30 BR Questions

R

rcw3

Guest
I am tinkering with a 30BR and I am unclear on a couple items:

1. I have a 1:17" twist barrel and I am unclear whether that is adequate enough to stabilize pretty much all the commercial 125 gr bullets. I have some BIB 118's and they shoot fine but I also was going to try some commercial 125's.

2. When I neck up Lapua 6BR brass then neck turn it, it seems like the brass is becoming work hardened and that it would benefit from having the necks re-annealed. Do any of the 30BR shooters do this? If so, are there any easy ways without getting into a whole bunch of equipment, etc.?

Any help would be appreciated.

Robert Whitley
 
Answers - -

1. I have never had any problem shooting 125g bullets in any of my 17 or 18 twist barrels. A friend and great shooter shoots long 125g bullets in his rifles all the time and they are stable. I think stabilization is more a function of bullet length than weight. Often the weight comes along with the length however.

2. Many of us anneal after we have finished the neck work on the cases so that the shoulder forms well. We also anneal after every 5 or 6 firings. There is a device sold that attaches to a torch that will heat the cases properly to anneal them. Check the archives here on annealing. It is often discussed. Good luck
 
I prepped my 30BR brass with no annealing [ app 100 cases ]. I shot this brass in 8 matches and it was starting to get clicky on extraction at the last event. This week I annealed the cases using the 'lead casting pot' method. It seems like a pretty foolproof way to do it. I did fill one case with lead before I figured out how long to hold the case in the lead, which was about a 5 second count. I tried to keep the lead over 650 degrees. After the 5 second count I dipped the case mouth in a container of water.

At first I tried a 2 second count but lead would stick inside the case. This didn't happen with the 5 second count. I wore welding gloves when dipping the case into the lead. I will start loading this brass today and will shoot it Saturday depending on the weather.

If everything is hunky dory I will start regularly annealing all my brass, say after 3 or four loadings or after every match on cases that I only have 25 of [ ie, my 6 ppc ].
 
Rcw3

I anneal my 30BR cases after forming and neck turning...I use the method that is described on the 6mmBr.com website..it is a simple method that only requires a propane torch (hardware store model)...and an aluminum caseholder sold by MidwayUsa...I put the caseholder in my drill and clamp my drill chuck-up to my work bench..keep a quart of cold water near-by to drop the annealed cases in...I set the 30BR case in the caseholder, TURN out the lights in the shop...then I run my drill at about 75-100 rpm...I set the propane burner with a blue flame about 1 inch long...hold the tip of the blue flame at the neck and shoulder juncture while turning the case with the drill/caseholder (75-100rpm) apply the heat for 6 second or until the inside of the case mouth turns dull purple..then stop the drill take the case out of the caseholder and drop it in the cold water...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
rcw3 said:
I am tinkering with a 30BR and I am unclear on a couple items:

1. I have a 1:17" twist barrel and I am unclear whether that is adequate enough to stabilize pretty much all the commercial 125 gr bullets. I have some BIB 118's and they shoot fine but I also was going to try some commercial 125's.
Click to expand...

17 an 18 twist barrels are very good for 125 Gr bullets.
 
Update on my annealed brass. I sized my newly annealed cases today. Pre-annealed I needed a .003" shim under the lockring to get .001" bump. After annealing I needed a .005" shim. Lots less springback.
 
So far none of these posts have mentioned that you must not anneal the case head area, or anywhere near it. The head must be left hard for strength.

crb, did your click on extraction go away? The click is caused by not sizing the base area enough.....annealing the front end of the case likely won't help.

-Dave-:)
 
Pete & Dick

Thanks for the info on the 1:17" twist stabilizing the 125's.

Pete, Dave, crb & eww1350

Thanks also for the info on annealing. Last night I used my Mapp gas torch and cordless drill with case holder to anneal the necks of cases. I hope I did it right, tried to keep it brief and quick with the heat just on the necks. We'll see.

Thanks again.

Robert Whitley
 
Robert: while most 30BR users are working with the .925 or 1.00 long jackets, the 1:17's will stabilize the 1.080 jackets. I shot one entire season with the 1:17/1.080 combo with zero issues. So, the short answer is to just measure the bullets you want to use and as long as they're under 1.100 or so in length, you're probably going to be fine. There can be some fringe issues that may skew this....twist rates that are slower than advertised, etc. But in general, it's a good rule of thumb.

Here's a link to the BIB Bullets site where Randy offers some rock solid recommendations on this:

http://www.bibullets.com/products

And stress relieving the cases does work. Here's a link to a discussion (complete with purty pictures;)) that I posted here a while back. A person can draw their own conclusions..not everyone may want to do it or feels that they may benefit by it.

http://benchrest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54166&highlight=anneal

Hope this helps. -Al
 
Al

Thanks for the info and links. Great info from all!

The real question for me now is on annealing and is how long to leave the neck area of the cases in the flame and when to pull them out. I did it in my garage last night with it dark. From what I read, if the neck metal becomes orange you have gone too far so I kind of use the rule that as soon as I see the neck starting to turn color (as its rotating in the case holder in the cordless drill) I pull the torch away. In truth, I may be doing just fine but I have no idea whether I am doing it right or just wrecking a bunch of cases I put a lot of prep work into. I am not concerned with heat at the base/web area because it is in a metal case holder (heat sink) and with a Mapp gas torch I can heat up just the neck area in about 4 to 5 seconds flat. It seems like it's something you have to have a knack for based on experience and feel and since I don't have much practice at it I am not sure I am there yet.

Robert Whitley
 
There are

Color Sticks one can buy or paint on stuff that tells one when they have reached the right temp. I believe they, it are sold at welding shops.

You may be right about the holder being a heat sink but you need to make sure you only heat the neck / shoulder area.

You should buy or have made a full length sizing die. They are necessary to to use to keep your rifle functioning well. I full length re-size my cases every time I use them.
 
Robert..based on what you wrote, I think you did just fine..I usually notice the blue/brown anneal color has developed just below the shoulder area on the case body about 1/8th" down...You will notice a nice smooth feel when you seat a bullet into these cases...
Let us know how the reloading goes and if you see results on the target...
PM me for some additional accuracy info for your 30BR...

Eddie in Texas
 
I just seated my bullets-WOW what a difference. Pre-annealing it was a fight to seat the bullets. Now, they slide in smooth as can be.
 
crb said:
I just seated my bullets-WOW what a difference. Pre-annealing it was a fight to seat the bullets. Now, they slide in smooth as can be.
Click to expand...

WELL that is a big diff in neck tension...so lets us know how it shoots the last load you shot with the preannealed cases..in the ANNEALED cases.

THENKS
MIKE
 
mike in co said:
WELL that is a big diff in neck tension...so lets us know how it shoots the last load you shot with the preannealed cases..in the ANNEALED cases.

THENKS
MIKE
Click to expand...

I don't understand what you are asking. I have always shot 33.8 gr of H4198. Always use the same seating depth. Always used the same neck bushing,,,, although there was once time I loaded up 25 cases that were in 'as fired' condition, ie no sizing done at all. Those 25 rounds shot just as well as the prepped cases.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top