Fireforming 7-30 waters

[wickll]

I am needing to fireform some 30-30 brass to 7-30 waters. I am still trying to develop some loads using W748. I have seen a recommendation to use a 75% load to fireform. Since I do not yet have a load, is 75% of the max load a reasonable place to start??

So for example, my TC contender manual (vol. 1) shows a 36.8 grain starting load and a 40.3 max load for a 100 gr. HP using W758. So is 30.2 gr. OK, or do I need to at least go to the starting load? This is for a contender in a 14" barrel.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Vaquero]

Tagged

 

[contender buff]

The trick is to get the shoulder right the first time. When I fire form for my 309 jdj I use a 10% starting load reduction. The shoulders come out perfectly.

 

[Lonesome Dove]

I use middle ground loads with a fast burning powder when available. Or just starting loads with the powder I'm going to load with. Remember you can use these loads for hunting and or target shooting. They are usually very accurate especially Ackley loads.

 

[GeorgeS]

I used 5gr. Bullseye under a full case of cornmeal topped with a small piece of tissue paper in my T/C. It worked every time.

 

[Geezer]

I fire formed 30 Herrett with a 20% decrease in powder.

 

[dee]

I use upper end loads when forming ackley cases and it works great.

 

[wickll]

Thanks for all of the replies. So it seems like there is a lot of different ways. But with the high price of powder these days (and I have a pretty good supply of the 30-30 brass) I might experiment a little.

I used 5gr. Bullseye under a full case of cornmeal topped with a small piece of tissue paper in my T/C. It worked every time.

Do you use Bullseye for your main load as well? Is this for 7-30? I have heard of using cornmeal and even grits. Do you clean your barrel afterwards and notice any residue?

 

[GeorgeS]

1. No
2. I sprayed it with Gun Scrubber.
3. Not after the Gun Scrubber.

 

[hornetguy]

I fireformed my .22 K-Hornet brass with full .22 Hornet loads. The accuracy was equal to the before and after accuracy....

When I blew out some 30-30 cases for my .375, I just used some Bullseye, with kleenex stuffed down in the case for filler and "resistance".
I found that the brass flowed more on the lower edge of the case mouth when holding the rifle horizontally. After that, I would point it straight up in the air to fire it, and the case mouths came out very even....

 

[Lonesome Dove]

My last batch of 7-30 Waters was 31.8 gr of ww748 under a 140 gr Sierra and my most accurate easy shooting load is the same and this year will hunt Pigs and deer with both before and after cartridges.
I have some 120s loaded I will try as well.

 

[wickll]

My last batch of 7-30 Waters was 31.8 gr of ww748 under a 140 gr Sierra and my most accurate easy shooting load is the same and this year will hunt Pigs and deer with both before and after cartridges.
I have some 120s loaded I will try as well.

Thanks for the info. I have not been getting the accuracy I would like when I shot some 150 grain Barnes. But I think this may be due to the extreme length of the Barnes (all copper). I just loaded some 100gr HP to fireform and will probably eventually load some120 gr. SP. I also have some 139 gr. interlocks and some 145 gr. Speer Grand Slam.

Since it was hard to find 7mm for a while, I kind of overbought when I found some. So now I need to pick one and stick with it. (but the 139gr Interlocks were not too bad).

 

[wakosama]

not 7-30 but interesting bullet comparison...

Bullet Expansion Test: T-C 10" 7mm TCU

 

[Lonesome Dove]

Thanks for the info. I have not been getting the accuracy I would like when I shot some 150 grain Barnes. But I think this may be due to the extreme length of the Barnes (all copper). I just loaded some 100gr HP to fireform and will probably eventually load some120 gr. SP. I also have some 139 gr. interlocks and some 145 gr. Speer Grand Slam.

Since it was hard to find 7mm for a while, I kind of overbought when I found some. So now I need to pick one and stick with it. (but the 139gr Interlocks were not too bad).

I don't see any advantage to use a solid copper bullet at the velocities of a Contender. IMO, I could be wrong

 

[wakosama]

Fireforming in breakaction firearms.

Fire forming brass in a Handi Ri

 

[wickll]

I don't see any advantage to use a solid copper bullet at the velocities of a Contender. IMO, I could be wrong

I believe that is true for most calibers for the contender. I have had good luck with all copper bullets in my 300 blackout with Makers for subsonic velocities. But of course this is subsonic.

 

[wickll]

Fireforming in breakaction firearms.

Fire forming brass in a Handi Ri

This is really interesting. I have had some headspacing issues when fireforming these 7-30 cases from 30-30. I may eventually try the cream of wheat. But as several have said, just load them up and use them for plinking or even hunting. They will fireform on the first "use.". But from the above article, it does look like lubing the cases is important. Thanks for the link.

 

[wickll]

Fireforming in breakaction firearms.

Fire forming brass in a Handi Ri

So today I fireformed some of the 30-30 brass to 7-30 . I used 37.5 gr. of W748 pushing 100gr. HPs. I got decent accuracy . I lubed the cases prior to firing as suggested in the article above. Not a single misfire. So I will probably load up some 120 gr. next. But I am to start getting ready for bow season since I have been seeing a few pics of a nice buck. Largest I have ever seen on the property.

 

[scattergun6]

I briefly handloaded 7-30 Waters for a Contender before I traded it off - 120 grain V-Max over 28.5 grains of Benchmark provided some decent accuracy as I recall.