30BR- make it work

[AlNyhus]

I have expanded and turned before. I sent my brass out the last time to have it done. My chamber is a RG, so it had to be turned.
take care Al.
Don

Don, if you want a 'no turn' 30BR reamer for mandrel expanded brass, the chamber neck will need to be larger than the 'lump' that forms at the base of the neck after it's expanded to .30. In most cases, this 'lump' will measure around .337. In other words, if you want .003 final neck clearance and the 'lump' measures .337, the chamber neck would need to be .340-ish. Not hard to see the problems with that set up.

If you blow the necks to .30 by firing them rather than mechanically expanding, this would be a possible way for a no-turn set up. Maybe. And maybe not. In the end, I think it would be much more work than just expanding up and neck turning.

FWIW, a 'delumping die' to deal with the 'lump' after expanding makes neck turning a one pass deal for those that use hand held turning setups.

Just my 2 cents on it. -Al

 

[Websurfer]

Below some trivial rookie questions on 30BR.

How difficult is to make 30BR shoot like 6BR? I heard that prepping the brass is more demanding.

With 6BR I can load and shoot, no neck turning. In case of 30BR is it necessary to neck turn?

The process above looks uber-easy, but is it really? How difficult it is to tune 30BR? Is it like 30gr of Varget in case of 6BR or does it require longer development process?

.332 neck = no-turn neck. If you want to get into neck turning without breaking the bank, the Forster trimmer with the neck turning attachments works great!
How difficult to tune a 30BR? Can’t answer that one. How difficult is it to tune any cartridge? How “difficult” is it to do anything well?

 

[Bill Norris]

.332 neck = no-turn neck. If you want to get into neck turning without breaking the bank, the Forster trimmer with the neck turning attachments works great!
How difficult to tune a 30BR? Can’t answer that one. How difficult is it to tune any cartridge? How “difficult” is it to do anything well?

BUT, even with the .332 no turn neck chamber as Al pointed out above the case neck will still need to be turned down since the "lump" will be @ .337.

 

[Websurfer]

Don’t want to start a battle, but only to relate my experience. My first 30BR barrel had a .332 neck chambered by Kelbly’s, and I was able to use un-turned Lapua and Peterson brass (6mm BR necked up to 30 caliber) in it with zero problems or pressure. Easy.
I did later turn necks a bit (a few thousandths) which did give more consistent velocities (or, perhaps more accurately, cured the problem of big swings in velocities in a few rounds).

 

[AlNyhus]

Lapua 6BR expanded with a .3080 mandrel. The 'lump' area at the bottom of the neck is what used to be the upper shoulder of the case when it was a 6MM. The 'lump' measures .337. -Al

 

[WSnyder]

FWIW, a 'delumping die' to deal with the 'lump' after expanding makes neck turning a one pass deal for those that use hand held turning setups.

A 'delumping' die for 30BR cases

Here's another way to deal with the 'lump' after expanding 6BR cases to .30. A Redding 7BR Body Die has a .311 opening for the neck. So I took one of those: Added an 'o' ring under the lock ring and screwed it into my 'stub' threaded 7/8-14. The 'o' rings allows for a bit of self...

forum.accurateshooter.com

 

[Websurfer]

I did get a custom sizing die with my 30BR. Perhaps that die is set up in a way to better allow the use of non-turned necks?

 

[David Conder]

I use a taper mandrel an I don’t have the lump

 

[Websurfer]

I use a taper mandrel an I don’t have the lump

Me too

 

[TommyD11730]

I have a question about the cutter angle. The 6BR shoulder is 30 degrees. In the case of K & M they don't offer a 30 degree cutter. Should I be using a 33 degree cutter after I have expanded to 30 cal?

Thanks!

 

[searcher]

I've never lost a neck from cutting into the shoulder, I was hoping for @RGRobinett to shed some light on his opinion.
I have turned thousands of necked up 220 Russian Lapua cases, but never trimmed to length first.

There is "cutting into the neck" and "REALLY cutting into the neck too much". They were making a point of going too far. I cut into my necks just a tad as well.

 

[RossL]

Great thread everyone!

First to answer the question why? I wanted one for a variety of reasons and none were for competition. I have found it to be very accurate and besides the fun of shooting this rifle, it is my scope testing platform.

Brass truly does last a long time. Now on 12 firings with Lapua and Rem brass with no failures or loose primer pockets.

I ordered a custom reamer that requires neck turning and supplied a dummy round with a 168 gr berger requiring a longer throat.

Some of the things I have done which a few of you might find interesting:

Discovered that a RCBS FL die can be used without the sizer ball IF the necks are cut just the right thickness. I can determine the neck tension by wall thickness. Sized brass comes out very true.

I read the Secrets of the Houston Warehouse and tried turning the necks to the point where they sprung back to give a tiny bit of neck tension. I then soft seated them. It was great fun and removed the sizing of the necks from the equation. One has to remember use steel wool to remove carbon from the necks and keep the chamber neck area spotlessly clean. AND never remove a loaded round as the bullet will stay in the throat and put powder all over the place. ( When I managed to do that my CO2 cooling system blew out the powder easily.)

When the supply of 168 match bullets is depleted or I get bored I intend to use even heavier bullets. Have a ton of 180-200 gr match bullets to try. ( Sierra's older loading book has data for the 30 BR that includes 200 gr bullets! )

FYI my Rem 700 SA feeds the loaded rounds from the magazine perfectly.

 

[searcher]

Seems most guys don't have a problem getting the .30BR to shoot the way they want. I did, initially, and had to go through an assortment of bullets to find any magic. For me, it was a bit more of a chore than tuning my PPC's, 6BR and Dasher. Could just be barrels or not matching a good bullet. I may be the "odd guy out" getting these things to shoot. Each time one moves to a different caliber, there is a slight learning curve unique to the caliber. All learning experiences.

 

[Ccrider]

Lapua 6BR expanded with a .3080 mandrel. The 'lump' area at the bottom of the neck is what used to be the upper shoulder of the case when it was a 6MM. The 'lump' measures .337. -Al

Do you get this lump if you fireform first?

 

[Ccrider]

Seems most guys don't have a problem getting the .30BR to shoot the way they want. I did, initially, and had to go through an assortment of bullets to find any magic. For me, it was a bit more of a chore than tuning my PPC's, 6BR and Dasher. Could just be barrels or not matching a good bullet. I may be the "odd guy out" getting these things to shoot. Each time one moves to a different caliber, there is a slight learning curve unique to the caliber. All learning experiences.

The only cartridge that I have seen that was easier to tune than the 30br is the 6br, and not by much. Tuning a Dasher to shoot really small has been a task for me. 6ppcs want to shoot and are relatively easy to tune. Keeping them in tune is a different story.

Get a good 30br barrel, good bullets and one of the proven powders, follow @RGRobinett method for tuning and the magic is done. Somewhere between hard into the lands and touching the lands, the gun will generally shoot dots. Does not get much easier.

When I say good barrel, I mean barrel chambered by a proven smith.

 

[searcher]

The only cartridge that I have seen that was easier to tune than the 30br is the 6br, and not by much. Tuning a Dasher to shoot really small has been a task for me. 6ppcs want to shoot and are relatively easy to tune. Keeping them in tune is a different story.

Get a good 30br barrel, good bullets and one of the proven powders, follow @RGRobinett method for tuning and the magic is done. Somewhere between hard into the lands and touching the lands, the gun will generally shoot dots. Does not get much easier.

When I say good barrel, I mean barrel chambered by a proven smith.

Yes - good equipment to start is a must. I went with a Krieger barrel for my Bat action, smithed by a very reputable gunsmith who does target rifles. He did most of my other rifles - which shoot fantastically. Good thing this caliber is easy on barrels. Ha!

 

[jackieschmidt]

This is what mine looks like necked up, (actually blown out), and neck turned you can see I just barely kiss the shoulder.

 

[troupe]

I wished my 6BR brass looked like that.