Warm welcome.

[dancingbear41]

Many thanks for the warm welcome.

I would be very happy to post a picture or two of my .30 carbines. I think you will find them quite interesting. Where would be the best place to post them? This is a large and versatile website, I would like to post in the appropriate places if possible.

As for K-g's query about powder we can pretty much get anything. There are scare stories about powder supplies drying up because all powders are imported. Nobel powders are no longer available. Hogdon's 4895 is made in Scotland. It seems daft to ship it to the US and then send it back!
I have used Alliant powders for many years, Hogdon, and IMR as well. I like some of the Vithavouri powders and have been using SNIA (Italian) and Vectan (French) powders for a number of years too. They are much cheaper than the American powders and are quite suitable for a lot of the shooting I do. They lack the reloading data that can be found for the US powders but safe loads can be attained quite easily if you are not after maximum performance. For those it is best to use well known and tried powders with reliable data.
There are afew other powders available but I have no experience of them. I hope this has been helpful and I look forward to learning from and participating in this forum.

Simon.:happy13:

[versifier]

Simon,
Post your photos here, those who are interested will seek them out!

[dancingbear41]

Here goes.

Hopefully I have attached a picture of my Southern Gun Company LA30.

This was my first .30 Carbine. When I first saw a write up on this rifle I considered the .30 Carbine to be a good round for the type of shooting that goes on over here as a replacement for pistol shooting (another story for you if you are interested). I had no experience of the little .30 but soon developed a liking for it. I used cast bullets exclusively but have recently been using jacketed bullets mainly for the purpose of a test while developing loads for my other .30 carbine. I will submit a new post for that one.

The LA30, as you can see, is based on the AR-15. The interesting part is that it is a lever action. The pistol grip pivots forward working the bolt backwards. The lower is manufactured in Cornwall, England. The upper and all other goodies for this type of rifle come from the U.S.
This being my first, and only, SGC I was not familiar with the way to order and stated what I wanted without any thought. Have no fear, I got what I wanted, it was just the price that was a little scary. The proper way to do it is with the build sheet that contains all of the options and prices. Without it I had no idea what I was actually asking for. I was pleased with the result.
A couple of features are a radially fluted match barrel, with a 1 in 11" twist, the vented fore-end is a must just to show the barrel off if nothing else. It has a Jewel trigger which is brilliant. It takes standard M1 Carbine magazines by way of an adapter that clips in the magazine well. 30 round mags require the little pip on the side be removed and a small amount of reworking is required to the top of the mag. If the adaptor is removed a standard AR-15 mag can be inserted. I have modified one to take bullets loaded beyond that of a normal mag. I have developed an interest in the .30 Whisper but can find no data, but that is for another post.
I think that covers most of it. Questions gratefully received.

Simon.

[dancingbear41]

The picture of the LA30 does not normally have the monopod on the butt. I had made that and was just trying it out for the day.

Simon.

[dancingbear41]

Hello again.

The attached picture is of my Armalon AL30C. A .30 Carbine built on the Enfield No.4 action. It took me 3 years to talk Armalon into building this rifle. I have two other of their PC (pistol calibre) carbines. One in .45 ACP and the only one in .41 Magnum.

The AL30C is their newest product. I think mine being the only one in public hands at the moment. Mine has the serial number 1, No. 2 is currently being reviewed for one of our gun magazines. I have been in touch with the author of the article to offer some advice for reloads. I have promised Armalon an article on all three of my rifles which I will do soon once I have sorted the loads out for it.

The rifle has a 20" heavy fluted match barrel with a 1 in 10" twist. The handguard is vented, which looks good. The bolt has been altered to cock-on-opening and it has Armalon's match trigger (very good). I ordered it without a butt and asked for unfinished woodwork. I had the No.8 butt, which has a raised cheekpiece but is ambidextrous. I shoot left handed. I finished the woodwork myself with a matt oiled finish. I had no iron sights and it is fitted with Armalon's own No.4 scope base.

Initial shooting displayed barrel leading like I have never seen before. I have since reduced my loads to be very much target loads attributing the leading to the very fast twist rate for this calibre. Jacketed bullets work OK but I like cast bullets, not only for the cost but also the satisfaction that I made them. Therefore I will persevere with cast bullets and will no doubt seek advice from these forums. I am also not sure of the sort of accuaracy I should expect. Both of my rifles are well built with heavy barrels and should both shoot well. But what can I expect from the .30 carbine round itself? I am getting 1 3/4" ten shot groups at 50 metres. I accept this is not, and never was, a match round so this accuracy may be acceptable. If I can do better please direct me towards a forum that will help.

I feel I have rambled enough and will again happily answer any queries.

Simon.

[versifier]

Wow! That's a slick looking rifle. It's a shame we won't be able to order them over here. It has "pest control" written all over it. :)

I can get similar accuracy with my 10" Contender at 50yds, on a good day. Basically, it shoots "minute of woodchuck" which is fine for me, without the noise and recoil of a .357mag. I would think you'd be able to do that and better easily at 100yds with the right loads. I'd start with the Lee moulds, 117FNGC (soupcan) and 120RNGC. Anything lighter won't stabilize well IME in pistol or rifle. I size at .310 for both my pistol and rifle, but you have to slug your bore to know the optimum diameter to size for yours. I have never tested anything heavier than 125 (jacketed) and while acceptably accurate, none of them would open up at attainable velocities. I doubt they would out of a rifle, either, but on the other hand you can likely squeeze a lot more velocity out of it in a bolt action than is possible in a military carbine, so it might be workable - certainly worth experimenting. There are plenty of good moulds available in that weight. I do not target shoot with my T/C except to play with loads - it is for me primarily a small game hunting pistol. The best my carbine will shoot is 2-3" for 10 shots at 50yds with 110gr soft nose jacketed (good for a carbine, but not good enough to keep my attention for long). They have never been known to be tack drivers, and that likely is where the cartridge has acquired its bad rep for accuracy. Many GI carbines are hard pressed to shoot 5-6" groups at that range, though some individual rifles are surprisingly accurate. The carbines have great sights, too, which never hurts.

[kodiak1]

Couple of nice pieces.
Welcome aboard Ken.

[jlb300]

Schweeeeeet I love the creativity some people are blessed with. Welcome to the forum