30-30 Bullet Runout

[kemo sabe]

My fired cases at the neck are very straight, one thousandth or less runout. Sizing causes it to be 2 - 4 thousandths. The seated bullets have about the same runout. Reminder, runout is the total deviation divided by 2. Has anyone checked this out on their 30-30 reloads ? What should be "normal" runout for reloads of this cartridge? And I know, does it really matter? If my runout is more than normal I would not mind replacing the die set. It's a very old Herter's. I just don't want do it until I find out what I might expect from a new set of moderate priced dies. I like for my F Class reloads to be less than one thousandth.

How does the RCBS X Die eliminate the need for future trimming after the initial trim? Any good?

[boats]

Variables with the average 30/30 iron sighted shot off a bench rest are going to mask any change in results with more or less run-out. I roll them on a flat surface and if no wobble consider the cartridge good. Your F class rifle is precise enough to tell good from bad, chamber that platform for 30/30 some conclusion could be drawn.

Not sure exactly how the X die works. Seems to be a neck sizer and crimp die. I crimp as a seperate step with a Lee factory Crimp die. It may make a difference but if all the cases are trimmed to the same O/A probably not much. I just trimmed 300 and found about a half dozen that were longer than the rest. Who knows why, they were all from the same lot and fired in the same chamber. Or could have been mixed with somebody elses when picked up after a relay. Found one with a different headstamp and no idea were it came from. Trimming is a good thing to do.

Boats

[Trent]

The X-die essentially just has a ledge at the top of the neck cavity that restricts the brass from "growing". The 30-30 case can be a cantankerous bastard when sizing and crimping especially if the cases are not all the same length. You can end up with light crimps, heavy crimps and even wrinkled necks if the cases are different lengths. The X-die FORCES the case to a certain length when you are resizing. Maybe "forces" is the wrong word... more like "maintains". The nice thing about that is that by maintaining case length it will make the crimping process much more consistent.

It does seem like the consensus amongst users of the x-die is that it HAS to be set up as per the instructions.

[kemo sabe]

I have experienced the case stretching with full power hunting loads years ago and it was such a pain that I routinely ran all the cases thru the trimmer rather than measure them, since most needed trimming. But I have not had any stretching with the load I'm using on sil. I may try the Lee Colet die. They are inexpensive and I have had long case life with them in other calibers. Would eliminate case lubing, which is another pain in the butt.

I agree that the open sights and the type of rifle we use in 30 - 30 pretty well make bullet runout a moot question. I just like to, where reasonable, minimize the variables in my reloading.