30 Luger Cartridge Conversion

[Patronen]

Originally Posted by sheepherder

I find that surprising, as the .223 case is dimensionally smaller in diameter than the 7.62 Tokarev. It should drop in with a bit to spare, and still fire-form to fit that particular barrel...

The surplus 7.62 would give problems with variances of being to long and to wide at times. Alot of the surplus 7.62 Tok packed in those 70 quantity boxes were probably destined originaly for PPSH41/43 duty and would function fine and from what I hear through the Tokarev pistols too. But I have noticed with the CZ52 the tolerances are tighter. When forming the .223 into 7.62 I wanted to be sure each cartridge/bullet seating length was going to drop in the barrel. I did not want to make up a bunch that would not function

[sheepherder]

Since i had a bunch of 30 Mauser cases ready to load (and some Red Dot!), I decided to make up some 84/85gr FMJ bullets, starting with 110gr Carbine bullets. I drilled them out with a 7/32" drill bit in my home made fixture to 84/85gr...



Much fun!

[rhuff]

I bet that those "hollow based" Carbine bullets will obturate like gangbusters when fired. I believe that what is being called the spin test is the same as what many call the "plunk test".

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by rhuff

I bet that those "hollow based" Carbine bullets will obturate like gangbusters when fired.

Nope. They fire out with no problem and leave nice small round holes in targets.

I been making & shooting these for 40 years.

[rhuff]

Originally Posted by sheepherder

Nope. They fire out with no problem and leave nice small round holes in targets.

I been making & shooting these for 40 years.

I didn't mean that there would be a problem with shooting your "hollow based" bullets, actually quite the opposite. With that base, when fired, I feel sure that they will obturate/swell and give an excellent sealing to the chamber/bore and experience no bullet blow-by of powder gases. They should perform very well.

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by Patronen

When forming the .223 into 7.62 I wanted to be sure each cartridge/bullet seating length was going to drop in the barrel.

Dave, I hear whatcher sayin'...

I have a worn C96 Mauser Broomhandle that will fire my cut-down .223 cartridges, but when I reload those fired cases and try them in my 7.62 Serbian M57, they won't go all the way in...So to correct this, I make sure the case length is trimmed to under .990" and then run them through the 30 Mauser sizing die and then I run them through a .223 sizing die...Then they will slide right in [when loaded]...

I'm making up a small batch of 30 Luger brass today, using once-fired PSD 84 military brass...Military brass has a crimped primer pocket, so removing the crimp is an extra step...And military cases have thicker walls, so the necks will need to be reamed...I measure .011" neck wall thickness on new/unfired Winchester-Western 30 Luger cases, and these PSD 84 cases have a .016" neck wall thickness [when trimmed & formed but before reaming]...More extra steps vs commercial .223 Remington brass...

Another tip I got from somewhere years ago is if you run out of Case Lube go to your local hardware/auto parts store and get some STP Oil Treatment and use that instead...Quicker & cheaper...

I want to load my 7.65 x 53 Argentine Mauser and while I have some brass, I can't find any distributor with powder...I want IMR 4895 or 4064 plus a pound of Red Dot for the Luger/Mauser, and I tried Midway, Natchez, Midsouth, and Cabelas and none of them have 4895 and only one listed Red Dot...I was planning on ordering some primers and .303 British brass and some more .223 Remington brass with the powder...My two local LGS's have no powder I want either...

To make things worse, my local LGS tells me that starting in January, NYS residents buying powder will have to submit to a NICS check before they can buy the powder...
It looks like my cartridge cases will sit quite a while before I can load them...

[sheepherder]

I been digging through all my old boxes (I moved 18 years ago; not everything is unpacked yet) and found a conversion I did many years ago...A C96 Mauser re-barreled for a .256" wildcat cartridge...

My usual .223"/5.56mm cartridge cases cut down so that OAL will be the same as a 30 Mauser (which this once was). .256 Winchester Magnum chambering reamer in a .256" barrel blank turned down & threaded into a 30 Mauser receiver. It was much longer originally (I posted a pic of it back then) but I shortened it for convenience. Also to retain what little hearing I have left - This cartridge made a really loud crack...

RCBS .256 Winchester Magnum die set cut down to '30 Mauser' size...I fired off most of my reloads, had a couple left over...