30-06

[Thankful Otter]

AS some of you know, my first rifle was a used 30-06. I used that rifle for years with factory loads and it never let me down. But I have not used it in years

I am mentoring a young lady and she will be using my old 30-06. She will start out with the easy stuff--caribou, black bear, wolf and I will not let her hunt anything that is not 200 yards or closer. Some of my reasoning is I want her to learn to hunt as well as shoot

My grandfather reloads for me now and I was wondering what some of you 30-06 shooters are shooting in yours, thanks

 

[Divernhunter]

150gr Nosler Partitions with IMR4064 or Win760

 

[filmjunkie4ever]

I shoot a 165 grain Nosler Partition with 56.5 grains of H4350 in any case with WLR primers. I am getting 2800 fps out of my 24" barrel.

This is my go-to all-around load.

Good luck!

 

[FOTIS]

I shoot a 165 grain Nosler Partition with 56.5 grains of H4350 in any case with WLR primers. I am getting 2800 fps out of my 24" barrel.

This is my go-to all-around load.

Good luck!

ditto

 

[tddeangelo]

IMR4350 and 165's are about made for the 30-06.

I shoot 57gr IMR4350 and a 165PT. In my particular rifle, that only yields 2700fps, so I could go faster, but there's not a lot of point. If I wanted to shoot caribou and bear, I might think about pushing on the gas pedal a little, but I'm not sure it's necessary.

 

[joelkdouglas]

YH, I have tried several bullets/powders for my 30-06 over the last 12-ish years. I also travel often to hunt, and hunt in different temperatures than I sometimes reside, so I prefer powders that show reduced temperature instability. I use either Lapua, Nosler, or Norma brass, and I use CCI 200 primers.

If I were going to shoot only one bullet combo for a 30-06, and never change the recipe, I would choose H4350 and 165 grain Accubonds or Partitions. In my rifle I can get 2900 fps with 59 grains H4350 with no pressure problems, and accuracy is very good. IMR4350 and 165s performs well also, but H4350 is more temp stable than IMR4350.

If I were going to shoot 150s instead I would try to find some Ramshot Big Game. Right now this powder is a bit scarce. I have also used 59.1 or 59.2 grains of IMR4350 with 150s, and while my rifle really likes this combo for accuracy I don't typically hunt with 150s. I have also used up to almost 60 grains of H4350 with 150s, and it was accurate but not more accurate than IMR4350. You should be able to get 2950 fps with IMR4350 and almost 3000 fps with H4350. I have played around with H4895 and 150s, but not enough to report anything of significance.

If I were going to shoot 180s I would probably stick with H4350. I tried Ramshot Hunter for a while, but when I shot some rounds over a chrono on a darn cold day the velocity and accuracy were pretty terrible. I think the velocity loss was over 150 fps. However, my rifle doesn't really like the H4350/180 PT combination. It will shoot well enough to hunt less than 200 yards, but my rifle just likes the 165s and 150s more.

You might also find this article interesting, by Mr. John Barsness:

http://kristian555.livejournal.com/27291.html?page=1

 

[truck driver]

YH, the guys have said it all 165gr bullets over 56-59grs of H-4350 will get the job done. If she is recoil shy I would try some 125gr AB to get her started. there is a post here about them I think Guy posted it but not sure.

 

[Thankful Otter]

Gentlemen

Thank you !

Joelkdouglas, thank you the article and advice

Scotty, thanks SCotty for your post as well. Your comments make me wonder how long it will be before you break down and buy a 30-06 lol

 

[Anonymous]

YH- I like the 180 PP Partition lumbering along at 2700 or so, several powders work great.

I haven't hunted with the '06 in years but 4831 and 4350 always did the trick for me.

For that matter, boxes of Remington Core lokts did great too!

 

[JD338]

Cheyenne,

I cut my teeth on a 30-06 as well.
My go to powder was IMR4350 for 150 gr (59.0 grs) and 180 gr (57.0 grs) for great speed and sub MOA accuracy.

JD338

 

[Vince]

Cheyenne,

I've only got one load worked up for my 30-06 but it's a "thumper".

I'm running a Barnes TTSX 180 grain bullet in front of 57.0 grains of IMR 4350 for 2714 fps.

It's a great load and quote accurate. I should get expansion out to 450 Yards or so.

I'm curious to try some 130 grain bullets for deer and antelope. I'd like to get more velocity of I can.



Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

 

[Guy Miner]

YH - love the .30-06 cartridge!

Mostly, for years, I've used 58 grains of H4350 over various 165 gr bullets. Mostly Nosler.

Also - I've been messing with the cartridge for over 40 years, and have loaded from 110's to 220's... Happily.

It's a great cartridge - and frankly if I'd only had it - I'd have still taken every head of big game I ever shot at with any other cartridge.

Regards, Guy

 

[Firebird]

One of my favorite loads in my very old .30-06 is imr 4350 and the 165 gr grand slam BUT my daughter shot a good deal with that rifle this season and she would tell you the factory remington reduced recoil loads shooting core loks was the golden ticket and out to two hundred, I would be inclined to agree

 

[SJB358]

After seeing Joel's results with H4350 and 165 ABs I don't know if I'd look anywhere else. Fast, and penetrates well. I can't see that load lacking for much of anything.

 

[HTDUCK]

I shot 57 grs of IMR4350 and 165s for years.
Never super accurate in my rifle, about 1 moa at best but good enough to fills tags.
One day on a whim I worked up some loads with Rem brass 62 grs of RL22 and 165 BTs.
Rifle shot better than it had in the 40 years I've owned it

 

[Vince]

I shot 57 grs of IMR4350 and 165s for years.
Never super accurate in my rifle, about 1 moa at best but good enough to fills tags.
One day on a whim I worked up some loads with Rem brass 62 grs of RL22 and 165 BTs.
Rifle shot better than it had in the 40 years I've owned it

See if you can safely bump up to 59.0 grains of IMR 4350.

That's supposed to be an accuracy load that works in many rifles. Of course now that you've found a load with RL22 you may not need to.

I shoot 57.0 grains of IMR 4350 with the Barnes 180 grain TTSX for a solid half MOA load.

Vince

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[tddeangelo]

57 of IMR4350 and a 165PT gives me 1MOA or better reliably in my old '49 vintage M70.

But it's slow at 2700. 59gr sounds more to my liking. Guess I'll just have to take the old girl to the range more....

 

[Vince]

Your rifle may not be able to handle that load so work up gradually and be alert to pressure signs.

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[tddeangelo]

For sure. Given that 57 is pretty slow for my rifle, though, I bet I can get there.

 

[.300winmag]

180gr BT or AB, 56-57grs H4350, 0.040" jump and don't look back.