165 grain over Universal in a 30-06 ?

[Mitty38]

By the way, if you are looking for a cheap mould for your .30-06, the Lee .312/7.62- moulds are good. I have shot the c312-185 quite a lot, and it seems to work quite well in all my .30 cal guns, as long as I keep loads reasonable.

I was considering those, then using a .311 sizer. But I have never played with gas checks, and as I am just now trying to figure out casting, do not want to bite off more than I can chew.

 

[Ian]

That .312-160 with the single lube groove is a good one. That mould, a box of gas checks, and a Lee push-through sizer will set you back about $75 but will make 1,000 bullets before you have to spend any more money. You can tumble lube those or gently with some thinned liquid Alox (should come with the Lee sizing kit) or melt some beeswax and Vaseline together and lube the bullets with your fingers (not as difficult as it sounds) and clean them up in the push-through sizing die.

 

[Ben]

I was considering those, then using a .311 sizer. But I have never played with gas checks, and as I am just now trying to figure out casting, do not want to bite off more than I can chew.

What method are you using to put a slight flare on the case mouth ?

 

[Mitty38]

What method are you using to put a slight flare on the case mouth ?

The redneck method.
Since, I am In learning phase, just starting, actually with this load. With lead bullets in a rifle and the 30-06 both. I have not got a universal expanding die yet.
I am sticking needle nose pliers in the case and turning with a little pressure just till I can get the lead bullets to start to seat without shaving.

 

[Ian]

Same way I did it when I started.

 

[fiver]

swirl,swirl, swirl.... LOL

 

[Ben]

The redneck method.
Since, I am In learning phase, just starting, actually with this load. With lead bullets in a rifle and the 30-06 both. I have not got a universal expanding die yet.
I am sticking needle nose pliers in the case and turning with a little pressure just till I can get the lead bullets to start to seat without shaving.

You'll see your groups tighten up if you can use a quality " M Type " expander die.

 

[Mitty38]

You'll see your groups tighten up if you can use a quality " M Type " expander die.

So, would that take the place of a regular sizing die, like a neck sizer does? Should I still neck size, first?
Or does it only bell or shape the inside, very top of the neck like a powder through ex pander?

 

[fiver]

it's a spud you push down into the case mouth to open and to flair.
it's like the one your 38 special die set has, only for rifles.

 

[Mitty38]

it's a spud you push down into the case mouth to open and to flair.
it's like the one your 38 special die set has, only for rifles.

Oh I see, I noticed the Lyman M's are caliber specific, and the Lee for rifles, is not. I am taking that as the M types would be more concentric and accurate.
I will have to get me one before I get too involved, but for now I will just "swirl" for these 200 plinking bullets.

 

[Ian]

I'm not a fan of the Lyman M-dies. If you get one for your '06, get the "31" caliber, not the "30". If you get a Lee universal flaring die, I could make you an insert for it that will expand and flare the neck properly.

 

[462]

Lyman's "31" M-die ought to work (the one they advertize for the .303 British).
NOE makes M-die style plugs for use with Lee's flair die, and are sized to allow you to select the amount of neck tension and step you want.

 

[462]

Ian composes and edits faster than I do.

 

[RBHarter]

Or you can turn expander pins in a drill press for a universal decapper die , for the next step in tightwad problem solving .

 

[popper]

Have to use a carbide tool to turn down those Lyman spuds. I don't flare with them, just deep enough to expand the neck. Then use the Lee universal to flare - much better control. NOE makes spuds to go into the Lee universal tool They mostly fit short necked cartridges though - 3006 is OK. NOEs are ~5$ and come in 0.001 increments so you can adjust for bullet alloy and neck tension. You can boil the wax off the bullets and then coat with LLA or get some Ludmark floor wax and mix with the LLA that comes with a Lee sizer. Ben has the formula. I hate that blue wax. Oh, the hornady half jacket 100gr work great for cleaning crud from the barrel. Kinda half cup thick GC. 8 gr universal/unique, light leading gone. Jacketed works OK but a big buildup might bulge the barrel as it usually just rides over the leading. Just tip the rifle up then shoot from loaded mag, no need to tip each time - when bench shooting. Powder will be in the same place each time from any recoil. I don't enlarge primer holes for lite loads in 30/30 either - no problem. I'll let Ian & Fiver tell you about neck only sizing and tools.

 

[Mitty38]

I kinda like the Idea of getting the lee universal and having Ian make me an insert. That way I would have a generic die that could work with all calibers and a 30-06 specific expander.
After I Get an O press set up. Have you ever tried to do 30-06 on a lee classic value turret press( that is the one with the tall cast base)? I literally got longer bolts shimmed the risers up with washers, and disabled the auto advance, so I did not have to shoe horn the round in and out of the press. Then the throw on the press limits you, and the rises get in the way. After all that, with my fumble fingers, it is still a pain to load 30-06 with.

 

[Ian]

Loaded lots of '06 on a cast turret, it's a little fiddly getting the bullet seated but other than that not bad.

 

[Mitty38]

Loaded lots of '06 on a cast turret, it's a little fiddly getting the bullet seated but other than that not bad.

Yep, that is my main problem, fumbling with the bullet. It works even without my 3/8 inch higher risers,but an single stage O press would just give me a lot more room for my fat, fumbly, arthritic fingers.
Plus it will work better for sizing and the like. Funds limited right now, but going to have one soon, then one thing at a time for now.

 

[Ian]

When you're ready to upgrade, look for a good used RCBS Rockchucker or other quality press. The Lee Classic Turret with the big ram and primer catch tube is probably the best value in a reloading press there is and will handle anything short of 50 BMG with ease. I been trying to wear out two different LCT presses for a while now and have had no luck whatsoever, one of them I got used on a trade and converted to three-hole. Also I restored the auto-index function with some cheap turret parts and made a new, longer indexing rod a piece of hex rod.

 

[Bret4207]

For stuff other than full length sizing over sized cases, case forming, etc, a plain vanilla "C" style press is fine. Operations like seating, flaring, crimping are easy and a cheapo press can give good service. I've seen older presses on Ebay go under $20 delivered to your door.

FWIW- I have had little luck "shooting out the leading" with jacketed. All I usually end up doing is really polishing the lead into the bore and maybe adding some jacket fouling to the mix. IME the last thing you want to do after getting a barrel clean enough for cast is to add copper to the bore. Just my 2 cents.