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I'm looking for low pressure loads for my old pre-WW1 bolt action 30-06 for back yard plinking without overly annoying the neighbors.
I started with THE LOAD of 13 grains of Red Dot, but I haven't found a bullet combination that works well for accuracy in my rifle.
16 grains of 2400 behind a 190 grain cast bullet was fantastically accurate but not exactly low pressure (and I'm out of those bullets too).
I have some hoarded Trail Boss on hand and plan to try 13 grains of that on my next trip to the range but I've started wondering about using lower charges of Bullseye or Unique (maybe 4-6 grains?).
Any suggestions?
"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37, verse 4.
"The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt." Proverbs 12:27
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Campfire Outfitter
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Me and my son shot some 95 grain bullets out of my Cramer mold out of his 300Savage over 9gr of Unique. They are a SWC designed for 32 revolvers but I ran them through a .310 sizer.
They shot well enough for him to hit clay pigeons at 50 yards and weren’t much louder than a 22LR.
I might have gotten the load out of an old Lyman manual but I’d have to look at my notes.
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Campfire Ranger
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My .30-06 plinking load consists of a 150gr. cast bullet over a charge of 10gr. of Unique. I shoot it in my Sedgley Springfield and 1895 Winchester rifles.
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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If you WW I 06 has proper headspace it's safe for any factory ammo. That's a pretty broad statement. But we should expect no less from Ol' Larry Roote.
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
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Joined: Nov 2005
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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My favorite '06 backyard plinker load is 7gr. Red Dot + Lyman #311241 150gr. plain base cast of 1:30 tin:lead alloy. Under no circumstances substitute a 150gr. jacketed bullet because you might stick it in the bore. Ask me how I know. (In a Krag drop the charge to 6gr.) Been playing with an original 1895-vintage Frankford Arsenal .30 roundball mold. De- and re-cap, charge with 6gr. Bullseye, thumb seat a ball, smear a trace of lube on it, shoot. Lots of fun, dirt cheap shooting, and plenty accurate for nailing empty cans out to 75 feet. The mold (intended for this very same type of shooting): Frankford Arsenal de- and re- capper, circa 1909: With any of these uber-light charges please double and triple check the powder level in the cases before seating bullets. A double charge would merely startle you but a triple charge could get sporty, especially in a low-number Springfield.
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
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Campfire Ranger
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My .30-06 plinking load consists of a 150gr. cast bullet over a charge of 10gr. of Unique. I shoot it in my Sedgley Springfield and 1895 Winchester rifles. I'll bet 10 gr. Unique is similar to 6 gr. Red Dot. Never tried it (I've always had kegs of Red Dot and only pound cans of Unique so I always went straight to Red Dot), probably works great. Splitting hairs I suppose, given that there's 7000 grains in a pound....
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
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Campfire Ranger
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Addendum: I also have experimented with case fillers and wads with these light charges and honestly they don't help if empty beer cans are the targets. Perhaps if trying to use them for match shooting, yes, but I feel the risk of ringing a chamber outweighs a slight increase in accuracy. If really consistent ignition bothers you then simply raise the muzzle before firing, to position the powder consistently in the case.
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
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Campfire Ranger
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I quit using Kapok filler long ago, never noticed any difference.
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Campfire Ranger
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Haha! Yep, around 25 years ago at a yard sale I snagged a few ancient life vests to salvage the kapok in them. Then I abandoned the whole idea of fillers, and dammit I still have the kapok from one of them but threw the others away. D'you realize how much volume of kapok is in a life preserver when it expands to its natural fluffy state? If anybody wants to mess with the stuff I'll send you a wad of it for the price of postage.
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
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Campfire Regular
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If you WW I 06 has proper headspace it's safe for any factory ammo. ... This simply not true and is down right dangerous advice. I'm shooting a low serial number Rock Island Arsenal 1903 which should NEVER be fired with full power factory ammo.
Last edited by Mssgn; 08/15/23.
"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37, verse 4.
"The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt." Proverbs 12:27
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Campfire Ranger
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Low number 03A3? A3's were all made within the confines of WWII and as such are very strong and aren't remotely effected by the phenomenon that put the jinx on early WWI-era '03's.
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
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Low number 03A3? A3's were all made within the confines of WWII and as such are very strong and aren't remotely effected by the phenomenon that put the jinx on early WWI-era '03's. Fixed it. Should have said 1903
"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37, verse 4.
"The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt." Proverbs 12:27
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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All good!
How low is the number on your Rock Island? Above 285,000 they were made of nickel steel and immune from the potential foibles of the low number Springfield Armory guns.
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
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All good!
How low is the number on your Rock Island? Above 285,000 they were made of nickel steel and immune from the potential foibles of the low number Springfield Armory guns. 119,xxx
"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37, verse 4.
"The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt." Proverbs 12:27
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Campfire Member
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I shoot a 160 gr PB bullet with 6 to 7 grains of Bullseye out of a 1903. This shoots well and POI is perfect at 100 yds. with the issue sights. E.C. (Ed) Harris recommended the load to me and it fairly copies the old "sentry" load, albeit with a cast bullet instead of jacketed. It is a great load will no recoil and good accuracy at 100 yds.
"All I want is to enter my house justified."
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Campfire Tracker
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I shoot a 160 gr PB bullet with 6 to 7 grains of Bullseye out of a 1903. This shoots well and POI is perfect at 100 yds. with the issue sights. E.C. (Ed) Harris recommended the load to me and it fairly copies the old "sentry" load, albeit with a cast bullet instead of jacketed. It is a great load will no recoil and good accuracy at 100 yds. Have you found that little of BE to be position sensitive in the '06 case? I won't use a filler but I have been known to point a rifle skyward before firing.
Medics bury their mistakes..
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I shoot a 160 gr PB bullet with 6 to 7 grains of Bullseye out of a 1903. 3049 Krag what is a "PB" bullet
Last edited by Mssgn; 09/02/23.
"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37, verse 4.
"The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt." Proverbs 12:27
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Dinny
Bullseye does not seem to be positive sensitive. All my test loads seem to go bang, but I have yet to find a tack driving low pressure load in my rifle.
"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37, verse 4.
"The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt." Proverbs 12:27
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Campfire Tracker
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I shoot a 160 gr PB bullet with 6 to 7 grains of Bullseye out of a 1903. 3049 Krag what is a "PB" bullet Pb is the chemical element symbol for lead.
Medics bury their mistakes..
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