.30 Luger/.30 Mauser

[cneider]

Hi Guys! Just back from Crossroads of the West with a set of Lee .30 Luger reloading dies. Question: I notice the Expander die is stamped "30 MAUSER J6" Did I get hosed, or is this the proper expander die for .30 Luger as well? (I know, I should have opened it up and checked before buying it!) The sizing die is marked "30 LUGER A6" and the seating die is marked "30 LGR/MSR C6" so maybe they meant for the same expander die to be used on both calibers. I ran a sized case in it and it seemed to expand it to .312" OK (I checked it with a ball gage and digital calipers.) So maybe I'm OK. If it's not the same plug, would it be a simple matter of buying the correct expander plug from Lee?

Also, is Lee shell holder 19 correct for this cartridge?

Do you have any recommendations for bullets and loads to load for my 1920's Alphabet Series Commercial P08? I notice .309" 93 grain bullets are hard to find. Will .308"Φ work? Will the seating die crimp down on it or do I need a separate Lee factory crimp die?

[rhuff]

You didn't get hosed, as that is how Lee sells them. The 30 Luger and the 30 Mauser both take the .308-.309 bullet . Check out the interior of your Lee sizing die for mirror smoothness. I purchased a set of lee 30 Luger dies, and the sizing die was totally unusable due to poor finish(it looked like it had been finished with a rat tailed file).

On the 30 luger round, neck tension is critical to avoid bullet set back when the bullet goes up the feed ramp. You want .003-.005 in. of fit interface between you case neck ID and your bullet OD. Use a minimal crimp if you are using a taper crimp(which is what your Lee dies does) The LFCD applies a collet crimp, which is what I am currently using. I plan to put cannalures on a batch of FMJ bullets, and see if that helps protect against setback when loading .308 bullets.

I have loaded .308 in dia bullets with success in 30 Luger brass. Hornady makes a .309 dia. XTP HP bullet, and Natchez Shooting has them in stock currently. I have also had good luck with western Bullets LRN in .310 dia..

Look at the thread just below this one and a search will get you more information.

[cneider]

Originally Posted by rhuff

You didn't get hosed, as that is how Lee sells them. The 30 Luger and the 30 Mauser both take the .308-.309 bullet . Check out the interior of your Lee sizing die for mirror smoothness. I purchased a set of lee 30 Luger dies, and the sizing die was totally unusable due to poor finish(it looked like it had been finished with a rat tailed file).

I have loaded .308 in dia bullets with success in 30 Luger brass. Hornady makes a .309 dia. XTP HP bullet, and Natchez Shooting has them in stock currently. I have also had good luck with western Bullets LRN in .310 dia..

Look at the thread just below this one and a search will get you more information.

Thanks for responding. I checked the sizing die and see what you mean. It's not a mirror finish-there are some machining marks. I've read that about Lee dies before. It didn't seem to affect the one case I ran through it before I tested the expander die. If it DID become a problem, I'm wondering if I could polish it out with a Dremel felt bit and some rouge?

How are those hollow points feeding for you in your Luger? I've always been leery about reloading anything except ball ammunition for my automatics ever since I loaded a batch of 9mm hollow points and flat points for my Walther P38 in 1975. Feeding problems-they kept hanging up on the feed ramp when I fired them, although they seemed to feed just fine when I hand cycled them. I wasn't adventurous enough to take me Dremel to the feed ramp on my commercial P38.

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by rhuff

I plan to put cannalures on a batch of FMJ bullets...

I'm curious as to how you will do that...I've never done it (or even thought about doing it), but it sounds interesting...

I have had disastrous results with Lee dies back in the day; I use only RCBS now...30 Luger shows up on eBay occasionally; it is worth the wait and $$$ to get them...

[K.Wilhelm]

I got a set of Lee .30 Luger dies that seem to work fine; however, I did add a Hornady seater which I really like over the Lee. Actually, bottle neck case rounds feed better in autoloaders than straight-walled case rounds.

The powder I've chosen to use for 30 Luger is HP38. Since I couldn't find 30 Luger bullets in stock, I got some 86 gr. .308 JSP bullets which work fine.

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by rhuff

The LFCD applies a collet crimp, which is what I am currently using.

I'm don't recognize "LFCD"...What/who is it???

I have used a collet crimper in the past; don't recall who made it...On my 357 AMP cartridges, I think (it was decades ago)...I really couldn't get enough pressure using my RockChucker press to get a good collet/case mouth crimp...It was a 3-prong/finger crimping die...You still had to taper crimp it first, IIRC...The collet crimp was an extra operation...

I should probably try it again...I'm sure they've improved it by now...So that even a dummy like me could get a good case mouth crimp...

[cneider]

[QUOTE=postino;237132]I'm don't recognize "LFCD"...What/who is it???

Lee Factory Crimp Die. I have a couple of them for my .30-06 and 8mm Mauser die sets. I also use them in my Dillon press.

[cneider]

[
The powder I've chosen to use for 30 Luger is HP38. Since I couldn't find 30 Luger bullets in stock, I got some 86 gr. .308 JSP bullets which work fine.[/QUOTE]

Good call on the load. Is that a Hornady bullet? Can you give me a bullet number?

[Hugh]

These were safe in my gun, but use at your own risk>

[K.Wilhelm]

cneider- the 86 gr. .308 bullet I mentioned in a previous post is indeed Hornady. On the box I find the number 3100. KW

[rhuff]

Originally Posted by postino

I'm curious as to how you will do that...I've never done it (or even thought about doing it), but it sounds interesting... :

I purchased a cannalure tool from C-H Tool Co. a number of years ago. It is basically a knurling tool for bullets(jacketed and plated, but not lead). I have used it frequently on bullets that I wanted to load for a revolver, and they had no cannalure......so I put one on them. If you look closely at the Fiocchi and Winchester 30 Luger ammo, the bullets have a cannalure and a mild roll crimp. The original 30 Luger rounds also(I am pretty sure) have the same setup. It stops the tendency for setback due to such a short case neck(not a lot of neck tension) on the 30 Luger brass.

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by rhuff

The original 30 Luger rounds also(I am pretty sure) have the same setup. It stops the tendency for setback due to such a short case neck(not a lot of neck tension) on the 30 Luger brass.

30 Luger Fiocchi [93gr] does have the cannelure; PRVI [7.62 Tok] does not [85gr]. Peters 30 Luger [93gr] does; Winchester 30 Luger [93gr] does.

I have two rounds of DWM K K 471 original 7.65 Parabellum; they do not have a cannelure (don't know what grain).

The Tokarev brass I included because the case neck is shorter than the 30 Luger (.125" vs .155"), yet PRVI does not use a cannelured bullet.

Interesting...

I will add the C-H Cannelure tool to my 'want list'. I can't find my old collet crimping tool either. Another addition to the 'want list'.

Edit: Does that CH tool have a part number on it???

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by cneider

Is this the same as .30 Luger brass?

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/296...rev?cm_vc=S014

No.

Midway seems to be all out of 30 Luger brass...They usually have Starline in stock, but not at present...

If you were desperate/ambitious, you could *make* 30 Luger brass out of 7.62 x 25 [Tokarev] brass, run the Tok brass through the 30 Luger sizing die & then trim to length (or trim first & then re-size)...

[Hugh]

Anyone needing 30 Luger brass:
I have 4 bags of new Winchester brass in sealed 100 count factory bags @ $50/bag shipped.
email me at:
[email protected]

[rhuff]

Originally Posted by postino

Edit: Does that CH tool have a part number on it???

Here you go:

C-H Tool & Die/4-D Custom Die Co.
P.O. Box 889
Mt. Vernon, Oh 43050
740-397-7214 740-397-6600


Tool #12000


They have a website also. Go spend some money, it will make you feel good!!


The automated cannalure tools cost about $600 the last time I looked, but this one is very reasonably priced. It fit my budget much better.

[rhuff]

Originally Posted by postino

No.

Midway seems to be all out of 30 Luger brass...They usually have Starline in stock, but not at present...

Starline Mfg. is showing that they have 30 Luger brass in stock for purchase. Go directly to the manufacturer if you wish to purchase some. Buffalo Arms Co. has it in stock also.

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by rhuff

They have a website also. Go spend some money, it will make you feel good!!

C-H Tool & Die/4-D Custom Die Co.
P.O. Box 889
Mt. Vernon, Oh 43050
740-397-7214 740-397-6600

Tool #12000

Here we go...

http://www.ch4d.com/equipment/bullet-tools/CanToo



Cost is $95...And they are - "New orders are currently taking about 2 to 3 weeks to process and ship"...

Their price for the 2-die 30 Luger reloading die set is reasonable as well - $80...

[cneider]

Originally Posted by postino

C-H Tool & Die/4-D Custom Die Co.
P.O. Box 889
Mt. Vernon, Oh 43050
740-397-7214 740-397-6600

Tool #12000

Here we go...

http://www.ch4d.com/equipment/bullet-tools/CanToo



Cost is $95...And they are - "New orders are currently taking about 2 to 3 weeks to process and ship"...

Bookmarked! What a handy little gadget for the reloading bench!

Their price for the 2-die 30 Luger reloading die set is reasonable as well - $80...[/QUOTE]

[cneider]

I like cannelures on my bullets. With straight wall cartridges that headspace on the case mouth (i.e. .380 acp, 9mm, .45acp) one can't get too aggressive on the crimping.

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by cneider

I like cannelures on my bullets. With straight wall cartridges that headspace on the case mouth (i.e. .380 acp, 9mm, .45acp) one can't get too aggressive on the crimping.

... ... You can get very too aggressive on the crimping...So much so that you lose the headspace...