Question for the pros. . . . ?
I don’t consider myself a “Pro”, but I’ve loaded a bunch of 30-06 ammo for hunting groundhogs to bears, and 1000 yd competition.
I’m not surprised at your observations with Federal brass. My experience has been that it’s heavy and soft, both of which will give you early pressure signs individually, let alone combined. I don’t have any firsthand experience with Nosler brass, but from your description, it sounds like it is maybe heavier (less powder capacity) than your Federal brass. It would be interesting to see their weight differences (if any!).
I’ve used mostly Lake City Match, or other GI brass, inherited from my father. If I were buying 30-06 brass today, it would be Lapua. It is expensive, but “wears” well (sufficiently hard), and handles pressures on the upper end of the 30-06 range with no issues. It’s not “light”, but neck thickness is so consistent that when I was competing, I’d get 98 “good” cases out of a box of 100. For hunting loads, they’re all good.
For “garden variety” brass, go with Winchester. The recent stuff I’ve seen isn’t too bad, especially for generic hunting use.
BTW, one of my favorite “heavy” hunting loads in 30-06 is 53.0 grains of H4350 behind a 200 grain Nosler Partition. It chronographs a very consistent 2585 fps out of my R8, using LC Match brass. At 54 grains behind a 180 grain bullet, you are near the upper limit, but not crazy hot. Your rifle will “tell you” when you need to back down, and it sounds like you are actively observing for those signs - good job!
