Make your own rounds for .30 carbine?

[TXschmoe]

Is it possible to make your own rounds for a .30 carbine?  I'm having a heck of a time finding ammo and I thought this might be an option.

[inconel710]

Of course you can!  Anything can be reloaded for.  Now finding powder, primers, brass, and bullets may be a little hard to find...

If you're starting out reloading, pick up a reloading manual (Lyman, Lee, Hornady) and read that first.  They all have good instructions on the process and what you need, then you can start looking at equipment.  It's a rewarding hobby and a good addition to your skills if you're not doing it already.

[TheRetiredRancher]

Anybody have issues with the hollow point speer 110 grain hollow points feeding in .30 carbine?  Anyone tried a spitzer design.  I am just wondering if the round nose soft point or full jacket are the only real options that feed right in the old GI carbine.

[TXschmoe]

I've never even seen a hollow point for a .30 carbine.  Are you talking about doing a custom reload or something you bought? 

[NWPilgrim]

I have some of those 110 gr HP semi-jacketed bullets, but have not tried them yet.  Speer lists them as the same load data along with the FMJ and SP bullets.

You want the carbide sizing die just like for pistol cartridges, but may need a bit of lube anyway.  They are long cases. Small rifle primers. Very slow pistol powders such as W296/H110, AA9, 2400.  My Carbine will not cycle reliably with anything other than the standard load of 15.0 gr W296 as listed in Speer and other data sources.  I've read that this was the original military load for the Carbine.  I started at 13.5 grains and worked up, even at 14.7 gr it was still short stroking occasionally.

[LICountryBoy]

Jack did a reloading show way back.
Episode 75 covers the basics.

[TheRetiredRancher]

Thank you Pilgrim.  I am an experience reloader for bolt, lever and revolvers but I have not reloaded for a semi auto and I know many of the military gas operating systems are very sensitive to burn rate on the powder and bullet shape.  I appreciate the powder recomendation.  That will cut down the experimentation, I was just wondering about the HP vs the hard ball round nose that the military used as far as feeding reliability went.

[hillclimber]

My only problems with the hollow points is finding them.
I can never seem to find anything but fmj.

[TheRetiredRancher]

Thanks.

[armymars]

   Around 1973 I loaded some 110 hollow flat points for my M1 carbine. These were Speer Flat hollow points. I had trouble feeding them. They worked OK as one shot loaded in the gun at a time, but would not feed from a magazine. Rem. made some Hollow round points that would work most of the time.