I've been working off and on over the past year on loading nominally .308" diameter bullets meant for .30 Carbine in .327 for a variety of reasons. One is for the purposes of having a jacket as many .327 revolvers have large throats that allow gas to blow by the bullet before it reaches the forcing cone and causes a lead build up in the bore and the lead isn't built for 1500 fps. The second is cost, .30 Carbine bullets can cost quite a bit less than .312 jacketed bullets do, especially Berry's. The third is variety, there's a lot more jacketed options for .308 bullets than .312.
So, with the reasons as to "why?" out of the way, there's some things to discuss.
Firstly, the only way this is going to work is using an undersized sizing die, if a standard sizer is used the neck diameter inside the case will be too large and there will be no tension, thus the bullet will move in the case and crimping doesn't fix it, all attempting to crimp does is push the bullet deeper in the case and it doesn't matter what neck expander you use.
Second, after using the undersize sizer you must use a .30 Carbine neck expander/mouth flare die as using a .32 expander/flarer will open the neck back up for .312 bullets. The .30 will expand the neck just a little, but enough to achieve tension on the bullet.
From there it's all the same as loading anything else. Accuracy from a handgun is good enough, I can't say how it will be at 50 yards, but the bullets are stabilized well enough for typical handgun distances. I haven't shot paper with these loads yet, I was waiting on some of the 110gr Berry's to be delivered as Speer hasn't been making any .30 Carbine bullets for a few years in enough quantity to be able to get them at a decent price. With the Berry's being rated for 2000 fps they will hold up to the velocity of .327, but the ultimate goal is to use the Speer soft points in the Henry Big Boy.
I will update this topic after I have tested the Berry's 110s for accuracy and velocity. With the Speer 100gr Plinkers, I was able to hit 6 inch plates at 15y without trouble.
So, with the reasons as to "why?" out of the way, there's some things to discuss.
Firstly, the only way this is going to work is using an undersized sizing die, if a standard sizer is used the neck diameter inside the case will be too large and there will be no tension, thus the bullet will move in the case and crimping doesn't fix it, all attempting to crimp does is push the bullet deeper in the case and it doesn't matter what neck expander you use.
Second, after using the undersize sizer you must use a .30 Carbine neck expander/mouth flare die as using a .32 expander/flarer will open the neck back up for .312 bullets. The .30 will expand the neck just a little, but enough to achieve tension on the bullet.
From there it's all the same as loading anything else. Accuracy from a handgun is good enough, I can't say how it will be at 50 yards, but the bullets are stabilized well enough for typical handgun distances. I haven't shot paper with these loads yet, I was waiting on some of the 110gr Berry's to be delivered as Speer hasn't been making any .30 Carbine bullets for a few years in enough quantity to be able to get them at a decent price. With the Berry's being rated for 2000 fps they will hold up to the velocity of .327, but the ultimate goal is to use the Speer soft points in the Henry Big Boy.
I will update this topic after I have tested the Berry's 110s for accuracy and velocity. With the Speer 100gr Plinkers, I was able to hit 6 inch plates at 15y without trouble.
