Post by GLSHOOTER on Dec 23, 2014 17:05:23 GMT -8
To load this round you will need 30 Herrett dies and a 6.8 SPC shell holder. They are currently in production but can frequently be obtained used from gun shops or gun shows. Gun broker has also been found to be a good source.
The Hornady die set is available curently at several vendors. With the floating seater it loads very good ammuntion. The tapered expander button is well designed and will result in viortulayy no bad case necks. I have expanded several piecs of 6X6.8 cases that had been fired over ten times. These were NOT annealed yet they expanded easily with no splits. Be sure and lube the inside case necks!!
Case forming is easy with these dies. DO NOT SCREW THE DIE DOWN TO THE SHELL HOLDER!! This will result in a shoulder movement far in excess of this chamber.
QUICK CASE MAKING:
Set you die high enough to only expand the mouth to 30 caliber. TRIM TO LENGTH. Load and shoot. Once you have your fired cases set your shoulder bump. NO NEED TO BUMP THE SHOULDERS BEFORE SHOOTING THE FIRST TIME.
Once the case is formed it should be trimmed to the standard lenght of 1.615. We have established a MAX case lenght at 1.620. We highly recommend the use of the Hornady Head Space tool using the 0.350 insert to set shoulder bump. It is not necessary but it greatly aids in establishing consistent movement. Your barrel chamber is a a handy tool but this allows you to set your system up consistently if your dies are moved or brass characteristics change. Be sure to chamfer your trimmed cases.
The American 30 is longer than the Herrett and is trimmed longer also. This yields a greater case capacity and in turn a cartidge with superior performace. Loading bullets of usable weight up to magazine lenght of up to currently a nominal 2.300, though longer magzines are available, the round has proven to perform well on deer size game. ASC magazines in 6.8 or 6.5 Grendel configuration have shown to be 100% reliable with no feed lip modifiactions at a very reasonable cost. PRI's have also been used with equal success. We have loaded several differnt brands of bullets in the 150 grain range with no intrusion on the ogive/shank curvature of the bullet
The American 30 is a wildcat. The chamber was designed to allow the handloader the ability to reach the lands with many bullets at magazine lenght. This means you cannot merely load to magazine lenght with what ever projectile you choose. Case in point the 110 Sierra Hollow Point can be loaded to touch the lands in my PERSONAL rifle at 2.181 to allow touching of the lands. Obviously a round loaded to 2.260 would be far into the lands with a resultant increase in pressure. We have found that many bullets of 130 or less present with this trait. This will be determined by the shape of the bullet as some present a very long pointed nose vs a short round area of full diameter closer to the tip resulting in a cartridge that must be loaded shorter. Think of a javelin vs a bowling ball. Same weight but differnt shapes. A bullet illsutration would be the long pointy VLD target type vs the short squat FMJ/RN versions. This is illustrated in current loading of the 30-30 curently with their round nose bulets vs the 30-06 with a spitzer bullet of the same weight.
The A-30 shoots very well loaded short with minimal jump. The use of a guage to determine the distance to the lands is suggested though it can be done old school using a cut necked case and judicious working of the BCG. For the task the use of a distance to lands tool available from SINCLAIR INTERNATIONAL has been used exclusively during load development. Not only does it give you a quick accurate measurement but it will allow you to check throat erosion very easily. I have also used the Hornady system but found the Sinclar to be quicker and more relaibly repeatable.
Cases can be any 6.8 SPC offerings on the market. We have shot both large and small primered cases and seen only minimal varaitions in velocites and pressures. We recoomend the use of Benchrest primers like the Remington 7 1/2, the CCI 450 or an equivalent.
Bullets, as mentiioned earlier, of up to 150 have been shot at magazine lenght. Other heavier prjectiles may well be used but be aware of the ogive placemnt and the fact that the case capacity will be effected when loading longer bullets. This would be a major consideration if sub-sonic loadings are anticipated.
Powders choices in the burn rate area slower than 296/H110 up to Leverution have been loaded with good results. If you delve down into the pistol powder speed areas as in 296 and Lil'Gun be aware that these are very volatile at higher loading levels and my well cause unwanted presure spikes. Caution is the watch word on these.
Case capacity is greater than the 7.62X39 and we have found that using that loading data gave us a good foundation of starting points. Powders suitable for that cartidge have performed well. Light bulets of 110-125 have respnded well to loadings of AA 2200, RL7and RL10. Excellent results with Benchmark, IMR 4895, H4895 and AA 2230 have produced well on the heavier bullets. Case capacity will limit some powder choices and you will run out of space way before you run out of pressure and velocity. Be aware of your pressure signs and teamed with a chronograph you will be well served.Do not get complacent though and assume that just becuse you have room in the case that you can just add to the case mouth and expect either good performance or safe presures. This cartidge is not designed to shoot the 1000 yard line and in the game fields your ethics will come into play based on bullet construction, velocity at impact and the specific target being addressed.
Loading is straight forward like any other bottle necked case. Our data has been developed with little or no crimp. Many loads may be compressed but a tight/small neck sizing will usually handle this. If a crimp is desired a very aggressive squeeze will not normally be needed.
I hope this clarifies any areas of concern and if you have any questions feel free to add them to the thread or PM the BHW staff.
Greg
The Hornady die set is available curently at several vendors. With the floating seater it loads very good ammuntion. The tapered expander button is well designed and will result in viortulayy no bad case necks. I have expanded several piecs of 6X6.8 cases that had been fired over ten times. These were NOT annealed yet they expanded easily with no splits. Be sure and lube the inside case necks!!
Case forming is easy with these dies. DO NOT SCREW THE DIE DOWN TO THE SHELL HOLDER!! This will result in a shoulder movement far in excess of this chamber.
QUICK CASE MAKING:
Set you die high enough to only expand the mouth to 30 caliber. TRIM TO LENGTH. Load and shoot. Once you have your fired cases set your shoulder bump. NO NEED TO BUMP THE SHOULDERS BEFORE SHOOTING THE FIRST TIME.
Once the case is formed it should be trimmed to the standard lenght of 1.615. We have established a MAX case lenght at 1.620. We highly recommend the use of the Hornady Head Space tool using the 0.350 insert to set shoulder bump. It is not necessary but it greatly aids in establishing consistent movement. Your barrel chamber is a a handy tool but this allows you to set your system up consistently if your dies are moved or brass characteristics change. Be sure to chamfer your trimmed cases.
The American 30 is longer than the Herrett and is trimmed longer also. This yields a greater case capacity and in turn a cartidge with superior performace. Loading bullets of usable weight up to magazine lenght of up to currently a nominal 2.300, though longer magzines are available, the round has proven to perform well on deer size game. ASC magazines in 6.8 or 6.5 Grendel configuration have shown to be 100% reliable with no feed lip modifiactions at a very reasonable cost. PRI's have also been used with equal success. We have loaded several differnt brands of bullets in the 150 grain range with no intrusion on the ogive/shank curvature of the bullet
The American 30 is a wildcat. The chamber was designed to allow the handloader the ability to reach the lands with many bullets at magazine lenght. This means you cannot merely load to magazine lenght with what ever projectile you choose. Case in point the 110 Sierra Hollow Point can be loaded to touch the lands in my PERSONAL rifle at 2.181 to allow touching of the lands. Obviously a round loaded to 2.260 would be far into the lands with a resultant increase in pressure. We have found that many bullets of 130 or less present with this trait. This will be determined by the shape of the bullet as some present a very long pointed nose vs a short round area of full diameter closer to the tip resulting in a cartridge that must be loaded shorter. Think of a javelin vs a bowling ball. Same weight but differnt shapes. A bullet illsutration would be the long pointy VLD target type vs the short squat FMJ/RN versions. This is illustrated in current loading of the 30-30 curently with their round nose bulets vs the 30-06 with a spitzer bullet of the same weight.
The A-30 shoots very well loaded short with minimal jump. The use of a guage to determine the distance to the lands is suggested though it can be done old school using a cut necked case and judicious working of the BCG. For the task the use of a distance to lands tool available from SINCLAIR INTERNATIONAL has been used exclusively during load development. Not only does it give you a quick accurate measurement but it will allow you to check throat erosion very easily. I have also used the Hornady system but found the Sinclar to be quicker and more relaibly repeatable.
Cases can be any 6.8 SPC offerings on the market. We have shot both large and small primered cases and seen only minimal varaitions in velocites and pressures. We recoomend the use of Benchrest primers like the Remington 7 1/2, the CCI 450 or an equivalent.
Bullets, as mentiioned earlier, of up to 150 have been shot at magazine lenght. Other heavier prjectiles may well be used but be aware of the ogive placemnt and the fact that the case capacity will be effected when loading longer bullets. This would be a major consideration if sub-sonic loadings are anticipated.
Powders choices in the burn rate area slower than 296/H110 up to Leverution have been loaded with good results. If you delve down into the pistol powder speed areas as in 296 and Lil'Gun be aware that these are very volatile at higher loading levels and my well cause unwanted presure spikes. Caution is the watch word on these.
Case capacity is greater than the 7.62X39 and we have found that using that loading data gave us a good foundation of starting points. Powders suitable for that cartidge have performed well. Light bulets of 110-125 have respnded well to loadings of AA 2200, RL7and RL10. Excellent results with Benchmark, IMR 4895, H4895 and AA 2230 have produced well on the heavier bullets. Case capacity will limit some powder choices and you will run out of space way before you run out of pressure and velocity. Be aware of your pressure signs and teamed with a chronograph you will be well served.Do not get complacent though and assume that just becuse you have room in the case that you can just add to the case mouth and expect either good performance or safe presures. This cartidge is not designed to shoot the 1000 yard line and in the game fields your ethics will come into play based on bullet construction, velocity at impact and the specific target being addressed.
Loading is straight forward like any other bottle necked case. Our data has been developed with little or no crimp. Many loads may be compressed but a tight/small neck sizing will usually handle this. If a crimp is desired a very aggressive squeeze will not normally be needed.
I hope this clarifies any areas of concern and if you have any questions feel free to add them to the thread or PM the BHW staff.
Greg