Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Ask John Barsness Questions About "GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR .30-06"

Bob,

I do believe you're right about H4350. I keep calling it SC just because there used to be two H4350's!

What bullet would you consider a second-best replacement for <50 yards for a camp gun? I have a 760 in '06.

Thanks.

I wouldn't call it second-best: The 180 Hornady Interlok round-nose is at least as good as the Core-Lokt.

Good evening, Mule Deer. I enjoy your writing style, your studious approach to your subject, and you brought it all together in this article about the '06. You wrote that in shooting your pre-64 Win. Mod. 70 that you tightened all the screws "including the fore end screw."

I also have a pre-64 Mod. 70 and have been absolutely fearful of adjusting that fore end screw. Please fill me in about the tightness, or lack thereof, of this screw. Should I tighten it, or should I adjust for each different bullet weight, or just what is your best advice in this regard.

Thank you for taking time to read my message.

Dan Lattin (Jayhawk Dan)

Dan,

Glad you enjoyed it! I would start with the forend screw tightened, because that's the way the rifle was designed. But I also wouldn't hesitate to try it backed off, say, half a turn. I've also seen pre-'64's shoot really well with the forend screw completely removed, or the barrel free-floated. But I always start with the simple stuff.

I don't know if there would be any correlation to the forend screw tightness and bullet weight. In my experience there hasn't been, but who knows?

Thank you.

That bullet mimics premium performance.....for the "closer ranges" (under 200 yards) it's as good as any bullet you can buy IMO.

MD is right about this issue with the pre 64's.I've had many and it's all over the map regarding the forend screw,and generally not related to bullet weight.

Presently I have a 375 that likes the srew snugged;also had a 264 that liked it the same way.I have a rechambered 300H&H(to 300 Weatherby) that likes the screw reomoved,and have owned a few others the same way.The differences in how they shoot can be rather dramatic,so don't be afraid to remove or snug the screw the screw if the rifle does not shoot the way it is.

Today I tried 150 Accubond with 55.0 gr of Big Game (WLR primer)in 2 of my .30-06 rifles. Accuracy was as good as or a little better than my favorite IMR-4350 load (59.0 gr) with the same bullet. I think the 55.0 Big Game load is a little milder and a little slower. No pressure signs. I think I'm going to try some at 55.5 or 56.0 gr. I didn't have my chrono with me today.

I'd appreciate hearing your final results.

I just took my old Browning Safari Grade 30-06 to the range and chronographed it and am getting 2886 fps from a 22" tube.
This is with 56.5 grs of IMR 4350 and Hornady 165 gr. Interlock boat tail. It groups well at 200 yds.
Now for a vanilla ice cream cone!
whelennut

Great article Mule Deer,
You mentioned you used R19 for a while with 180's. Whats a good load with this powder. I've been using IMR4350 with 180 Hornaday's and Nosler Partitions since the mid 60's but I'm getting low a have quit a bit of Reloader 19 and thought I would give it a try.
Thanks,
Doc

Around 58 grains of RL-19 often works.

I really enjoyed reading this article. I am pretty much just a lurker on here and haven't developed any relationships with anyone, yet. I have a lot of memories of hunting growing up in a family of four boys, and a father who grew up during the depression and often had to bring home some "meat" with a damascus barreled shotgun or a .22 rifle. Maybe some of you can relate to my experience.

I have always had a few rifles and shotguns . . . a couple of early '70's Winchester 9422 mags, some Cowboy action rifles and pistols in 44-40; a very nice 20 ga Spanish side by side as well as a Browning SBS my dad left for me; and an old Jap Arisaka Mauser custom .300 Savage along with a CVA .50 cal mountain rifle. I have killed my share of deer over the years, but until the last 6-8 months, I was mostly interested in hand guns, mainly .45 acp. I hired an old Marine Corps buddy who turned me on to center fire rifles.

My first purchase was a Cooper .204 Ruger with a Swarovski scope, because all my buddies said you had to have a Swarovski scope on a Cooper rifle (ha ha) . . . Over the next few months, the rifle fever overtook me, and having the means to "try" to satisfy my hunger for "fine rifles" I began to peruse gun broker, guns international, guns america, and a myriad of other online gun dealers. I won't mention the stable of "fine" rifles I now own (.22 Mag; 22 Hornet Anschutz, 25-06 Sako's; 6.5x55 Swede Mausers; .300 Savage; 7x57 Mauser, .350 Rem Mag Custom Shop, and .416 Rigby Ruger). I own two 30-06's and thought about selling both of them until I read John's piece.

As a youngster I always was "told" the 30-06 is the most powerful rifle in America. That is why, in the Marines when I was qualifying on the rifle range with a M-14, I believed the old wives tail that the 30-06 kicked like a mule, since that "weaker" .308 put some bruises on my shoulder with that steel butt plate. Before reading John's fantastic article I was convinced I had no use for a 30-06 since I now had my "dream" safari grade 7x57 Mauser, and was on the look out for an 8x57 Mauser which would render my 30-06's obsolete. Now I will definitely keep my Interarms Whitworth in the stable (sell the Rem BDL Custom Deluxe) and retire it to 180-200 grain duty on Elk sized game, along side my .350 Rem Mag. (doh!) My 7x57 Mauser will be my second rifle (.416 Rigby the first) I will take to Africa for plains game action, with the Rigby reserved for DG. I am in heaven with all the possibilities. Can't possibly shoot all these rifle enough, so I sure some of them will end up on the auction block in time.
Great 30-06 article which gives me confidence in keeping one around.

Glad you enjoyed it!

As Col. Townsend Whelen once wrote, "The .30-06 is never a mistake."

I will say that I shot a doe at 10 yards and another one a 410 yards. Both were DRT although the one at 410 yards kicked a few more times while lying on the ground. The one at 10 yards did not have a gruesome and large exit wound though the lungs were pretty much mush.

I finally got to the range again (with my chrono, this time) as I continue development of a 150 gr Accubond load with Ramshot Big Game. This time I brought 150 gr Accubonds, loaded with 56.0 gr of Big Game. Some had the WLR primer, others had the Federal 215M magnum match primer. I had 2 rifles- my KM77 Ruger with a 22" barrel, and a Win M70 black shadow with a 24" barrel. Here's how they shot at 100 yards-
WLR load- KM77 did 0.5" for 3 shots, avg vel. 2904 fps.
M70 did 1.4" for 3 shots, avg vel 2929 fps.
The KM77 barrel had just been cleaned, which might have helped it. The M70 trigger is not as good as the Ruger's. (The Ruger has a Mark Bansner trigger job.) I also shot the same bullet with 59.0 gr of IMR-4350 (my current load)out of the M70 and got 2923 fps.

Fed215M load- M70 did 1.00" for 3 shots, avg vel 3011 fps.
KM77 did 1.13" for 3 shots. No chrono due to rain.

The big surprise to me here was the almost 80 fps gain from the magnum primers. I was shocked! I think it must make the Big Game burn a lot more efficiently. No pressure signs.

So, I don't see a need to go hotter than this. The accuracy certainly warrants loading up another box with the Fed 215M primers to try in my other '06's. I'm plenty satisfied with 3000 fps from a 24" barrel. I'm guessing my Ruger would be around 2990 fps, which is more than adequate.

As always, your mileage may vary......

I currently use IMR4350, Hornady 165 SPBT out of a M700 24".

After reading about cold weather POA changing I have become worried since I range shoot at temps between 60's and 100 degrees but hunt whitetails from 30 to -20. I hunted first time last winter with a centerfire.

I haven't heard much said on Varget. Is H4350 a better cold weather powder than Varget? I have a little Varget on hand to use on a light grain Hornady that i can use for group testing 165's.

I really don't see the need for a premium bullet out of an 06 for Iowa whitetails is this just wrong thinking?

Bith Varget and H4350 are among Hodgdon's Extreme line of powders, which work very well in cold weather.

In my experience the 165 Hornady BTSP from the .30-06 is plenty for any deer hunting--and plenty for some bigger game as well!

I got out to the range yesturday and tried a few loads of Varget 46.5, 46.8, 47 and 47.5. My groups are closer at 46.5 and 46.8 but opened up on 47. Wow 46.8 groups better the my IMR4350 loads!

Wish I had a chrony, I can only guess the speed. Seems like I have my cold weather hunting load.

Makes me think my gun likes faster powders I should try H4895 maybe.