust your crimp between the different size cases.

The_Rifleman · 01-11-2012, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by todd51

Hey Rifleman, glad to see you posting again. Missed your input.

Thank you!

01-09-2012, 06:24 PM	#1
perry Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Michigan Posts: 18	Winchester 30-30 cartridge What is the minimum safe length of a empty, resized and trimmed 30-30 Win cartridge? Reason for asking I mistakenly trimmed them to 2.004 when the maximum resized trimmed length is listed as 2.040 in the Hornady manual. Should I just scrap them or are they ok to reuse. I should mention they are factory brass I shot once. -->

01-09-2012, 06:31 PM	#2
woolleyworm TFF Moderator/Host Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: SW Fort Worth Contributor Posts: 4,883	Re: Winchester 30-30 cartridge A few thousandths I'm not too concerned with, but .036, that's alot. Were they over length after one firing? I personally would toss them, you've lost alot of area in which the bullet seats and I would worry that you may be at a point where bullet set-back from recoil would be a risk. Do I think that if you were to reload them once that you'd be ok, yes, but is it worth a few dollars worth of brass to find out that, nope, I was wrong? NO. __________________ . What are you gonna do, talk the alien to death? -- (on Sigourney Weaver's worry about Guns in Aliens) "Safety is something that happens between your ears, not something you hold in your hands." "I carry a small gun to compensate for my huge Blue press." .

01-10-2012, 04:54 AM	#3
perry Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Michigan Posts: 18	Re: Winchester 30-30 cartridge Thanks, their out of here. It was just a stupid mistake.

01-10-2012, 06:13 AM	#4
LDBennett Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hesperia, CA Posts: 5,711	Re: Winchester 30-30 cartridge perry: Wait a minute! The difference in the amount of the bullet in the case is just 0.036 inches by your numbers. But the minimum trim length is 2.029 not 2.040 inches. That means you lost 0.025 inches of case. That's a spark plug gap and is really nothing. You have lost little if any bullet retention capacity of the case's throat, in my opinion. We often move the bullet out of a case to get the bullet almost touching the lands of the barrel more than that. Where you might have trouble is getting the shorter round to feed through the action but I doubt that. All you can do is load up some dummies and see if you do. Load the bullets such that the crimp groove is used and you will not have a problem of collapsing bullets in the loading tube. You might also might want to revert to a starting load. While some guns like lots of jump to the lands and others like to have the bullets almost touching the barrel's lands, you only find out what the rifle really likes through trial and error. Now if you want to be totally safe then throw the brass away but I can tell you I would not. LDBennett

01-10-2012, 08:46 AM	#5
Bindernut Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: ND, USA Posts: 2,443	Re: Winchester 30-30 cartridge I agree with LD. You can use that brass with no problems. You will have to adjust your crimp die to get a good crimp on the shorter brass but that's not a big deal. Also as LD stated, the max case length is 2.040" (2.039" in some books), but the trim-to length is 2.030" (or 2.029"). That 0.025" that you're missing isn't going to make enough of a difference with a bottleneck rifle cartridge to matter except for the crimp. The 30-30 headspaces on the rim (or on the datum line of the shoulder if that's how you set your resizing die) and not on the case mouth. Now...if this was a straight-walled case, then I'd say you will have to scrap them, but not in a bottleneck case. I've done the same thing before with .270Win brass. I mistakenly trimmed them to .25-06/.30-06 length (2.484" instead of 2.530", for a difference of 0.046"). I still had enough case neck length to hold the bullet and that lot of brass worked just fine. Last edited by Bindernut; 01-10-2012 at 08:52 AM..

01-10-2012, 04:43 PM	#7
perry Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Michigan Posts: 18	Re: Winchester 30-30 cartridge Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated.

01-11-2012, 05:31 AM	#8
The_Rifleman Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 872	Re: Winchester 30-30 cartridge I have 10 cases that are about 2.015" long and use them regularly with sub-moa accuracy without issue. __________________ Debate isn't "uncivil" behavior. Pointing out illogical reasoning is a legitimate counter argument. That is the problem with internet forum mods, they rarely understand what constitutes legitimate, honest and civil debate. They reward the trolls and annoy the people genuinely trying communicate. I don't really like this place anyway, have fun with your power trip. ...nuff said.

01-11-2012, 06:16 AM	#9
todd51 Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Central, Ohio Contributor Posts: 2,572	Re: Winchester 30-30 cartridge Hey Rifleman, glad to see you posting again. Missed your input. __________________ Retired Praefectus Vigilum NRA Endowment Member

01-11-2012, 03:38 PM	#10
woolleyworm TFF Moderator/Host Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: SW Fort Worth Contributor Posts: 4,883	Re: Winchester 30-30 cartridge How many are 2.004 and how many cases do you have total? If you do use them, I'd recommend that you mark them clearly so that you don't mix them up and remember to adjust your crimp between the different size cases. __________________ . What are you gonna do, talk the alien to death? -- (on Sigourney Weaver's worry about Guns in Aliens) "Safety is something that happens between your ears, not something you hold in your hands." "I carry a small gun to compensate for my huge Blue press." .