The following is a set of reloading options and techniques which, take it or leave it, is outside the normal thinking when it comes to reloading. I was turned onto this idea by a gentleman on www.accuratereloading.com. At first, like many, I was skeptical and unbelieving. With an open mind, questions to the right people, research and actual testing, it worked for me. Your mileage may vary. (YMMV)
After more than 30 years of shooting the 30-06 in 22” barrels, I wanted more velocity but without too much hassle or changing calibers. The 30-06 Ackley Improved seemed to be the ticket….for me! Since I was going to start with a new barrel and it is impossible to add barrel length, I started with a 26” stainless steel barrel by Dan Lilja of Plains, MT. It ordered a 1:11 twist, which Dan assures me, will handle up to 200 grain bullets and has 3 wide grooves instead of the more traditional 5 or 6 narrow grooves. I had Ian Jensen of American Fork, Utah (Ian was the gunsmith at Barnes Bullets until he recently took a new job somewhere back in the Midwest), chamber, thread, crown and install my barrel into my 1982 Remington M700 action, which had had a 22” 30-06 Mag-na-ported barrel. With that old 22” barrel, the fastest 180 grain load I ever put together was 2750 fps. It had worked for years on numerous elk, deer and antelope, but I wanted MORE!
The concept is to use more powder in the case. Gee, what’s so new about that? But, there is a “room” issue; as in their isn’t enough of it. Well, the Ackley improvement adds a bit. My Winchester cases add 4 grains of water after they had been fire formed. So, theirs a bit more powder. But then, many people have done the 30-06 Ackley improvement and not hit 3100 fps with 180 grain bullets in 26” barrels. I understand the SAAMI pressure issue and comparing apples to apples when keeping pressures the same.
The trick is slow powder, or should I say a powder which is slower than those traditionally used powders. Traditional powders like H414, W760 and WXR, the N*50/*60 series, the 4350’s, Reloader 19 and 22, Ramshot Hunter, AA 3100, Norma MRP and the 4831 series. Don’t get me wrong, some of these powders are very good. Nosler notes how in the standard 30-06, 61 grains of Reloader 22 pushes a 180 grain bullet to 2872 fps and 62 grains of Reloader 22 pushes the same 180 grain bullet to 2985 fps in the Ackley Improved version; both in a 24” Lilja barrel with 1:10 twist; makes me wonder if Lilja barrels are fast.
The powders I’m talking about are Reloader 25, MRP-2, Magnum, IMR 7828/ssc, H1000 or N165. Rationally, these are magnum powders. Hey, if we’re talking about pushing a 180 bullet at 3000-3100 fps, we are talking magnum territory.
I’m going to talk about Reloader 25 as this is “the” powder for my ’06 Ackley. There is no loading data available for Reloader 25 in the 30-06 Ackley, at least none that I know of. The data I was given is from the gentleman over on www.accuratereloading.com. He first used Quick Load then did his own testing. He gave me a bunch of his data. From there I tested it.
If you look in most reloading manuals, the traditionally slow powders are usually compressed loads. There are differing opinions on whether or not compression is good or bad. I’m not going into that. The reloading manuals compress “a little” compared to what I’m going to talk about.
I’m talking about putting up to 70-71 grains of Reloader 25 into a 30-06 Ackley case; right up to the top of the neck. Again, in the beginning, I really balked at this. I’d read an article two years ago by Rick Jamison in an early 2005 issue or Shooting Times. In it, he brings to light, the then new, IMR 7828ssc. He says that if one wants to increase velocity, one needs to increase the powder charge weight. To do that, the neat new thing about the super short cut version of IMR 7828 is that you get more into a case. He was able to get 4 more grains of it into a 22-250 case. When used with heavy bullets the velocities can climb. “Ok” thought I! More powder gets more speed but what about all that compression and will it hurt something?
I called Hodgdon and talked to a tech. Without mentioning any cartridge specifics I asked some questions. I did this because I didn’t want any standard answers coming my way without him actually thinking about the question. I asked in general terms how one could increase velocity. “Add more powder within reason” was his answer. I asked if compressed load were “ok”. “Yes” he said. I asked if compressing powder too much was a bad thing. “Sure” he said. I asked how a person could compress powder too much. He said “by using something like a wooden dowel to really compact, tamp and bang the powder down into the case”. What happened then, I asked. He said that “the powder grain structure could be broken or cracked. The grains which are damaged could/would burn different than the original design and affect the burn structure of the load. I then went on to ask if one were to slowly dribble in powder via a drop tube until the level reached as high as, perhaps, the mid portion of the neck or even the top of the neck and the only compression provided to the powder was via normal bullet seating, would their be any problems or damage to the powder grain structure? “No! It should be fine” he said.
After the phone call, I started thinking this through and ended up asking the gentleman over on www.accuratereloading.com how he was able to get and keep that much powder into the case without the bullet being pushed back up/out to destroy the intended OAL. “Extra neck tension” he said. “How do I get it” I asked. He used his FL sizing die without the expander in place. Yes his necks were very tight but it worked.
So far, I’ve been able to get and keep the neck tension I need with nothing more than the Lee Neck Collet die and the standard .3055” decapping mandrel. I’ve gotten up to 70.7 grains of Reloader 25 under the Nosler 180 Ballistic Tip and 69.9 grains under the Speer 180 Hot Core spitzer before hitting hard bolt lift and ejector mark pressure signs and that’s with my bullets .010” into the lands. Of course I worked up from 62.4 grains, in .4 grain increments. Cases were COW fire formed Winchester cases and Federal 210M primers.
I ran several 300 yard Audette Ladders with both bullets seated .005” into the lands. All the brass was match prepped and only brass with necks .0015” or less in thickness variation was used. I settled on 68.6 gr (2/3rd the way up the neck) for the Nosler 180 BT and then ran a seating depth test seating the bullets .005” deeper. When I hit .015” off the lands the groups shrank considerably. At 300 yards I was getting 3-shot groups running between .5” to .75” MOA and 3060 fps. For the record the original .005” “into the lands” load was also .75” MOA; all this from a barrel whose 26” muzzle is .542” in diameter.
I think I’ve got a shooter and a load to boot!
After more than 30 years of shooting the 30-06 in 22” barrels, I wanted more velocity but without too much hassle or changing calibers. The 30-06 Ackley Improved seemed to be the ticket….for me! Since I was going to start with a new barrel and it is impossible to add barrel length, I started with a 26” stainless steel barrel by Dan Lilja of Plains, MT. It ordered a 1:11 twist, which Dan assures me, will handle up to 200 grain bullets and has 3 wide grooves instead of the more traditional 5 or 6 narrow grooves. I had Ian Jensen of American Fork, Utah (Ian was the gunsmith at Barnes Bullets until he recently took a new job somewhere back in the Midwest), chamber, thread, crown and install my barrel into my 1982 Remington M700 action, which had had a 22” 30-06 Mag-na-ported barrel. With that old 22” barrel, the fastest 180 grain load I ever put together was 2750 fps. It had worked for years on numerous elk, deer and antelope, but I wanted MORE!
The concept is to use more powder in the case. Gee, what’s so new about that? But, there is a “room” issue; as in their isn’t enough of it. Well, the Ackley improvement adds a bit. My Winchester cases add 4 grains of water after they had been fire formed. So, theirs a bit more powder. But then, many people have done the 30-06 Ackley improvement and not hit 3100 fps with 180 grain bullets in 26” barrels. I understand the SAAMI pressure issue and comparing apples to apples when keeping pressures the same.
The trick is slow powder, or should I say a powder which is slower than those traditionally used powders. Traditional powders like H414, W760 and WXR, the N*50/*60 series, the 4350’s, Reloader 19 and 22, Ramshot Hunter, AA 3100, Norma MRP and the 4831 series. Don’t get me wrong, some of these powders are very good. Nosler notes how in the standard 30-06, 61 grains of Reloader 22 pushes a 180 grain bullet to 2872 fps and 62 grains of Reloader 22 pushes the same 180 grain bullet to 2985 fps in the Ackley Improved version; both in a 24” Lilja barrel with 1:10 twist; makes me wonder if Lilja barrels are fast.
The powders I’m talking about are Reloader 25, MRP-2, Magnum, IMR 7828/ssc, H1000 or N165. Rationally, these are magnum powders. Hey, if we’re talking about pushing a 180 bullet at 3000-3100 fps, we are talking magnum territory.
I’m going to talk about Reloader 25 as this is “the” powder for my ’06 Ackley. There is no loading data available for Reloader 25 in the 30-06 Ackley, at least none that I know of. The data I was given is from the gentleman over on www.accuratereloading.com. He first used Quick Load then did his own testing. He gave me a bunch of his data. From there I tested it.
If you look in most reloading manuals, the traditionally slow powders are usually compressed loads. There are differing opinions on whether or not compression is good or bad. I’m not going into that. The reloading manuals compress “a little” compared to what I’m going to talk about.
I’m talking about putting up to 70-71 grains of Reloader 25 into a 30-06 Ackley case; right up to the top of the neck. Again, in the beginning, I really balked at this. I’d read an article two years ago by Rick Jamison in an early 2005 issue or Shooting Times. In it, he brings to light, the then new, IMR 7828ssc. He says that if one wants to increase velocity, one needs to increase the powder charge weight. To do that, the neat new thing about the super short cut version of IMR 7828 is that you get more into a case. He was able to get 4 more grains of it into a 22-250 case. When used with heavy bullets the velocities can climb. “Ok” thought I! More powder gets more speed but what about all that compression and will it hurt something?
I called Hodgdon and talked to a tech. Without mentioning any cartridge specifics I asked some questions. I did this because I didn’t want any standard answers coming my way without him actually thinking about the question. I asked in general terms how one could increase velocity. “Add more powder within reason” was his answer. I asked if compressed load were “ok”. “Yes” he said. I asked if compressing powder too much was a bad thing. “Sure” he said. I asked how a person could compress powder too much. He said “by using something like a wooden dowel to really compact, tamp and bang the powder down into the case”. What happened then, I asked. He said that “the powder grain structure could be broken or cracked. The grains which are damaged could/would burn different than the original design and affect the burn structure of the load. I then went on to ask if one were to slowly dribble in powder via a drop tube until the level reached as high as, perhaps, the mid portion of the neck or even the top of the neck and the only compression provided to the powder was via normal bullet seating, would their be any problems or damage to the powder grain structure? “No! It should be fine” he said.
After the phone call, I started thinking this through and ended up asking the gentleman over on www.accuratereloading.com how he was able to get and keep that much powder into the case without the bullet being pushed back up/out to destroy the intended OAL. “Extra neck tension” he said. “How do I get it” I asked. He used his FL sizing die without the expander in place. Yes his necks were very tight but it worked.
So far, I’ve been able to get and keep the neck tension I need with nothing more than the Lee Neck Collet die and the standard .3055” decapping mandrel. I’ve gotten up to 70.7 grains of Reloader 25 under the Nosler 180 Ballistic Tip and 69.9 grains under the Speer 180 Hot Core spitzer before hitting hard bolt lift and ejector mark pressure signs and that’s with my bullets .010” into the lands. Of course I worked up from 62.4 grains, in .4 grain increments. Cases were COW fire formed Winchester cases and Federal 210M primers.
I ran several 300 yard Audette Ladders with both bullets seated .005” into the lands. All the brass was match prepped and only brass with necks .0015” or less in thickness variation was used. I settled on 68.6 gr (2/3rd the way up the neck) for the Nosler 180 BT and then ran a seating depth test seating the bullets .005” deeper. When I hit .015” off the lands the groups shrank considerably. At 300 yards I was getting 3-shot groups running between .5” to .75” MOA and 3060 fps. For the record the original .005” “into the lands” load was also .75” MOA; all this from a barrel whose 26” muzzle is .542” in diameter.
I think I’ve got a shooter and a load to boot!
Understand, the 358 does not have much of a shoulder to begin with and I have found it to be a very easy case to deform with the above, or if aggressively crimping a cannelure.
