New to Reloading

 I will have to take you up on that offer, I know of a good place in Tylertown to get some grub, but I don't think they serve lunch and you had better like fried fish to go there (I am sure you know what I am talking about, but I cannot think of the name of the place). I think you and my buddy are in the same camp of not trying to make it too scientific, and he also used the analogy of having all of his fingers, except he added a statement about still having two of something else, however.  He is also wanting to put a night vision scope on his pellet gun to kill rats at nighttime (he aint right I know) on his farm so he is a little out there on the fringes of society. He has reloaded everything you can think of except a carbine. 

I got a Lee hand press, so my 100% intentions are to do it in my underwear, you read my mind . Some things I have read have made me think I was joining a bomb-squad, while others make it seem like a very simple cartridge to reload. I would like to meet up and pick your brain on it and see if after we eat if there isn't a range around. Neighbors in rural south Mississippi is still an hour haul one way   

And I have been saving my brass since I started shooting, so I have more brass than my 1,000 count of primers will allow me to reload. If you want some brass or if your supply is low on 30 carbine brass, I will for sure let you have some because I definitely have more than enough. Considering I also have at least 4,000 rounds of loaded Lake City/Korean surplus now. Would like to reload primarily so I can keep the good surplus ammo in reserve!  

 First and foremost, anyone with a YouTube account and a means by which to make videos are instant experts. So as they say, "Trust, but verify."

 Someone teaching you as FTC has offered is wonderful, but it's still not a bad idea to own a manual as they all have good step-by-step instruction sections. The Lyman 49th is a really, really good one and they can be had for around $25 on eBay. So, a few pointers-

 The .30 Carbine is a pretty simple round to load. You will need to watch case length, but they stretch pretty slowly. Max case length is 1.290", so I keep a caliper set at 1.285" on my loading bench. If AFTER SIZING, the brass won't pass through the caliper, they get trimmed and reamed, otherwise, they get loaded. Again, size your brass THEN measure its length.

 

  Since the cartridge headspaces on the mouth, a taper crimp is best, and I use a separate taper crimp die for this caliber. Some use the 

  I've found that small pistol primers and small rifle primers may be pretty much interchanged where this cartridge is concerned. I've chronographed this cartridge extensively with both primers in standard and magnum variety, and there's not a nickels worth of difference in velocities between any of them. 

  I've been loading the .30 Carbine for almost 2 years now and I think what I appreciate most about it, is it shoots cast bullets marvelously. The cast bullet loads I use easily match and in many cases exceed the accuracy of that obtained with 110 gr. FMJ's. I use AL2400 and AL410 for my cast loads. If you want to really shoot on the cheap, Bayou Bullets offers a great bullet for the .30 Carbine for less than 8¢ apiece. With 13.0 gr. of AL2400 I've run them a bit over 1900 fps with zero leading. While they're not very accurate past 100 yds., from that distance and under, they great bullets for plinking. 

  So there are some pointers, but again, get a manual.

I do trimming with a Lee tool.  They are sold in two pieces:  one piece is the cutter, it accepts the OAL stem gauge.  The case goes into a holder that can be chucked up to a drill, and the other part of that purchase is the OAL stem gauge.  Its threaded end is split and oversized, meant to allow for careful threading into the cutter from "no-go" to "go" cutting lengths. Don't get carried away as you thread the gauge into the cutter, lest you bottom it out and trim your cases too short.  

If you have your cases chucked up in a drill as with the Lee trimmer, you may as well take advantage of that.  Use a .30 cal brush on a pistol rod and spin the case around that a few times.  Then use 0000 steel wool and spin the case inside that, briefly.  

A flash hole reamer is a nice but not necessary thing to have.  A hand-held tool costs $15, and you only have to use it once per case, once and the job is done is forever- but hey we're talking .30 cal carbine here, perhaps consistency of ignition through the flash hole is not such a critical thing.  

  Having already established AL2400 and AL410 as my cast bullet powders in my carbines, I have not tried the Bayou bullet with any other powders. I have however used H110 and W296 with my own cast, gas-checked bullets and they worked fine. I'd suggest keeping velocities not much over 1900 fps, which would probably require about 14.0 grs. of either of these powders.

 The only thing better than that price, is the price of casting your own. I have narrowed down my casting to two different moulds; the RCBS 30-115-SP (L) and the Lyman 311576 (R). 

Both molds are rather difficult to find, but both drop bullets that are very accurate.