Formiing 30 BR

H

Hombre0321

Guest
Guys I kinda stumpled into a new to me rifle. I had made an offer on it and the seller finally decided to take my offer. I actually wanted it for the action to build another 1,000 Benchrest Gun, but it got here and now I want to shoot it before I do anything else with it. Trouble is I don't have a clue what I need to form brass with, maybe someone can enlighten me.

It is a Farley Action on a Mcmillian ( I Think) HBR stock, it came with two barrels one in 6 PPC and the other one is a 30BR. The 30BR barrel is on the rifle now so that is the one I would like to form some brass for and shoot it. I do not want to fireform the brass as those 6mm bullets rattling down that .308 barrel gives me the shivers. It does have a .330 neck so those will have to be turned. But what about the increase to 30 from 6mm?

I have read all that I can find on doing this and still don't have a clue what to buy. In mt research it seems that necking up to 30 from 6mm is best done with one pass, at least that is what the pioneers in this caliber say they prefer to do. I do believe that K&M makes a mandrel for doing this but what do I do about a die body?

Heres the deal I have never formed a case any case in my life---and I'm old---I have never turned a neck before either. Doesn't mean I won't or can't just don't know what do buy to get her done.

Help Men !! Steer me in the right direction, if I can't find the answer here than maybe I'm not asking the right question! It's always really about the question anyway....

Roland
 
>>>it came with two barrels one in 6 PPC and the other one is a 30BR.<<<


Roland,
Is it a PPC bolt face .440 or a "BR" bolt face .468....?

If... It's a PPC bolt face maby you or whoever preps brass for ya could turn down the BR rems to PPC diam... I do this, works slick.

If... it's a "BR" bolt face... Do you know if the extractor can "pick" out a PPC rim....?

May want to contact the original owner on these questions... And he may be able to supply ya with some fully prepped brass to at least get ya started .. Shoot'n anyway...
Just a place start... You'll love shoot'n itty bitty .30 cal groups & knock'n out those X's !
cale
 
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If i were you i would probably just buy some brass already made and go shoot. A fella on 6mmbr forums named P1Zombikiller has exactly what you need for sale for a fair price. Or i could even help you out depending on how many pieces you want. It isnt cheep to buy already made brass but if you dont have the neck turning tools or 30cal mandrels then buying it already made is the best choice. Beside, 30BR brass will last almost forever. Look up P1zombikiller or give me a call. 217 246 0787 good luck friend! Lee
 
Is there a neck dimension stamped on the barrel? Most 30 BR's are around .330" neck, If so you will need neck turned brass.

Dick
 
Roland,

As you've probably guessed, the .30 BR is a benchrest competition round, used mainly for score shooting. It is very good at that, but I doubt anyone would choose it for another pupose -- hunting, say.

With that point, going to a match would be a good idea. You'll encounter any number of 30-BRs. I know Dublin Georgia holds registered IBS score matches, and may hold some club matches as well. River Bend, just north of Atlanta, holds at least club matches. Since the NBRSA just began sanctioning the VFS class (where the .30BR is paramount), I'm not too aware of other matches in Alabama & Georgia. There is one in the North Carolina mountains, Piedmont, that holds IBS score matches, but that is still probably a "fur piece" to travel.

Unless someone can come up with a club in Alabama near Birmingham that has NBRSA VFS matches, I'd say Dublin or River Bend are the closest.

That said, making the brass isn't too much work. As you've noticed, you have to expand the neck, and perhaps turn it. Necks can be expanded by a special fire-forming barrel, the way Jackie Schmidt does it. Most of us use a mandrel.

K&M can sell you everything you need -- the expander mandrel, and a neck turning tool. So can others, but I'll allow that the K&M tooling is as good as any, and everything can be ordered from them. A phone call would be in order, to explain your situation (new to the sport), ESPECIALLY if you haven't been to a match.

Books can help. I haven't really read the later benchrest books -- Tony Boyer's or Mike Ratigan's -- others can let you know if there is a how-to section in them.

While in some ways dated, Glen Newick's book does have a chapter on how to do this kind of thing.

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Rifle-Accuracy-Handbook-Competition/dp/0883171597

And as Dick Grosbier said, there should be a stamp on the barrel which shows the neck diameter.

If he's willing, the person who sold you the rifle should also be a good source of information. Perhaps s/he'd be willing to sell the dies for the rifle. If not, a Wilson straight-line seater is a good bullet seating die, and Harrells can, from fired rounds, make you a first-rate full-length sizing die for a very reasonable price.

* * *

We had quite a 1,000 yard match at Camp Butner last weekend. Sneaky winds, but only 88-degrees, and quite pleasant humidity. Next match will be September 10th. It may be lightly attended, as it is the week after the Nationals.
 
Roland,
One of the best sites for the 30BR is on 6mmbr.com and click on the 30BR information. It will tell you how to make your brass and what powder and bullitts to use. This is how I got started with the 30BR. You can't go wrong. Charlie
 
Charlie, Thanks I did go over to 6mmBR and read all I could find on this cartridge. Don't know for sure what my plans are for this rifle or weather close up Benchrest is something I will pursue. but I have this thing and want to shoot it, never can tell it may just get my attention and I end up shooting both the 600-1,000 Benchrest and the VFS matches as well only time will tell.

Charles, Glad you guys had a good time at Butner, I will attend the September shoot for sure, fewer folks there is probably better for me anyway.....

In looking for the tooling to form these 30BR, I called some of the suppliers and didn't get very far. Even one of them Bruno's told me that K&M didn't even make the tooling for the 30BR to be formed in one step. The one step method seems from my reading to be the prefered way to form this case from those folks that were the pioneers of the cartridge so I was very disappointed to here that K&M didn't make the tooling. So this morning I called K&M direct and to say that they were surprised to hear that they DIDN"T make the tooling would be a gross misstatment. With there advice I was able to purchase mandrels, neck turning tools etc that I need to form the cases. really nice folks at K&M, very helpful and more than willing to steer me in the right direction as I didn't have a clue as to what I needed.

Roland
 
Hombre0321 said:
Guys I kinda stumpled into a new to me rifle. I had made an offer on it and the seller finally decided to take my offer. I actually wanted it for the action to build another 1,000 Benchrest Gun, but it got here and now I want to shoot it before I do anything else with it. Trouble is I don't have a clue what I need to form brass with, maybe someone can enlighten me.

It is a Farley Action on a Mcmillian ( I Think) HBR stock, it came with two barrels one in 6 PPC and the other one is a 30BR. The 30BR barrel is on the rifle now so that is the one I would like to form some brass for and shoot it. I do not want to fireform the brass as those 6mm bullets rattling down that .308 barrel gives me the shivers. It does have a .330 neck so those will have to be turned. But what about the increase to 30 from 6mm?

I have read all that I can find on doing this and still don't have a clue what to buy. In mt research it seems that necking up to 30 from 6mm is best done with one pass, at least that is what the pioneers in this caliber say they prefer to do. I do believe that K&M makes a mandrel for doing this but what do I do about a die body?

Heres the deal I have never formed a case any case in my life---and I'm old---I have never turned a neck before either. Doesn't mean I won't or can't just don't know what do buy to get her done.

Help Men !! Steer me in the right direction, if I can't find the answer here than maybe I'm not asking the right question! It's always really about the question anyway....

Roland
Click to expand...

I shoot a 30 BR and buy my brass from Ron Hoehn. It's first rate stuff. He makes it in two neck thicknesses, .0094" and .0097", just tell him what you want. http://www.benchrest.com/hoehn/
 
Hombre,

Check your messages. I can also help you out on brass, or answer any questions you might have on the 30BR. If you like shooting, and don't like messing with your loads, 30BR is one of the best. I have been shooting the same load as when I started. Still shooting great after 2000 rounds. I shot a .173 last week in practice.
 
Me too, if you need any help. I *think* I had the first "second generation" rail gun chambered in .30 BR. Nobody's the first of course, before the .30BR, there was the 1.5-inch .308, which is basically the same thing. Anyway, I've been shooting the .30 BR, even in group shoots, since the mid-late 1990s.

I went and read (quickly) the .30 BR page on 6mmBR.com. A fairly common powder they didn't mention is VV N-130. It is a rare .30 BR that doesn't like H4198, but I have a barrel that does shoot better with N-130. Far as that goes, N-120 has uses, and while tricky to use, H4227 was always a good performer too. R.G. Robinett, one of the real long-time .30 BR users, even got H322 to work for him. I never did. If you have any of those powders to hand, or Rel-7, it is worth giving them a try. If you have to buy powder, H4198 is the place to start.

If you want to talk to somebody about the .30 BR chambering, R.G. Robinett is one of the best sources you could find.

http://www.bibullets.com/

gives all his info -- phone number, email, and address. Randy *will* talk. And a number of us use his bullets. I actually use the 187 grain, .30 caliber flat base for 1,000 yard competition, and strange as it may sound, it holds a number of 1K records. The 118-10 ogive is made in the same die, using a 1-inch jacket rather than the 1.300 jacket of the 187. Some barrels shoot them very well, others prefer a less radical ogive.

Cheek, Euber, and I bet others also make the shorter, light bullets favored for the .30 BR.

Let us know if/when we can be of more help.
 
My current brux barrel seems to shoot a little better with a little more neck clearance. I turn to .0092 Lee
 
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