30-06 165 grain Accubond

[Alderman]

I got some 165 grain Accubonds yesterday. I've always had good luck with 48.0 grains of IMR 4064 with 165 grain bullets. Not great but plenty good enough for hunting and pretty consistent on the paper. Pleasant to shoot.
Loaded some up and hit bench
1st target is the first three shots with this load. What is interesting is the first shot was as good as it gets. I'd tried sizing these cases with a Lee collet die but two of the three were too loose to hold the bullet. I resized two with an RCBS neck die. The shot on the left is the one that the collet die sized enough to hold the bullet

Target two were all neck sized with RCBS neck die. Again not great but plenty good for deer hunting.

I had some of these bullets without a tip so I just had to try one. Just curious where it would end up.

 

[OU812]

I agree, looks plenty good enough for hunting to me as well. Good shooting.

 

[DrMike]

Bill is correct, those will hunt. They may not be bragging size groups, but they are sufficient to take game. Your rifle is a shooter.

 

[JD338]

Minute of Whitetail accuracy.

JD338

 

[joelkdouglas]

How many times has the brass been fired? I ask because the Lee Collet Die (LCD) doesn't work as well with work hardened brass, and you might consider annealing if that's the case.

Also, you could put the LCD mandrel in a drill, wrap some fine grit sandpaper around the mandrel, and spin away. That will polish the mandrel up and you should get better neck tension.

Those LCDs are sometimes finicky, but they do produce very concentric ammo if you can figure them out.

As for group size, an 0.8-inch, 3-shot group rifle may not win a BR competition,but if it shoots like that all the time I'd be very happy.

 

[SJB358]

Very nice, I'd hunt that for sure!

 

[OU812]

I got some 165 grain Accubonds yesterday. I've always had good luck with 48.0 grains of IMR 4064 with 165 grain bullets. Not great but plenty good enough for hunting and pretty consistent on the paper. Pleasant to shoot.
Loaded some up and hit bench
1st target is the first three shots with this load. What is interesting is the first shot was as good as it gets. I'd tried sizing these cases with a Lee collet die but two of the three were too loose to hold the bullet. I resized two with an RCBS neck die. The shot on the left is the one that the collet die sized enough to hold the bullet

Target two were all neck sized with RCBS neck die. Again not great but plenty good for deer hunting.

I had some of these bullets without a tip so I just had to try one. Just curious where it would end up.

Did you try and overlay the 2 targets with and without the tip? Looks like the single shot wo the tip would lay right in place with the 3 shot group with tips.

 

[Alderman]

JoelK is on to something. These were the fourth loads for this brass. Makes sense.

 

[Alderman]

I should have loaded more without tips to get a group.

 

[filmjunkie4ever]

Alderman - my go to load for the 165 BT and AB is 56.0-56.5 grains of H4350. With Nosler or F-C brass and WLR primers I get cloverleafs if I do my job right. Interestingly enough, the Federal Premium 165 BT factory loads shoot to the same point of aim as do my BT handloads. The BTs and ABs don't shoot to the same place though it is similar. With this load the powder fills up nearly to the bottom of the neck and when the bullet is seated there is slight compression.

This load is getting 2800 fps from my 24" barrel M70 classic.

I have toyed with the overall length a few times and found that 3.275" seems to be the happy place rather than the longer 3.300" I had originally thought. The aforementioned factory loads measured between 3.250" and 3.260" and they shoot cloverleafs as well.

Each gun is a bit different so some of this research is definately relative but it could give you some place to start. I for one know that I don't like switching powders once I have found one that I like. For years I shot H414 or W760 in my .30-06 with all bullet weights. After trying some H4350 loads and seeing my group sizes either equal or better all of my previous "pet loads" with the ball powders, I switched over in a heartbeat.

Whatever you end up doing, good luck! You have a fine weapon in a .30-06, one that will doubtless handle any big game on this continent and several on others. Find a load you like and learn to shoot it well and you'll never need another rifle.

 

[BD1]

+ 1 on the above, I use the same components..... seating depth can also be a little finicky with AB's..... You might try seating them a little deeper with your load.
This is .060 off the lands in a slightly customized T-3 Superlight

 

[Alderman]

Always good to hear what is working for somebody else. Cuts out a lot of experimenting. Hopefully I'll get some time to try these out.

 

[Oldtrader3]

I have been shooting 165 Partitions for 50 years in the .30-06 and with 57.5 grs of IMR 4350, this load is sub MOA in my '06. AccuBond 165 gr also shoot MOA or better in this rifle. You may need to find the right load?

 

[6mm Remington]

I have been shooting 165 Partitions for 50 years in the .30-06 and with 57.5 grs of IMR 4350, this load is sub MOA in my '06. AccuBond 165 gr also shoot MOA or better in this rifle. You may need to find the right load?

I'm right there with Charlie. 165 gr. Partition or AccuBond and 57.4 grs. of IMR4350. Seems like lots of folks here have great success with IMR4350 and H4350 and 165 gr. Noslers from 56.0-58.0 grs.