208g Amax in the 30-06 - chrono test

[bobnob]

I got out this morning and shot some 208g Amaxes at 100y over the chrony.

Being a little short on bullets I loaded up a simple 5 shot test ladder, going up one grain at a time.

NOTE: SOME OF THESE LOADS ARE OVER ADI/HODGDON RECOMMENDED MAXIMUM.

So the load details were: 208g Amax, R-P brass, CCI std LR primers, oal 3.33in, powder Ar2209/H4350

1. 51g - 2459fps
2. 52g - 2488fps
3. 53g - 2522fps
4. 54g - 2592fps
5. 55g - 2672fps

The 5 shots printed upwards with each shot as you'd expect, except shot 5 which printed down near the 3rd one. Here's the target...

Horizontal dispersal was only 1.3 inches - not bad for a mug shot shooting prone over rolled up towels for a rest.

I started getting a little flattening of the primers on shots 4 and 5 but all in all they seemed mild enough. Certainly nothing in the way of sticky bolt or anything you wouldn't expect with a normal factory load.

Shots 1 to 5 left to right...

Anyway its just data at this point. I might load some up around 53.5 to 54.0g and shoot for groups and see what the average speeds are. Looking for about 2600fps ave with good accuracy as the main objective.

Any thoughts?

 

[Guy Miner]

With the 200 gr AccuBond, Nosler shows three powders that exceed 2600 fps, in their manual. Might be worth considering one of them as an alternative:

RL-19, VV N160, RL-22

Otherwise, I like your idea of a long, heavy .30 cal bullet at 2600+ fps, and am sure the good old .30-06 is up to the task. H4350 is one of my favorite powders, particularly in the .30-06, but I don't normally use it for anything over 180 grains in the '06. Somehow the slower burning powders seem to work real well with those heavy bullets.

Interesting stuff, and thanks for sharing. Don't see a lot of guys building long-range/heavy bullet loads for the .30-06 anymore.

Regards, Guy

 

[JohnB]

Bobnob

Check out the 30-06 update article on "The Rifleman's Journal" by German Salazar. See the link below.

http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/20 ... pdate.html

Lots of other good 30-06 info on this site also.

JohnB

 

[bobnob]

Thanks Guy and John.

If the 4350 doesn't pan out I have 4831. We can also access R22 and R17 and so forth here, however I prefer the Aussie made powders where possible.

I think R22 from all accounts would get me the highest speeds, maybe into the 2700fps zone safely, however 2600fps is all I am after and I am sure one of the ADI powders will get me there. Even a little under 2600 will do what I want.

I am shooting this load again today at 54g so I will report back.

 

[bobnob]

Just went out and shot a quick five shot group with this combo.

With 54.0g of Ar2209, I got a 5 shot average of 2604fps. This load appears relatively mild. There's certainly no stiff bolt lift, marks on the case head or squished primers. And it doesn't kick any worse than my 180g loads which are doing around 2800fps.

While its only one group and a lot more testing needs to be done, the result was a modest 1.85 inch group at 105 yards.

Anyway there's enough encouragement there to press on with more testing. I only had 12 of these bullets kindly donated by a friend so I will spring for a box of 100 and see what I can do with seating depth and or maybe some Ar2213/H4831sc.

For the brains trust: What say you all with regards to Amaxes and their like or dislike of being near or far from the rifling lands?

Anyway at worst this load is nearly good enough to hunt with right now. More groups are needed to ratify this result, who knows subsequent groups might be better without tweaking? I was only shooting over rolled up towels!

As it is this load will carry 2000f/lb of energy out to 400y so if can get it to shoot just a little more tightly, I might have a genuine mid to long range hunting load going here.

Can't wait to try some 210g ABLRs!

Regards,
Bob

 

[jason miller]

For what it's worth, my rifle was able to get substantially more speed with RL17 than h4350 or h4831 and the 200 AccuBond. It's such a good match, in my rifle anyway, that there isn't much point shooting 180's. The RL17/200AB combo is within 50 fps of what I can do with 180's- and more accurate in my rifle...

 

[SJB358]

That seems like a really cool combo. It seems like if you could push a 200 grain bullet around 2700 outta a 30-06 you'd have the 300 H&H about 40 years ago.. Probably a little less recoil.

Has anybody ever ran the 30-06 with 200 AB's? Wondering if anyone has tried the new 210 ABLR's in a 30-06. I would bet you could get that bullet up to speed, as I think it has a little less bearing surface than even the 210 Berger. Not sure though.

 

[gerry]

Has anybody ever ran the 30-06 with 200 AB's?

I have with both H 4831sc and H 4350 the speeds for both with Hodgdon's max were around 2575 fps IIRC. The H 4350 load actually grouped around 1/2" in the Savage I had. I would look at the 190 gr ABLR instead of the 210 gr if I had a 30-06 still I bet 2700 fps would be pretty easy to get.

 

[SJB358]

Has anybody ever ran the 30-06 with 200 AB's?

I have with both H 4831sc and H 4350 the speeds for both with Hodgdon's max were around 2575 fps IIRC. The H 4350 load actually grouped around 1/2" in the Savage I had. I would look at the 190 gr ABLR instead of the 210 gr if I had a 30-06 still I bet 2700 fps would be pretty easy to get.

I am with you Gerry. I would like a 30-06 someday just to try some of these combo's. Never really messed with one much, since my pop's kinda wore me down on the 30-06 at a young age. Wanted anything but a 30-06. Thinking he might have been on to something! :lol:

I would think a 190 ABLR outta a 30-06 would be a skookum (stole that from Mike) load. Alot of bullet mass and BC to hold it up energy wise to a long way out. Kinda makes the 30-06 look like the 300 Magnums of the 50-60's when you compare energy.

 

[gerry]

I remember looking at the ballistics of the 200 gr AB load at 2600 fps and marveling at how well it carried downrange the ABLR must be a lot better in that regard. The 208 gr A-max load Bob is working on should beat the AccuBond down range easily too, just checked Hornady rates the b.c. at .648.

 

[SJB358]

I remember looking at the ballistics of the 200 gr AB load at 2600 fps and marveling at how well it carried downrange the ABLR must be a lot better in that regard. The 208 gr A-max load Bob is working on should beat the AccuBond down range easily too, just checked Hornady rates the b.c. at .648.

Yeah, I would think so too. I would think that 208 AMax would act real civilized at 2600 as well, even 2700. I imagine he will give us some pig performance results soon enough though. Talk about jealous. I gotta shoot water jugs, Bob collects bacon with his bullet tests!

 

[gerry]

It must be a tough job to take all those pigs but someone has to do it

 

[bobnob]

Heheh. Yes I am keen to test them on the hogs, would just like to tinker with the load a little more first to get the accuracy where I want it. Basically I like a hunting load under 1.5 inches for 5 shots. That's my benchmark; anything better is a welcome bonus but I won't chase those rabbits down every burrow looking for sub moa groups on a hunting rifle.

Entering into a busy period soon, moving house, travelling for work and getting hot around here too so there might not be a lot of pigs for a little while.

Anyway thanks for the feedback.

Having a look at the ABLRs, you guys are right; the 190g ABLR might just be the best 30-06 hunting bullet yet if it shows the traditional Nosler accuracy. I think 2750fps would be very doable in that weight.

 

[gerry]

Hope all goes well with work and moving for you it would be interesting to see what your A-max load will do to a big boar. I do believe the 190 gr ABLR would really perform well downrange in the good old 30-06.