Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,746
- 5,824
Mid-day trip to the range today with two favorites, the 25-06 & 30-06 Rem 700 CDL's. I'd recently put new mounts and rings on the 30-06 and wanted to make sure the 6x was properly zeroed. I like these cross-slot mounts and rings:
Also FINALLY got around to sending some 30-06/165 gr Ballistic Tips over the chronograph... Now these loads are over Nosler's recommended max with a 165, but under Hodgdon's, so...
I've been using 58 grains of H4350 and a 165 gr bullet for many years. From the 24" 700 CDL: 2909 fps
And two years ago I bumped it up to 59 grains for the heck of it, and noted good accuracy. Never got around to running it over a chronograph. Today I saw 2970 fps.
Hodgdon shows that charge moving a 165 Sierra SPBT at 2938 fps and 49,400 CUP, so mine isn't too far above that velocity, only 30 fps faster. Cases & primers look good. This is the load that took the elk, bear, mule deer & pronghorn in 2016.
I did my 200 yard shooting from the bench & bipod, then stood up and did my offhand/standing practice at 300 yards. Yee Haw! I need some more practice from standing. Then a few more shots from sitting/bipod just to check things at 300. I'm satisfied.
The highest three impacts on the silhouette were fired from the 25-06 at 300 yards, from the bench/bipod. Aim point was the "neck" or junction between the head & shoulders. My usual "Blue Cyclone" load of 115's at about 3100 fps. The lower impacts were all from the 30-06, offhand, at 300 yards. Yes... I will admit to a couple of misses, off the silhouette...
The pock-marks on this AR-500 target are from 5.56 NATO ammo with the steel penetrator at 50 yards. Several years ago a buddy was shooting my target, and I didn't know he had that stuff. That's the ammo with the green tips. Pocked it up pretty good. Most other bullets just blast the paint off and don't even dent it. A Barnes X hollow point will often leave a slight indentation too, with copper color at the point of impact.
It was a good day, and I'm confident in the rifles, scopes and ammo. Not sure I'm going to keep loading the 30-06 quite that warm. I suspect my old load of 58 grains was just fine at 2900 fps. It always worked! Accuracy appears to be about the same, a bit better with the higher 59 grain charge of H4350.
It was a nice mid-day range trip. Weather was decent too, about 40 degrees and only a slight breeze.
Guy
Also FINALLY got around to sending some 30-06/165 gr Ballistic Tips over the chronograph... Now these loads are over Nosler's recommended max with a 165, but under Hodgdon's, so...
I've been using 58 grains of H4350 and a 165 gr bullet for many years. From the 24" 700 CDL: 2909 fps
And two years ago I bumped it up to 59 grains for the heck of it, and noted good accuracy. Never got around to running it over a chronograph. Today I saw 2970 fps.
Hodgdon shows that charge moving a 165 Sierra SPBT at 2938 fps and 49,400 CUP, so mine isn't too far above that velocity, only 30 fps faster. Cases & primers look good. This is the load that took the elk, bear, mule deer & pronghorn in 2016.
I did my 200 yard shooting from the bench & bipod, then stood up and did my offhand/standing practice at 300 yards. Yee Haw! I need some more practice from standing. Then a few more shots from sitting/bipod just to check things at 300. I'm satisfied.
The highest three impacts on the silhouette were fired from the 25-06 at 300 yards, from the bench/bipod. Aim point was the "neck" or junction between the head & shoulders. My usual "Blue Cyclone" load of 115's at about 3100 fps. The lower impacts were all from the 30-06, offhand, at 300 yards. Yes... I will admit to a couple of misses, off the silhouette...
The pock-marks on this AR-500 target are from 5.56 NATO ammo with the steel penetrator at 50 yards. Several years ago a buddy was shooting my target, and I didn't know he had that stuff. That's the ammo with the green tips. Pocked it up pretty good. Most other bullets just blast the paint off and don't even dent it. A Barnes X hollow point will often leave a slight indentation too, with copper color at the point of impact.
It was a good day, and I'm confident in the rifles, scopes and ammo. Not sure I'm going to keep loading the 30-06 quite that warm. I suspect my old load of 58 grains was just fine at 2900 fps. It always worked! Accuracy appears to be about the same, a bit better with the higher 59 grain charge of H4350.
It was a nice mid-day range trip. Weather was decent too, about 40 degrees and only a slight breeze.
Guy
Good loads, good shooting.
