30-40 brass getting scarce

[andiarisaka]

Here's a pic showing 30/40 made from PRVI brand .303 brass. From left to right, unfired 30/40, .303 sized in full length die, .303 sized simply by closing the bolt on it, and .303 unsized. Sizing it by closing the bolt is easy as the neck/shoulder is annealed on the PRVI brass. Of course the neck is still a bit large for .308 bullets, but I use .310 bullets, so it isn't a problem for me. At $20/100 less than what Grafs last charged for 30/40, it'll work for me!

[Griff Murphey]

.30-40 is such an esoteric caliber, if you just watch the flyers from Midway, etc., it will eventually come up on sale. If you neck size, it never wears out. I'm still shooting some Winchester brass that came as ".30 Army Full Patch" loaded rounds, probably from the teens or 20's, fired away when I bought my first Krag in the mid 60's. That brass could theoretically have even had some mercuric primer damage but it's still puttering along just fine. I note that when you go into stores these days you see plenty of .38-40 on the shelves and you can't find .380 auto.

[218bee]

As of last week, they had Remington 30-40 virgin unprimed brass for $23.00 per bag of 50...I bought a bag & a 3-die set of Lee Krag dies (also $23.00)..

Now, to find some 6.5 Jap......

218bee

[andiarisaka]

218, you have some jap. It can be made from 30/40 or 303 British. Done it lots of times. It's tedious work though. You have to turn the rim and run it through several common dies, .308 win with the expander removed, 7/08, then your 6.5 jap die. Then trim to length. Lt easier to buy the right stuff. Avoid Norma, the rim is too thin.