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

Dashed hopes for me. This week I tried 58 grains of Hunter with Nosler 180s in one of my '06s (22") and was only getting 2670 fps. I guess I'll keep my old standby load of 57 gr of H4350 for 2735 fps that shoots under an inch. Nothing to complain about really.

Ramshot lists a maximum of 59.4 to 60.0 grains of Hunter with various 180-grain bullets, so you still have some wiggle room if you want to try it.

My calculations are that 60 grains would get somewhere between 2750 and 2800 in your rifle.

Yes, I see they list up to 54.4 grains with the ballistic tip. Nosler uses all the same data for their various 180's, so I'll try bumping it up a bit.

I just want to say that my old cheap strait from the factory Savage loves 180gr Sierra Gamekings with a max load of H4350. 5 shot 5/8 inch groups at 100. This load also runs just over 2800 fps.

I love my 30-06 and when I bought it in high school it was the obvious choice as I knew it would be my only rifle for years.

I've got a new to me 30-06 that I've started load development with. So far 60 grains of H-4831 and a 180 grain Hornady has worked out very well giving 3/4" groups and 2550 fps from an 18.5" barrel. Is there any chance that this load would benefit from a magnum primer?

I've also got some 200 grain Speers I might try. Ten years ago I had a 30-06 Husqvarna that I used 200 grain Speers and Jack O'Connor's load of 56 grains of IMR-4350 (The Hunter's Shooting Guide). It was accurate and velocities were good just as O'Connor said. Hodgdon lists a max of 53.5 grains. However this load is shown as producing 57,200 PSI while the 308 Winchester is shown with loads as high as 61,800 PSI. Do you think it is possible to work up to O'Connor's load safely or was I simply inexperienced and lucky when I used it ten years ago as a handloading beginner?

JB will chime in on this one, but the 4831's are too slow for the .30/06 case. You will find increased velocity using the slightly faster H 4350 or even 760/H414 is you have any.

Most readers here use charges around 57-58 grains and achieve something around 2800fps + in the longer barrels more commonly found, but either way, your rifle will shoot a little flatter and hit a little hrder with a powder change.

John

AGW, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I actually tried H4350 and some 180 Hornady spire points last night while shooting the H-4831 load for familiarization. Your are totally correct about improved velocity with H-4350. It just wanted to check for velocity and pressure signs so I loaded single rounds in 0.5 grain increments. Even with my short barrel, 57.5 grains came in at 2686 fps, 58 came in at 2715 fps and 58.5 came in at 2745 fps. 58.5 might have shown very slight primer flattening with the WLR primer being used. WLR primers are softer than some but I won't push it. I'm going to test 57.5 grains and 58 grains for accuracy. At any rate, it looks like I can get an honest 2700 fps out of a short barreled '06 using H-4350. This will also make my trajectory match the Boone and Crockett reticle on the 2.5-8x36 Leupold I have on this rifle and do anything I would ever want with a 30-06.

As an aside, the first three shots of my range session last night were at 400 yards (with the H-4831 load) and they went into 5 inches. This Ruger Ultralight keeps impressing me.

Generally H4831 is a little slow with 180's in the .30-06, but fine with 200's and 220's. However, I once owned a Ruger 77 with a longer than average throat that did quite with H4831 and 180 Speer Grand Slams--but I could get 61-62 grains in the case, thanks in part to the flat tip of the bullet. In that rifle it was easy to get 2800 fps with that combo, and very fine accuracy.

Usually, though, John is exactly right: Slightly faster powders do better than H4831 with 180's in the .30-06. In addition to any of the 4350's (including Accurate's), 760/H414 works well, as does Ramshot Hunter, which is another ball powder a little slower than 760.

I wish I could get my hands on Ramshot Hunter in Canada.

Fraser,

Be careful what you wish for. I couldn't get Ramshot Hunter to work worth a darn in either of my 06's. Used both CCI200 and CCI250 primers and varied the seating depth. I was using Nosler AB 180 gr. Anyway, good ole H4350 works just fine so I'm good to go.

Yeah, if "all" you have in H4350, you should be golden!

For open country DEER hunting, I have switched to a 130 gr Barnes TSX. I am not pushing a lot of powder because I feel no need to...but this bullet could probably allow some fine flat-shooting performance for the high speed types. I am shooting a sub-max load of H4895 because I like it and it shoots well, so I left it alone. I like the idea of this flat shooting lighter bullet for deer hunting, with the option of jumping the whole way up to a 200 gr bullet for heavier game.

I have a need for another rifle, and am leaning toward some high tech bells and whistles. I love all the wildcat stuff and cool cartridges, but I am just not feeling much enthusiasm to deviate from the boring old '06 for a caliber choice. I will probably leave the .284 wildcats and WSMs and such for the rest of you guys and gals to play with.

Mr. Barsness,

I wanted to say thanks for the article. My first rifle was a .30-06 I received as a present about 10 years ago. I would like another rifle but just haven't found something my .30-06 can't do.

I don't want to act like I'm questioning your methods, which are undoubtedly more experienced than mine. I wonder if you could tell me the background of how you did load development for your 180 grain bullets. For example, when developing the 180-grain bullet load, did you go above 58 grains of Ramshot Hunter in your testing? Did your 58 grain groups improve with magnum primers?

Thanks again.
v/r
Joel

John,

Would your powder recommendations for 150gr bullets change if the gun had an 18" or 20" barrel?

I'd like to load for my dad's model 70 lightweight and i know the gun's barrel is less than 22"

I am not John, but will say to the best of my knowledge, often the same powders that give max speed/safe pressures in long bbls, usually rank at the top also in shorter tubes. I may be wrong.

No doubt, flash may be improved, etc. if you have a faster powder in a shorter tube, but I think its been said it's more myth than reality that shorter tubes need faster powders in rifles.

JB may correct me if I off base here.

john on a past post you mentioned getting 2900 fps out of 30-06 with 180 bullet. is this do'able with a dakota rifle with 25 inch barrel?any input? thanks
tu

Probably, especially with double-based powders such as RL-22 and Hunter.

John,

did anyone ask about a load for the 130 TTSX in the '06?

Not that I remember. I would expect Big Game, RL-17 or H4350 to work really well.

thanks!