Winchester Fwt 70 SS Winlite (factory Mcmillan) in 30-06. I'm new to handloading but I've tried a few loads from 55-57 gr with IMR-4350 and 48-50 gr of Varget, varying seating depths. Varget seems to be the best I've tried so far with 49 gr printing 1.2". Factory Rem Core lokts went at 0.72" so I know this gun is capable. I want to load for this rifle if for no reason than convenience.

Should I be looking at swapping primers or trying a different powder. I have a good supply of these 165s so I'd prefer to stick with them. What other powders should I try? I currently load for 223, 243, 257 Bob and 30-06. I'd like to keep my powders on hand to a minimum.

It ain't fast but 62grs of H4831 is very accurate from my 30/06's.

un, when I worked up the loads for my old 06, I just got fair groups with both 150's and 165's.. What made my rifle a good shooter was a switch from cci 200's to cci-250's.. Hope it works for you, it sure did for me..

I've tried the BR2s and 200s. May have to find some 250s to try...thanks. So many variables to try!

Try some Nosler BT's instead. Those Speer bullets will never group well.

Sometime the Speer BT's just will not shoot in a particular rifle. Actually, it's pretty common. I've had much better luck with flat based Speer bullets.

Try a different bullet. I'd try the 165 Nosler Ballistic tips and/or the 165gr Sierra game king HP's. I'd back them with H4350 and CCI 200 primers.

I have good results with IMR-4064. Groups withi it are about the same as those with IMR-4350 in my .30-06. My .30-06 shoots Speer BTSP very well bit it shoots 165 grain Sierra Gamekings just a smidgen better.

H414! 4350 has been a loser for me. I really wanted to like the powder but H414 has worked for me in the 30.06 as well as other cartridges.

I would also agree with Antelope Sniper.. Never had many Speers that were real accurate, unless they were flat base..
My 165 was the one he mentioned the HPBT.. A deadly bullet we have killed everything from chucks to moose with it..

As far as I 4350 it has been excellent for me for more than 50 years!!! Works in everything from my old .22-250 to my .375 H @ H...

4350 seems like a very solid choice for a 165 in an '06. Guys have been shooting that combo--successfully--for decades (me included).

+1 for IMR4064 and 165gr. bullets in the .30-06, I gave up shooting heavier bullets in my .30 cals. long ago with no regrets for having done so.

UNCC- 49.5, 50.0 , 50.5 varget. 210m primer or Br-2. lapua brass. 1- 167 scenar, 2- 168 berger, 168 ballistic silver tip, 165 sierra or horn or nosler, , 168 hornady hp. load them .030 off the lands. ..... or 155 scenar or 155 berger and I4064 or varget.

My go to is 49-grs Varget and 165 NP. Never could get anywhere close in accuracy with 4350 of either flavor.

my go to load for over 25 30/06s has been 58.8grs IMR-4350, WLR or 210M, Sierra 165 bthp, Nosler 165BT or Berger 168gr VLD hunting. Rick.

You may also try the Hornady Intelock flat base. I have never found a rifle yet that will not shoot them well.

I have one rifle that likes the Speer BTSP, but they are loaded into the lands. I was trying them out because I had some old-stock lying around. Now they're one of my favorite bullets at medium speeds.

I used 56.0 gr. W760, WLR primer, WW brass and the 165 gr. Nosler Accubond to take a nice cow elk Jan. 13 of this year with my 30-06. Load averages .80" at 100 yards.
You might want to give that one a try.
Paul B.

UNCCgrad,

You might also check the straightness of the bullet-seating in your handloads. That can make a big difference, and is often why factory loads shoot better than handloaders: Factory brass is right out of their forming die, which means the neck is straight. Standard loading dies often pull the neck a little out of alignment when it passes over the expander ball.

You don't need a fancy tool to check bullet alignment. Just roll your rounds over a hard, flat surface. If you can see the bullet tip "wobble" as one rolls, the bullet isn't aligned very well with the case body.

A final check is shooting a couple of groups with "wobble-free' loads, and then a couple wit the ones that wobble.

I checked my max OAL to the lands using the split case method. I got an average of 3.369", however most manuals call for 3.300 as max length. As long as my magazine will allow, what's a good distance from the lands to start? I'm not comfortable loading anything into the lands. Right now I don't have a chrono so I'm loading for accuracy.

I checked concintrictiy of my handloads and didn't see any variance with the naked eye.

.010-.015" off the lands is a good place to start.

Never got the best accuracy out of Speer BT bullets..........for almost any new rifle, for load testing & accuracy trials, I almost always start with Nosler BT's.

They are very dependable, accuracy wise, & cheap enough to consume a few or more, for testing.

Rarely doesn't work...........assuming all else is good.

4350 (either flavor) is a very reliable starting powder for an '06, but Varget is also. So likely you are Ok with either of those until you can ID something else.

MM

Some people may scoff at your remark, but I've never had good luck with the speers either. I finally gave up on them because the weights were all over the place and OAL's were very inconsistent as compared to other bullets. The only speer that was worth loading was the grandslam in my experience.... As for powders to try, H4350 should yield some pretty good results. Keeping in mind that you'll have limitations in the accuracy dept. with that bullet...

Anyone that likes them and is willing to trade for some 150 or 165 gr hunting bullets, I have 63 in the original box I'd be more than happy to trade. I'm afraid my rifle doesn't like them.

mark

I've had good luck with Speer bullets. I've tried more Hot Cor and Mag Tips than Boat Tails. The Mag Tips I tried on 7mm and .308 were especially accurate.

Like others have suggested, my default bullets to try in new rifles are either Nosler Ballistic Tips or Hornady flat base interlocks in a medium bullet weight (like 165 for an 06). If a rifle will not shoot these at least decently with an appropriate powder (one fo the 4350s for an 06)I know I have a problem!

Corrected 2nd sentence but first was right on; try 165 NBTs. If your rifle won't shot those w/ a 4350 of one flavor or another you're gonna have to look at the rifle.

I personally LOVE the 168 NBT & Ramshot Hunter in my '06 w/ WLRM primers. Very, very consistent, accurate loan, high-BC, tough bullet. Perfect all-around '06 load IMHO.

I'm doing load development in 06 at the moment with Horn 165 SP (bullet # 3040 - flat base). I'm using H4350 and Re17, WLR primers, seated 0.020" off. My rifle likes Re17 under Horn 150's and 180's. To my surprise, the H4350 grouped better in my gun with the 165's. I'm re-shooting 58.0 H4350 and 56.5 Re17 this weekend. I suspect the H4350 is going to go deer hunting this fall.

As others have said, I've had better luck with bullets other than Speer. In order, Sierra, Nos BT, Horn, Nos PT, Speer. There are exceptions - my 35 Rem Contender loves both the 180 and 220 FP. When I'm having issues with groups, I usually load some tried/true loads with Sierra or Nos BT and try that. Usually, the gun will shoot the Sierras/Nos BT into small groups - that tells me my gun may not prefer bullet X I'm trying to force feed it. In the case of Nos PT, I usually accept a bit larger group size as a trade off for bullet integrity. I'm pretty sure a 1.25" gun will still kill elk just as dead as a 0.75" gun at the ranges I shoot.

As a reference, my current 06 shoots bullets into 1 - 1.25" groups. I consider this pretty good for a OEM stocked, no stock enhancement, pencil barrel Ruger Hawkeye (Ruger UL with 20" barrel). The gun wasn't designed to be a 500 yard bench gun - it was designed to be carried. I carry it alot and use it for treestand hunting. 99% of my shots will be less than 200 yards, most less than 100. It plain works well.

My out-of-box stock Ruger M77 MK1 shoots 165 Hornady SST bullets over 60 grains Reloader 19 very well. I like SSTs for thin-skinned game. It will also shoot a 180 Speer Hot Core over 60 grains of Reloader 22 quite well.
But you don't own my barrel so take this advice with a grain of salt.

I use Speer 165 BTSP with 54 grains of IMR-4350 and CCI 200 primers. Very accurate for me.

I've been re-working my 168 T-TSX load. I know rifles are each to their own. Hunter powder has been working real well for me with a magnum primer and Norma brass. My rifle has a 24 inch barrel 3 grove 1-11 inch twist. I use 60.6 grains of Hunter powder, Fed 215 or WLRM primer. I've shot a few groups at 1/2 MOA. Muzzle Velocity at 2965-FPS.

This load should work fine for big game in the lower 48 and then some.

While not the BT I have had good accuracy and velocity with the Speer 165 Hotcore loaded with 58gr of H4350.

H414 or IMR4064

My ’06 did not like either flavor of 4350 and it did not like Varget any better with 165 grain Hornady Interbonds. So, I tried 50.0 grains of IMR-4064 at the suggestion from someone on the fire and my rifle will shoot 1 MOA with this load consistently. Going to switch to 165 grain Accubonds for this season since the Interbonds are harder to get than hens teeth but I do not suspect I will have any issues using the same load.

61.0 superperformance, 165.

Myself, I am an IMR guy....

when I don't need to redline velocity, choices are 4064 or 4895....I can load over book max with those two powders also, but in doing so, one needs to know what they are doing and also needs to understand they are going over book max...

if you need that much more velocity, get a magnum...

If you want to play on the safe side, H4831 SC is your friend... you can't get enough in an 06 case to over pressure it over SAAMI Specs...

much load data with that powder is on the low side, verifiable if you check pressure specs...

Hodgdon Data ( out of manual # 26) lists the max load of 61 grains, MV of 2770 fps, but the pressure is listed only as 44,700 CUP....

the case will easily hold 65 to 66 grains depending on brand of case....yeah its compressed, but don't worry about it... 4831SC works great with compressed loads in any rifle I've tried it in...always accurate, even in poor shooting worn barrels..

but since this is deviating away from Lawyer approved load data manuals...so if you don't know what you're doing, its better not to go there...

RL 19 and Rl 22 are another pair of powders that load manuals rate their max loads at only 44,400 CUP for RL 22 and 46,500 CUP for RL 19... I prefer RL 19 over all for accuracy...