.30 Luger Time!

My FFL had a beauty like that a while back. If it was a 9mm I would have entertained buying it (Don’t want another caliber to reload).

Starline should have brass that you can back order in case you run short.

When you get loads together let us know how it shoots. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
 
Mine's a early Commercial, made from a WWI gun, IAW the SN 1918 manufacture. SNs all match, but the date stamp was ground off when it "commercialized".

2BtpsG6l.jpg

I use W231 or HP38 with .312 plated bullets, both 90 grain and 71 grain. A lot of the 7.65s have slightly oversized bores and the .312 plated bullets swage down nicely and feed well. I lucked into a bunch of Fiocchi brass, but also bought some Starline.
 
Riomouse911 said:
My FFL had a beauty like that a while back. If it was a 9mm I would have entertained buying it (Don’t want another caliber to reload).

Starline should have brass that you can back order in case you run short.

When you get loads together let us know how it shoots. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
Click to expand...
I love new caliber as much as new guns! the .30 Mauser looks like a COOL case! like a 357 Sig
 
Chuck R. said:
Mine's a early Commercial, made from a WWI gun, IAW the SN 1918 manufacture. SNs all match, but the date stamp was ground off when it "commercialized".

View attachment 1131030

I use W231 or HP38 with .312 plated bullets, both 90 grain and 71 grain. A lot of the 7.65s have slightly oversized bores and the .312 plated bullets swage down nicely and feed well. I lucked into a bunch of Fiocchi brass, but also bought some Starline.
Click to expand...
those are some light bullets! WOW
 
Fiocchi factory loads are 110s and 93s, the 7.65 Luger never was a "heavy" hitter.

Unfortunately nobody makes 90 grn plated anymore, so once my stash is gone I might have to find a 100 grn jacketed that will feed.
 
Mark_Mark said:
oooh, didn’t know that was the size
Click to expand...
:eek::oops::(
IIRC, back when ammo for 7.62x25mm Tokarev was hard to come by, some folks were using 7.65mm Luger to feed them. It wasn't ideal but it worked. Then the flood gates opened up on 7.62Tok surplus ammo and the demand for 7.65 Luger went down. Now, the brass for both is pretty common so it shouldn't be a problem finding brass or loaded ammo but, if the 7.62 Tokarev brass is easier to find and cheaper, it ought to make for a good conversion, with just a good set of dies and some trimming. The Hornady 85gr. .312" XTP should work - I know it does in 7.62 Tokarev - but it probably depends on your chamber/throat dimensions.
 
GeoDudeFlorida said:
:eek::oops::(
IIRC, back when ammo for 7.62x25mm Tokarev was hard to come by, some folks were using 7.65mm Luger to feed them. It wasn't ideal but it worked. Then the flood gates opened up on 7.62Tok surplus ammo and the demand for 7.65 Luger went down. Now, the brass for both is pretty common so it shouldn't be a problem finding brass or loaded ammo but, if the 7.62 Tokarev brass is easier to find and cheaper, it ought to make for a good conversion, with just a good set of dies and some trimming. The Hornady 85gr. .312" XTP should work - I know it does in 7.62 Tokarev - but it probably depends on your chamber/throat dimensions.
Click to expand...
.312” 85gr THANK YOU!

Guess what I have on Layaway jail???? $250 left for both! Ok, I’ll spill the beans… Ruger Standard & a CZ52 in 7.62 Tok!!!
 
GeoDudeFlorida said:
:eek::oops::(
IIRC, back when ammo for 7.62x25mm Tokarev was hard to come by, some folks were using 7.65mm Luger to feed them. It wasn't ideal but it worked. Then the flood gates opened up on 7.62Tok surplus ammo and the demand for 7.65 Luger went down. Now, the brass for both is pretty common so it shouldn't be a problem finding brass or loaded ammo but, if the 7.62 Tokarev brass is easier to find and cheaper, it ought to make for a good conversion, with just a good set of dies and some trimming. The Hornady 85gr. .312" XTP should work - I know it does in 7.62 Tokarev - but it probably depends on your chamber/throat dimensions.
Click to expand...
Also, I didn’t know much about the .30 Luger but love the idea that it’s a Natzi Gun with a American Eagle chest! Can’t wait to BBQ this gun and pop off a few rounds… and make up stories on how America won the War and we took over the Natzi gun factory and put American Eagles on there pride & joy officer side arms
 
That would sure be a made up story.
The 1900 Luger pistole and its 7.65 original chambering predate the Nazi party by 20 years.
The US Army bought 1000 test trials Lugers, complete with American Eagle in 1901.
They bought 50 more to compare the newfangled 9mm in 1903.

After Nazi takeover, Stoeger was still advertising Lugers with American Eagle in 1939, the eve of WWII.

They also announced the forthcoming Walther P38 in .38 Super and .45, none ever delivered, and showed the Mauser M712 with detachable magazine, same as the Schnellfeur except semiautomatic only.
 
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Jim Watson said:
That would sure be a made up story.
The 1900 Luger pistole and its 7.65 original chambering predate the Nazi party by 20 years.
The US Army bought 1000 test trials Lugers, complete with American Eagle in 1901.
They bought 50 more to compare the newfangled 9mm in 1903.

After Nazi takeover, Stoeger was still advertising Lugers with American Eagle in 1939, the eve of WWII.

They also announced the forthcoming Walther P38 in .38 Super and .45, none ever delivered, and showed the Mauser M712 with detachable magazine, same as the Schnellfeur except semiautomatic only.
Click to expand...
yes, it would be a make up story. My best buds are dumb as dirt & I’m not too far off either
 
Anybody try Speer 100g .30 “Plinker” .308 in .30 Luger. I got a bunch of these bullets on a trade with a member.

after research, someone is using .308 in 7.65 .30 Luger. Thoughts???

few quotes and link:
https://www.handgunsandammunition.com/threads/reloading-the-30-luger.7026/

“My handload for the 100 grain Plinker is 4.4 grains Bullseye and the CCI #500 primer in the Winchester case. Chrono'd velocity is a mild 1084 fps. It pretty much shoots to point of aim with the fixed sights and has never failed to function in any way. In a strong pistol like the HP this bullet could be driven somewhat faster if desired. Another 100 fps is possible if you want to try and duplicate the DWM load.”
 
My 30 Luger is not a Luger, so my loading experience with the 30 Luger cartridge is probably not typical.

My dies are Lee. That's what was available when I needed dies, so that's what I bought. They have worked fine for me.

My brass is Starline.

I have two molds for casting bullets for my 327 Fed Mag. Both are flat nose round noses. One mold is plain base the other is gas checked. Using Lyman No. 2 alloy, the bullets cast out to 102 grains with an as cast diameter of 0.315. I size and lube the bullets to 0.314 for use in the 327 FM. I take sized and lubed bullets, that I'm going to use in the 30 Luger, and size them down to 0.310 for use as 30 Luger. They seem to maintain concentricity doing this. So far, I've only loaded plain based bullets. No problems with leading, and they have provided good accuracy and function.

My barrel, made by Bar-Sto barrel, slugged out to a groove diameter of 0.308.

I have some of the Speer 100 grain 30 cal. SPRN plinkers, Speer No. 1805. By the way, the box is marked "Ideal for 30 Luger". I haven't tried them yet since the cast bullets have worked well and are cheaper and more available, since I cast and size them myself.

I generally use Unique powder and CCI 500 small pistol primers.

"Cartridges of the World 9th edition" page 267 has a load reference for the Speer plinker using 4.8 grains of Unique.

From what I've read, I would recommend that you slug your barrel, as 30 Lugers seem to vary somewhat in barrel dimensions.

Good Luck
 
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gpb said:
My 30 Luger is not a Luger, so my loading experience with the 30 Luger cartridge is probably not typical.

My dies are Lee. That's what was available when I needed dies, so that's what I bought. They have worked fine for me.

My brass is Starline.

I have two molds for casting bullets for my 327 Fed Mag. Both are flat nose round noses. One mold is plain base the other is gas checked. Using Lyman No. 2 alloy, the bullets cast out to 102 grains with an as cast diameter of 0.315. I size and lube the bullets to 0.314 for use in the 327 FM. I take sized and lubed bullets, that I'm going to use in the 30 Luger, and size them down to 0.310 for use as 30 Luger. They seem to maintain concentricity doing this. So far, I've only loaded plain based bullets. No problems with leading, and they have provided good accuracy and function.

My barrel, made by Bar-Sto barrel, slugged out to a groove diameter of 0.308.

I have some of the Speer 100 grain 30 cal. SPRN plinkers, Speer No. 1805. By the way, the box is marked "Ideal for 30 Luger". I haven't tried them yet since the cast bullets have worked well and are cheaper and more available, since I cast and size them myself.

I generally use Unique powder and CCI 500 small pistol primers.

"Cartridges of the World 9th edition" page 267 has a load reference for the Speer plinker using 4.8 grains of Unique.

From what I've read, I would recommend that you slug your barrel, as 30 Lugers seem to vary somewhat in barrel dimensions.

Good Luck
Click to expand...
WOW! thanks for that! Lets see what happens with the Speer! got 4 boxing coming in the mail
 
Mark_Mark said:
.312” 85gr THANK YOU!

Guess what I have on Layaway jail???? $250 left for both! Ok, I’ll spill the beans… Ruger Standard & a CZ52 in 7.62 Tok!!!
Click to expand...
Enjoy! I went through the Tokarev phase for both rifles and pistols. I sold my last SVT 40 a couple years ago when the market was down for $1200. Nowadays that’s a cheap price for a Tula refurbished SVT 40 but I didn’t have any reason to think that would be the case. I paid $200 for it in ’98 and kinda felt like I made a bad deal but it was a lot of fun. I gave away my last Chinese M-54 two years ago to a young man I’ve known since he was in diapers who grew into a fine young man with kids of his own. After a few years you get enough of whiz bang and oh so cool and settle down into get’r done.
Watch the pressure on that Luger. The toggle action is deceptively strong and smooth. You won’t see danger signs until you’re over what the chamber can handle and by then it’s too late.
 
GeoDudeFlorida said:
Enjoy! I went through the Tokarev phase for both rifles and pistols. I sold my last SVT 40 a couple years ago when the market was down for $1200. Nowadays that’s a cheap price for a Tula refurbished SVT 40 but I didn’t have any reason to think that would be the case. I paid $200 for it in ’98 and kinda felt like I made a bad deal but it was a lot of fun. I gave away my last Chinese M-54 two years ago to a young man I’ve known since he was in diapers who grew into a fine young man with kids of his own. After a few years you get enough of whiz bang and oh so cool and settle down into get’r done.
Watch the pressure on that Luger. The toggle action is deceptively strong and smooth. You won’t see danger signs until you’re over what the chamber can handle and by then it’s too late.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that! I’m going to load light fun loads for the Luger, It’s to pretty to mess up! my main goal is to BBQ the gun with a Paratrooper holster. But the 7.62x25! man, the more I look into that round, the more I ask, why S&W didn’t do a M&P for it. But, I definitely will be looking for a Chinese Tok! I’ll call it the Tic Tok Ballon <<< get it! but I do love Chinese surplus guns, sometimes about having guns make in China that they can’t own. Sadistic… yes
 
Mark_Mark said:
Thanks for that! I’m going to load light fun loads for the Luger, It’s to pretty to mess up! my main goal is to BBQ the gun with a Paratrooper holster. But the 7.62x25! man, the more I look into that round, the more I ask, why S&W didn’t do a M&P for it. But, I definitely will be looking for a Chinese Tok! I’ll call it the Tic Tok Ballon <<< get it! but I do love Chinese surplus guns, sometimes about having guns make in China that they can’t own. Sadistic… yes
Click to expand...
Well, not to be confusing but, the deal with a Luger is it’s designed for a certain load. They aren’t fussy, they’re German ;)

To light and the toggle short strokes causing feed problems. Too hot and the barrel stop gets beat up. Load it to factory specifications and work down until you get feed problems then go back up one step.
 
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