30-30 to 219 Zipper....NOT!

[lotech]

I used to form a good bit of Zipper brass for a Krag, 2 High Walls, a Rem. rolling block, and a Rem. Hepburn. It was worth the investment (don't recall the cost thirty years ago) to buy a set of RCBS form dies. Seems there were two or three dies prior to full-length sizing in the .219 die. Granted, it's easier to form using .25-35 brass. I bought multiple boxes of Win. .25-35 brass at an auction. It worked much better than once-fired .30-30 brass, but .30-30 will certainly do. If I had it to do over again and was restricted to .30-30 brass, I would use new brass only.

As I recall, reformed .219 Zipper cases were the only ones I ever annealed. The .219 was great fun at the time, but it's another cartridge I don't miss.

[jimofaz]

+1 on: "I anneal after I shrink 'em, though." Going by their color, the pictured collapsed cases look like they were possibly over-annealed. Can't go by color alone, but they look kinda dark. If you can two-finger pinch the round case mouths to an oval shape, this is the likely cause. May have also been too much lube applied on those neck dents. The comment about using intermediate form dies is also a good one. I too have made .219 Zip brass from .30-30 with no problems. If you have access to new .25-35 Win brass, so much the better. Graf's just got a shipment in from Hornady. No intent to criticize & hope this helps.