So like everyone else who shoots and doesn't reload, I'm now thinking of starting to do that. Which makes me wonder- I have a few rifles of "30 caliber", can any of these be shared across calibers?

.308/7.62x51 NATO
7.62x39
7.62x54R
7.65x53 Argentine
8mm Mauser (7.92x57)
30/30 (30WCF)

I suspect the answer is "no", but figured I'd ask for confirmation.

.308 and .30-30 use the same diameter bullets, but you'll want to use the flat nose style in the latter to prevent the point of one bullet in a tubular magazine from setting off the primer of the cartridge in front of it. The Hornady LeveRevolution bullet is the exception to this rule as it has a polymer tip.

As far as I know the other bullets do not interchange.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

You must first find out if you even have an interest in handloading. Get at least one handloading manual, a Lyman if you're only going to get one, and read it. It will give you a fundamental and broad understanding and your question will be clearly answered. This is basic knowledge every competent handloader must have. If you find the reading to be unenjoyable and time consuming rather than informative and interesting, handloading isn't for you. It will be a well spent $25.00 or whatever these books cost nowadays.

You picked a bad time to start reloading, bullets, primers, & powder are very high dollar & the last 2 are very hard to find. Good luck though.

30 cal. is .308" = 7.62 mm

All in your list ,EXCEPT 8mm Mauser (7.92mm), are 30 cal /.308"/ 7.62 mm.
Hornady shows its 30 cal. bullets as 0.308" dia.

8 mm Mauser is 32 cal / 7.92mm / 0.323" dia.

The 30-30 is usually loaded with a flat point bullet for use in lever action rifle tubular magazines . Bolt action 30-30 w/o tube magazine can be loaded with pointed bullets .
Buy a couple loading manuals and study them carefully ...details matter in this hobby . But it is a lot of fun , I started in 1967 and still having fun .
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

8mm mauser doesn’t interchange with anything else with it’s .323 dia bullets. 7.62x39, 7.62x54R, and 7.62x53 Argentine all use the same .311 bullets but not always the same weight. But handloading them gives you a lot more flexibility than buying factory ammo. All three could be loaded with the light 124 gr bullets.

All but the 7.65, 8mm, and .303 British use .308 bullets, with the caveat that the 30/30 will need flat point bullets. The 7.65 and .303 require .311 bullets, while the 8mm takes .323.

May I suggest that you start by buying a reloading manual or three, and read what they have to say. Lyman is probably the best, in my opinion, but there are many others.

Good luck!

It isn't just about the bullet diameter, you have to consider the bullet weight and intended velocity. 7.62x39 usually uses a 139 grain bullet, the 7.62x54R uses 174 to 216 gr. bullet (depending on the age of the gun) WHY? Because the rifling has a twist , and different bullets perform best at a different rate of twist. Velocity also effects how the bullet perform in different twists.

Of your 3 guns that use .311 bullets, your best bet for a common bullet is a 147 to 150 grain bullet. It's a little heavy for 7.62x39, a little light for 7.62x54R and about right for 7.63x53. All 3 will use the same shape bullet, and can use Hollow Point (HP), Full Metal Jacket (FMJ), or Soft Point (SP) bullets.

A common Powder will also be a problem. The most likely candidate would be IMR 3031. A standard Large Rifle primer will work in most case of all three rounds.

Bullet trajectory will be a problem at distances from 200 yards on out (and maybe closer)

The 7.62x39 will be slow and shoot low to the sights (so you use a further distance setting).

The 7.63x53 will be pretty close.

The 7.62x54R will shoot high (use the closest setting, and learn to aim low!)

NOW ON TO 30-30 & 308,. If you buy 150 grain Round Nose Flat Point (RNFP) bullets made for 30-30 the will work fine in the 308 out to 300+ yards! The same Powder (IMR 3031) and Primers (Large Rifle) will work also.

7.92x57 is often referred to as 8x57. It also works very well with IMR 3031 and uses Large Rifle primers.

When times and supplies return to normal you will have all the equipment you need. You will want a different powder and bullet for 7.62x39. But IMR 3031 is a good to great powder for all 5 of the others! I have loaded 30-30, 308 , 7.62x54R and 8x57 with it and get exhalant accuracy that shoot to the point of aim with proper bullets! I have dies for 7.63x53 Argentine, but never had a gun to load for. For the others I started with Norma Ammunition and they have reloadable brass so I have about 200 of each.

If possible buy just one brand of dies, that way if something breaks, they will have many interchangeable parts. RCBS dies are well made, have a great warranty, and the best customer service! Hornady's current design has problems, and lots of breakage, but fair customer service. Lee has the lowest price point good warranty, and customer service, but remember; YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! Redding is one of the best, but expensive, Lyman makes good dies, but 1 year warranty and poor Customer Service.

On modern loading equipment, all brands are threaded the same (7/8-14) so they are interchangeable. I recommend a cast iron or heavy cast aluminum.

Buy the shell holder for each cartridge and leave it in the die box! The brands are interchangeable on this too. Lee brand do real well here and usually are the least cost.

You will need a good scale for this type of powder, a small battery powered digital with a pan will serve you well. (My brother and I have ones for trading gold and were $15 plus pan (I'm sure the price has gone up!), JUST MAKE SURE they will measure in 1/10 Grains.

Get a good loading manual! These are well established cartridges ,so a used/older manual would be just fine Lyman #45 from the 1970's is perhaps the best for your needs!

Have fun loading

Ivan

PS: You may notice, there are lots of opinions! They are like belly buttons, only yours and your mates matter! I notice some of the posts are by people that have no idea what they are talking about. Please be careful. ITB

7.62x39 is actually .310, 7.62x54R depends on the bore in my Mosin I've used .303 bullets with success; 8mm is 0.323; as already been mentioned only 7.62x51 and 30-30 potentially can share bullets but even then in 30-30 you'd more likely use hunting bullets and "precision" in .308.

If you're just starting reload bullets are probably least of your worries cause at least you can find them; powders and especially primers are whole another story.

Folks have already covered the bullet diameter and twist issues pretty well but they are making some assumptions about your firearm.
If your 7.62x39 is a Russian sort of thing (AK, SKS) then, yeah .310 is the correct nominal diameter and you will need to pick a powder that will cycle the action. If on the other hand it's a Ruger mini-30 or other "American" gun, some were .308 and some were .310 depending on when it was built.
Similarly it seems everybody is assuming your 30-30 is a tube-feed lever gun, which is pretty likely, but not certain so bullet shape may or may not matter. You also don't specify if your .308 is semiautomatic or some manual action.
If you let us know the specific firearms you are loading for we can be more specific in our advice.

FWIW, you can use the Speer "plinker" 100gr bullet in the 308/30-30/.303/7.62x39/7.62x54R with more or less accuracy and utility, but it will work for gallery loads at the very least.

So, to answer the original question: yes, but it's not ideal.

The best way to make sure is to slug the bore of your gun. While most of your 30 cal. rifles will run .308", mass war time/military production barrels can be all over the place. I have a 7,62x39 rifle that slugs out at .310". A 7.62x54r that slugs .309"+. But I have used the same .308 bullets in my 7.62x39, a 7.62x54r, 30-30, 30-06 Garand and .308/7.62x51. (I developed a 147 gr load for the 7.62x39 but it didn't work well). I used Hornady 150 gr. A-Max in all, and in my 30-30 single shot it worked great...

You also want to at least try to get the right weight and configuration for the actual twist rate of each rifle.

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Sag Harbor & Manhattan, N.Y.

You might find that even serious handloaders tend to avoid handloading for the two Russian cartridges. Not saying that nobody does, just saying that they aren’t a popular choice because (reloadable) brass is relatively scarce and the typical rifles that eat these ammos tend to not be the kinds of rifles that gain a lot from well crafted handloads.

The 7.62x39 is handloaded by quite a few and has been since it became widely available in the cheap SKS carbines thirty or so years ago. These guns were followed by several more refined bolt-actions in the 7.62x39 chambering. Before the recent shortages, brass (and loaded ammo) was not difficult to find.

Some rifles, like the original (Davidsons) run of the Ruger Mark II stainless in 7.62x39 will handle bullets of .308" and .311" diameters equally well.

The crude SKS guns may ding brass at times, but these are very superficial marks and cause no harm. I'm still using a batch of Remington cases that I bought thirty years ago, most of which were fired in a couple of SKSs before being used in a couple of Rugers. Some of these cases have the characteristic SKS dings. I'm not really sure what the 7.62x39 is good for as a sporting round, but it recoils little and is quite accurate in a rifle of good quality.

Thanks, there's a lot to mull over and digest. Yes, I know this is not the best time to start (not at the moment, at least); and I have ample supply of loaded ammo for them all at the moment.

I was thinking going forward, once this craze has passed, to start setting up at least a rudimentary ability to reload. I have enough PPU in some of these calibers that I have brass to work with.