[bigjoe]

I have been reloading issues with 30 carbine cases crushing when loading them. I'm not sure if it is an issue with the case or the bullet.

 

[byrl]

I recently loaded about a thousand rounds of .30 carbine. I found that in general the brass is very thick and I had to adequately bell the case mouths before attempting to seat bullets. When sized, due to the brass thickness, it's pretty much an interference fit between bullet and case without proper belling. Then, the finished rounds will show some swelling where the bullet is. But they were all within specs dimension wise and shot just fine.I didn't crush any cases, but all of them required significant trimming to get to proper length. All my brass was military and much was headstamped in the early fifties.

 

[broom_jm]

At what point in the reloading process are the cases getting crushed? It sounds like you have a die that is not adjusted properly. FWIW - I've loaded 300 or so cases in the last couple of months and haven't belled the mouth on a single case. For them to chamber and fire, case length on 30 Carbine rounds is very critical. For my gun, between 1.288" and 1.292" is about it. Any shorter and they will chamber but not fire; any longer and they won't chamber.

 

[fstdraw]

It would help to know which die is the problem. If your problem is caused when seating the bullet, you're not "belling" the case mouth enough. I do agree with the others, .30 carbine brass is thick and hard to crush. Are your bullets measuring .308 or less? They should. Remember, the shell headspaces on the case mouth. A very light taper crimp is all that's needed (if at all) to hold the bullet in the case mouth. I've loaded a bazillion of these and not had a crushing problem. Good luck!