Looking for a little info

[SyntheticHero]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forums and a bit of a newbie to reloading. I've been hunting for several years and just started making my own ammo for hunting within the last year. After much research I've found Nosler bullets to be pretty damn good, and I'm very excited to make my first batch.

I'm going to be making 168 grain Nosler C.T. Ballistic Silver tips for my 30-06. With a starting maximum of 57 grains of H4350 and maybe eventually bringing it up a little, but not yet.

But what I really need to know is for that particular bullet what is the best C.O.L. So I can seat them properly and get the best performance. If anyone has experience with them please let me know, so far answers online have all been different, and I'm looking for an experienced opinion from people who have used these particular bullets.

And if anyone has any tips for me in making these bullets please throw it out there weather it's reloading recipes or your opinions on this load.

Thanks for the read, and I look forward to reading and learning from everyone :grin:

 

[filmjunkie4ever]

Welcome to the forum!

I have loaded more for the 30-06 than any other caliber. I have tried many many different bullet weights and loads both in factory and handloaded form. The worst groups I have ever gotten were about 1.6" for five shots with my Model 70 Winchester Classic. It is a beauty to behold and shoots straighter than the road to hell.

The best advice I can offer is that you need to experiment. My best Cartridge Over All Length (COAL) is about 3.250" for 165 Partitions and 3.310" for 180 Partitions. Those both have different "sweet spots" in the same rifle. I shoot the 165 Accubonds and 165 Gamekings pretty exclusively in my 30-06 these days (both of which shoot best at different OAL's though shoot to the same point of aim at 100 yards with the 57 grains charge of H4350) as I have a 300 WSM to shoot 180 grain bullets. Two things to make sure of is that 1) You will have deviations. Meaning your cartridges will vary often 10-20 thousands of an inch in their overall length. This is no big deal but will happen. As a consequence, I always give myself about 20 thousands of a inch under the recommended Overall length as the max so that I never get a hangup in the magazine because of variations. 2) Sometimes you can seat you bullets far enough out that you are still no longer than the industry standard for the cartridge (for 30-06 it is 3.340") and still have plenty of room in the magazine. Always run a few through the chamber to make sure they are not too long! Check for length wise scratches near the case mouth as this will be an indication that you are engaging the rifling which can cause dangerous pressure spikes.

Also, worst case scenario, you chamber a round out in the field and at the end of the hunt you go to clear the chamber and only a case comes out flinging powder everywhere and you have a bullet stuck in the barrel. Haha I did have this happen once but luckily I was able to drive it out with little effort. Would have cost me the shot if I wouldve been anywhere but at the range.

Sorry if thats too much info but I wish there wouldve been these kind of forums when I got into handloading, it would've saved me several mistakes.

Good luck. You have an excellent caliber and rifle. It will last you forever!

 

[DrMike]

Welcome to the forum, SyntheticHero. I trust you'll find the same warm camaraderie that I have found during the past several years as you soak up the knowledge of some fine gentlemen. Your overall length (OAL, COL or COAL) can vary quite a bit for the best accuracy. The big factor will be what your magazine permits and how close to the lands you can load. What rifle are you loading for? Have you measured the magazine to determine if it will limit your OAL? Page 43 of the Nosler No. 6 Guide has a good description of an easy way to determine the distance to the lands in your rifle. If the magazine permits you to do so, the BST will often shoot very well seated without 0.010 inches of the lands. If your magazine limits loading the cartridge that long, you will have to load to the magazine and adjust the powder charge in increments that permit you to fine tune the charge to maximize accuracy.

 

[Elkman]

Welcome
You did not say what kind of accuracy that you are looking for?
As already said start with magazine length (cartridge has to function thru action) and as already mentioned cut back 10 at a time. When that doesnt work, reduce or increase powder charge, then change the bullet, then start all over again, then the case then powder then start over again. Get the picture?. better hurry hunting season is soon.

Maybe you will be lucky and find it after a load or two or maybe not. It can be really frustrating.

I am involved in a frustrating one. do you realize how many powder, bullet, primer, COAL, case combinations there are for a specific caliber? Let me tell you many more than you are going to load and shoot in a week end.

Good luck we all hope you get it the first time.

 

[6mm Remington]

Welcome to the Forum. H4350 and IMR4350 are both great places to start with the 30-06 and the 165 - 180 gr. bullets. I have a feeling you will find something that works pretty well in your rifle w/o too much difficulty. Load some up and post us some range photo's of your results! Good luck.
David

 

[Guy Miner]

Welcome! Excellent advice so far and I'd add that you're using a very similar combination to what I run in my .30-06, which is H4350 and a 165 grain Nosler. It performs well! I'd like to recommend this article by John Barsness: Getting the Most out of your .30-06

Link: http://www.24hourcampfire.com/newsletters/May_2009.html

Welcome to the Nosler forum!

Guy

 

[JD338]

SyntheticHero

Welcome to the forum, glad you are here.

As the fellas already mentioned, starting at .010" off the lands, magazine max length permitting, is a good starting point. Every rifle is unique and you need to find the sweet spot for your rifle.

I'm going to be making 168 grain Nosler C.T. Ballistic Silver tips for my 30-06. With a starting maximum of 57 grains of H4350 and maybe eventually bringing it up a little, but not yet.

Have you already worked up to 57.0 grs?
This is almost a MAX load and if you have not worked up to this level, you will want to drop a couple grains and work up while watching for excessive pressure signs in your rifle.

You have chosen a great cartridge, bullet and powder combination. Keep us posted on your load development and post pictures of your groups so we can where you are at and offer any suggestions if needed.

JD338

 

[SJB358]

Welcome to the forum buddy! The guys here are great and really will assist you in getting dialed in easily. You have a great combo and I doubt you will find much issues with getting that combo to shoot. Like Jim said, start low and work up. All of the shots you take tell you a good bit about your rifle and can fill a log book with valuable intel. Good luck. Scotty

 

[PJGunner]

SyntheticHero

Welcome to the forum, glad you are here.

As the fellas already mentioned, starting at .010" off the lands, magazine max length permitting, is a good starting point. Every rifle is unique and you need to find the sweet spot for your rifle.

I'm going to be making 168 grain Nosler C.T. Ballistic Silver tips for my 30-06. With a starting maximum of 57 grains of H4350 and maybe eventually bringing it up a little, but not yet.

Have you already worked up to 57.0 grs?
This is almost a MAX load and if you have not worked up to this level, you will want to drop a couple grains and work up while watching for excessive pressure signs in your rifle.

You have chosen a great cartridge, bullet and powder combination. Keep us posted on your load development and post pictures of your groups so we can where you are at and offer any suggestions if needed.

JD338

Well JD beat me to the draw on this one but I concur 100 percent. FWIW, I have several 30-06 rifles and 57.0 gr. of either 4350 is too hot in those rifles. Granted, the worst offender is a custom rifle with a match grade chamber but the others are all factory rifles. The advice to drop back and work up is solid gold IMHO.
Paul B.

 

[SyntheticHero]

:grin:

Right on thanks for all of the feed back I really appreciate it. after looking at everyone's reply's, I hunkered down and did a few more hours of reading especially when it comes down to finding the right O.A.L., I had no idea that I had to find where my lands start for my rifle and size off of that.

I'm going to have to get a hold of a tool to measure the distance to them, and experiment to find that sweet spot on bullet seating for my rifle. In the mean time I'm liking 3.250, I pressed a few bullets this year at that length and they weren't to bad and it seems like a safe place to be for seating because I don't know where my lands start, and it seems to be a pretty common length.

I also agree that 57 grains of 4530 does seem a little hot, that was the max load in the Nosler reloading manual #5 and I thought I would give it a try, however I think I will heed to the advice of the experience on these forums and start off a little lighter and work my way up from there, watching for signs of to much pressure while I go.

Thanks to everyone who replied I have learned so much just from making one post and looking at others on reloading already. This seems like a great community and I'm glad to be here.

On a side note, I'm shooting and oldie but a goodie, Remington, model 721, 30-06. from the late 50's to early 60's, it's in great shape and treats me really good.

Take care all :grin:

 

[DrMike]

You're always well advised to start about five to ten percent lower than maximum loads. I have shot rifles that were maxed out at several grains below listed maximum charges due to variations in chamber dimensions and lot variations on powders and/or primers. Also, case volume alters pressure curves on occasion.

 

[1Shot]

To make your own tool to find your lands do this. Take a case and FL size it. Take a cutting tool, hack saw etc., and cut a line on one side of the neck from the mouth down to the start of the shoulder. Clean up the burrs. Before each usage pinch the neck in a little so it will hold a bullet tightly. By hand just start the bullet you want to use into the case. Insert the case into the chamber and close the bolt. Ease the bolt open taking care not to let the bullet drag on the action etc. Measure the COAL. I would do this about 5 times to rule out any problems. It is best to measure from the ogive of the bullet with a comparator attached to your caliper. Horandy makes a good one that cost under $30.00 at Midway USA. It is best to measure from the ogive becasue not all bullets tips are the same length but it is the same length from base of bullet to ogive of bullet.