I'm somewhat new to LR shooting, and am testing the waters. I put a 20 MOA base on my semi-custom Savage 100 in 30-06, and bought a cheap tactical scope just to get started.



I worked up a load with H4831 at 2538fps that shoots pretty well (my most accurate handload to date):



My big question is, though: will this bullet expand at LR? I was also considering the 240 grain SMK because in theory it will have 5" less wind drift at 800 yards, given a 10 mph crosswind, but it may have the same problem. Should I look at the 210 gr Berger or the 208 gr A-Max? Thanks in advance.

JV

I don' tknow that you can stabilize the 240 anyway.

Can't say I've used 220s, I know 190s work... 210 bergers are proven and if like me, don't like tons of damage... you can always use the target version, though IMHO it might be a best of both worlds thing.. carry the target version in the chamber in case you find a close shot, swap to the hunting version for longer ones...

PS i hear good things about the 208 amax but never tried it... have shot deer with 75 amax in 223 and worked fine.

How about just using the 180 gr accubond? Seems like it would do well in the 30-06 ,say around 2750 fps.

I guess I would consider the 200 grain Accubond, but I'm looking for a higher bc than the 180.

JV

I would go with the 208 A-Max as a better all-around choice...they should be available soon.

TC

I would select the highest B.C. bullet and then see if the rifle likes that bullet. It is going to be a trial and error sesson at the bench and shooting range. You have fun doing so!

good luck on your quest here. i am doing the same thing with my Mauser in 30-06. just got some 4831sc to try the 200 SMK. they dont seem to want to shoot for me though. maybe its just the bullet, or maybe it was the powder. maybe i needed to switch primers...

so many variables... so much fun burning all that powder to find out though...

Go 200 gr Accubond and RL17. Do a search on the reloading section. They were launching them at 2770 fps or so. That is deadly and the accubond 200 is a proven hunting LR bullet.

The 220 SMK has a BC of .629 and has taken many Deer so it has been proven as well

I would find a load that gave a bit more speed and then go fourth and kill something