Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 30-06 200gr load

Tried to reach close to 2700 FPS in several 06,s with RL 19, RL 22 and H 4831 most topped out around 2600 FPS. Quite a bit of testing, had no problem exceeding 2700 FPS in same rifles with RL 17 and RL 26 all with 200 GR Nosler Part and Nosler Accubond. 22" Barrel,s.

FWIW I spent an afternoon at Western Powders and spoke to the ballistition - They distribute MRP (or at least did then) and told me that RL22 is MRP that did not meet QC for Norma- I have used them interchangeably ever since.

I tried several 200gn Bullets in my .30/06 Featherweight. These were my maximum loads........
200gn Speer
55gn of AR 2209 for 2737fps (Which is today, H 4350 so please note that the burn rate was slowed for the US Market) Old AR 2209 is not the equal in burning rate to that of modern H 4350 even though they are the same powder.
53gn of IMR 4350 generated 2620fps

200gn Barnes TTSX
62gn of Rel 26 for 2724fps. This load shoots slightly under .5" so is a favored load and the discontinued bullets are savored for need.

200gn Accubond
62gn of Rel 26 was cramped in the Winchester cases with this long bullet but chronographed at 2633fps.
59gn of H 4350 achieved 2650fps and best accuracy of MOA.
57gn of Rel 17 had a velocity of 2752fps with an E of 13 but accuracy of 1.5"
61gn of Rel 22 generated 2785fps and was too fast for my comfort level but it only had an E of 4fps so was very consistent.

200gn Barnes X (The Original X)
54gn of AR 2209 for 2694fps. This load was used on 600 pound Sambar, 1 and done.

200gn Nosler Partition
57gn 760 for 2733fps and MOA groups
59gn H 4350 for 2650fps but not accurate enough in my rifle
62gn of Rel 26 for 2696fps and MOA grouping
H 4831sc was a flop with 62.5gn only wandering along at 2559fps.

All loads over a Oehler 35P @ 15 feet and using Federal 210's except for the Accubond Rel 17 loads which used WLR.

58.5 of 4831SC under a 200 Sierra MK gave me 2730 fps from my 26 inch, 12 twist, barrel. GD

Impressive. Thanks for noting the barrel length and twist.

Accuracy was good with the 1:12 twist and those long-heavy bullets?

Guy

tcp,

Thanks for the info!

How about the terminal performance of that 200 gr Speer Hot Cor? Any reports of tough (on the bullet) shots at short range?

This is a question based in curiousity and ignorance: Why?

I've been a 30-06 fanboy for all my life. 30-06 is far and away my favorite. I spent the first 20 years of my deer hunting career lobbing 180 grainers. The latter 20, I've shot mostly 165 grain. I just received a lifetime supply of 150 grainers for free.

I see folks speaking glowingly of 200-grain loads, but I have yet to figure out why. What makes 200 grain preferable? Why do y'all like it?

I know this is apples and oranges, but the .338 200 grn Speer is one of my favorites out of my .338-06. Never had anything other than stellar results.

Shaman,

I started using the 200 Partition in the .30-06 in the 1970s, during the last couple years Nosler was still lathe-turning them, and the 200 was a "semi-spitzer" (roundnose). I used it back then because of doing all my elk hunting in a couple timbered areas where 100 yards was a long shot, and after a bad experience with lack of penetration from another bullet switched to the Nosler 200. Loaded it to around 2600 fps from the 1903 Springfield sporter I had back them, and got groups around an inch at 100, which seemed more than sufficient. (Have been puzzled ever since byt those who have difficulty getting Partitions to shoot "decently," as even those lathe-turned bullets did fine in the limited use I made of them back, including the 130s used in another rifle, a Remington 700 .270. The impact-extruded bullets that followed have tended to be more accurate.)

Anyway, was very impressed with both the way the 200 penetrated and killed, and the lack of meat damage. Both areas also had whitetail and mule deer, and often doe tags were available. It was nice to be able to shoot a 100-pound whitetail doe at close range and not lose 10 pounds of meat.

I switched to the impact-extruded 200-grain spitzers as soon as they became available. By then I'd gotten rid of the 9-pound 1903 and replaced it with a tang-safety Ruger 77. Their barrels could be iffy in those days, but I got a good one--and by then had a chronograph, finding I could get right around 2700 fps and sub-inch accuracy with the old mil-surp H4831. Due to a divorce the Ruger was my only big game rifle for a few years, and I not only killed elk and deer with it, but my first black bear--and a pronghorn doe.

I'd worked up two loads that shot to the same place at 100 yards, the other with 165-grain Nosler Solid Base softpoints and IMR4350. I used the 200-grain load when hunting where bigger game might be encountered, and the 165 for deer and antelope in eastern Montana. The only way to tell the two loads apart was the brass: The 200s went into Winchester cases, and the 165s in Remingtons.

After marrying Eileen she decided to start hunting, and her first hunt was after pronghorn south of Fort Peck Reservoir in northeastern Montana. We couldn't afford another rifle, but luckily nobody in the family was using the .257 Roberts Remington 722 that had belonged to my paternal grandmother, so I worked up a load for it with 100 Partitions (which turned out to be the first big game handload I'd tried to that point that would average five shots, not three, in an inch).

We'd drawn both either-sex and a doe-fawn tags, and the first day happened on a herd without a big buck. Made a stalk and crawled across the top of a ridge within about 250 yards. Eileen got buck fever bad, and couldn't hold on the biggest doe. I eventually asked if I could shoot it, and she said yes--so I did. It went about 50 yards and keeled over. I picked up the brass and found it was a Winchester case! The 200 worked just as well on that antelope as it had on bear, whitetails, mule deer and elk--and shot up less meat than any bullet I ever used until monolithics appeared.

My primary .30-06 these days is a New Ultra Light Arms Model 24 acquired in 1997. Have used it on more big game animals than any of my other rifles since, partly because it went on many trips to various places around the world. Have used a bunch of different loads, but one of them I still use some is the 200 Partition and 59.0 grains of H4831SC. It will put three in around the magic half-inch at right around 2680 fps, and because of the relatively high BC of the bullet (around .500 G1, which was confirmed by Bryan Litz in his book), it shoots just as flat as most 180 softpoint spitzers, yet drifts less in the wind. (Have also used 168 and 185 Berger Hunting VLDs considerably in the same rifle, and of course they're better ballistically, but don't penetrate nearly as well....)

If for some odd reason I had to limit myself to one rifle and load for all my big game hunting for the rest of my life (am not planning to do any more Cape buffalo hunting) the NULA and the 200 Partition would be on a very short list.

I used the 200 gr. Spitzer HorCor on two animals. The first was a Waterbuck which is a reasonably large plains game animal well known for being tough to eat and tough to take down. First hit was broadside behind the shoulder and he went maybe 50 yards and laid down. Waited 30 minutes for his head to drop but he kept staring at us. So I moved up on him for a finisher and he jumped up and took off giving me a quartering away shot that hit him behind the shoulder but high enough to hit the spine and he dropped. This was from a 300 Win Mag and a very top load of IMR 7828. 2900fps maybe. The first bullet exited and did enough damage that I am really amazed the Waterbuck got up at all! The second went down around 15 inches of spine and then out the other side where it went under the hide halfway up the neck and was in one piece though worse for wear. The other animal was a big cow elk, she was hit right behind the shoulder, ran 50 yards and was done. Lots of damage and the bullet was found perfectly expanded under the hide on the far side, same rifle and load. So for the two times I used it all was good. Nowadays I use the 200 gr. Partition if I need a heavy 30 caliber bullet.

I only used that load one time on a cow elk. Shot was the longest I ever took but the elk died. The bullet was not recovered.
Paul B.

Thanks for the come-back.

OK. That's kind of how I figured it.

As you know, hunting-wise, I'm a bit of a shut-in. Folically Challenged dragged me down to Georgia for a boar hunt this past Fall, and it was the first time I'd hunted off the property since late 2001.

I understand! (Am a bit of a shut-in myself these days, as a lot of us are...)

Mule Deer

"Have used a bunch of different loads, but one of them I still use some is the 200 Partition and 59.0 grains of H4831SC. It will put three in around the magic half-inch at right around 2680 fps, and because of the relatively high BC of the bullet (around .500 G1, which was confirmed by Bryan Litz in his book), it shoots just as flat as most 180 softpoint spitzers, yet drifts less in the wind. "

In the Nosler No. 7 reloading manual for the 30-06 and a 190 grain bullet the maximum load for H4831 is 57 grains at 2613 feet per second. Does H4831SC allow for an extra 2 grains of power? I can not find any data for H4831SC for a 200 or a 190 grain bullet in manual no 7. I looked up the data on H4831SC on Alliant Power's web site and they is no information on this power for 190 or 200 grain bullets.

My 30-06 is a Remington 700 that has been rebuilt by Bull Mountain Rifle Company in Billings, Montana by Randy Melvin. The chamber is very tight and the barrel is stamped 30-06 Match. I am very cautious because in the past I have had sticky bolts with factory Remington 30-06.

Should 59 grains of H4831SC be a safe load. Is this your data which I trust or is it a published load.

If you check Hodgdon's on-line data, you'll find 59.0 grains of H4831 listed as max for the 200 AccuBond, though since it doesn't have as much bearing surface as the Partition, Hodgdon's velocity is around 100 fps slower.

H4831sc does fit a little easier under a 200-grain bullet than "long-cut" H4831, but I never had any trouble fitting up to 60 grains even when using the old military-surplus H4831--though it's definitely a compressed load.

My 30/06 barrel is cut with a tight reamer and throated to accept a 200 Match King seated to just above the base of the neck. I suspect I would have been able to go a little hotter but accuracy is good and velocity is high enough.
Another '06, a BRNO ZKK with a 24 inch barrel, had along, funnel shaped throat. In it, I loaded 58 of the old Hodgdons 205 with Speer 200's and got right at 2700. Very accurate. GD

30-06, 200 grain bullet, 2700 fps....

Best way for those three things to come together is with a 26" barrel, not 22" .

Wtf are you bringing up an old thread to try to disprove everyone here that said they can get 2700fps with a 200gr pill and a 22" barrel? For fuggs sake..

Out of the whole thread, this is the best quote:

If it were me, I'd start low and work up. Odds are it'll be OK but based on my experience with a custom Mauser in 7x57 with a chamber like yours. Surprises happen. In my case, no pun intended, I cannot even come close to levels I can easily reach in two other rifles chambered to the same round. As you probably know, a fired case with show a slight pressure ridge near the web of the shell, usually larger on one side than the other. On my Mauser there is no visible ridge. It's only detectable using a micrometer. I can't even come close to some of the watered down publish max loads for the 7x57.
Paul B.