Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles can you neck size lever action brass?

Want to know if you can neck size lever action 30.30 ammo? and any other do's or don'ts of lever action reloading. Just got my first lever action and all I can find are the basics of reloading them.

You probably could but may I ask what you want to accomplish??

ease of reloading. to be honest the full length sizeing is a pain.

You can, but you'll likely find after one or two neck sizings that the cases are hard to chamber.

FL sizing shouldn't be that big of a pain, and to me it's benefits usually outweigh it's downsides.

You may run into chambering issues, and if they do, extraction could be a problem. Then again, you might not. You don't have the camming leverage with the lever (and other types) that you have with a bolt, and consequently could have an issue with either feeding or extraction.

I generally try to get .0015" of shoulder setback when I load for my levers.

Way back when I used to load 30-30 with a Lee Classic kit. Never had any issues. It was always brass from the same rifle.

That was my experience too. At .30-30 pressures neck-sizing generally works even in lever-actions, unless the rifle is old and worn enough to have a little extra headspace. And some do.

Looks like the OP needs a collet die.

thanks for the info. I will try some neck sized stuff and see how it chambers and extracs. The gun its self is in very good condition and doesn't look like it has much use. Thanks again.

Call me crazy but when you mess around trying to neck size with low pressure cartridges you get inconsistant brass growth. Sooner or later you get casings in which some are a bit hard to chamber....some chamber with a little tension.. and some with no tension. In guns I've played with these situations give me horizontal stringing. Now combine that with the "feedback" you get with a lever action when chambering compared to a bolt action. With the bolt you get fairly "positive" feeling when closing the bolt...with the lever alot of stuff is happening as you move the casing through the cycling.
Can't quite figure how fl sizing is a "pain" compared to all this. Oh yah....gotta wipe the lube off a casing that is consistantly sized and will give great accuracy. Maybe I "over think" things to my detriment.

I've been neck sizing the Winchester brass for my old Marlin .30-30 (1955 SC) and they are now on their 6th firing since I bought the rifle two yeas ago. Brass is resized with a Lee collet die. No problems at all chambering.

My load is 34.0 RL-15 with the Remington 150 RNCL bulk bullets and WLR primers. Ran through my only brick of those so have substituted Federal 210's with no other changes. Have taken the load to 36 grains but 34 works good and is nicely accurate.

Lately I've been using the Lyman 311041 and 21.0 IMR4198 for a nice plinking load. I have another 300 new cases on the shelf but at this rate this first batch of 200 is going to last me a decade or more.

Ditto to Jim in Idaho, I've been using a Lee Collet neck die on my .35/336 for years. Rarely feel any need to FL size, my cartridges just don't get tight.

Deer season is just about here in Missouri. I got to the range Wed. and found a really good load with 32.7grs of Varget. Didn't want to mess with neck sizeing this close to deer season. The bullets I am using are some of the first barnes all copper flat points that I picked up quit a few years ago. These don't have the driveing bands cut into them like the new ones. Shot 1.25" groups at a 100m. That will do me fine for the time being. I'll try the neck sizing and see if it helps or hurts when I get the time.

I've loaded those barnes for years for my buddies marlin. The first ones had a really big hollow point and the next generation had a smaller one with thicker side walls on the hp. All have shot really well with a number of powders. I think our best load was 4895. WE dug several bullets out of the sand at 100 yds and they had "as advertised mushrooms"...and almost full wt retention after hitting the sand.
He's probably taken 7-8 deer with the bullets over the years and has never recovered one. I wouldn't be afraid to chase one of those suckers at an elk at close range.

Perhaps this post (mine) only serves to illustrate variability:

I have neck-sized, using a Lee collet die, .30-30 brass fired from factory ammunition through my Marlin lever gun, and the re-sized and re-loaded cartridges won't chamber. Well, a few will if you push REALLY hard on the lever, but even then one kinda gets nervous as to whether the action is locked up or not.

Consequently, I've learned that I have no choice in my lever gun; I _must_ FL size every time.

Try it an see how your gun handles them...I have used X dies as of late and I really like them. I really like the small base x dies for the 99 Savages.

I used a Lee Loader until just recently to only neck size the .30-30 brass. I never had problems with chambering.

I'm going to get an RCBS X-sizer in the near future for grins to see how that goes. I've heard good things about it, and reducing neck lengthening. Neck length WILL change a lot when FLS the .30-30 b/c it has a long neck comparatively. I've polished the stem in my die, and while better, still results in lengthening.

Go w/ neck-sizing if you can.

Me too. I started reloading .30-30s with a Lee Loader and never had any problems with neck sizing only. The problem I had with the Lee Loader system and .30-30 was getting a decent (forget about consistent) crimp.

Good shooting!

I had chambering problems after 4 or 5 loadings for a savage 99 in 243.But that was when I was 14 and just getting started reloading. No mentor just a book.
It is a wonder I did not hurt myself.
Allan