Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Are.30-06 factory loads under loaded?

Depending on rifle and barrel length but 3100+ is feasible

Unless I'm missing something, that sort of begs the question for needing the AI.

That's my point: at similar pressure the difference between the two is moot. Again, unless I'm missing something.

Only the early Delta. It only cracked the small bridge in the frame gap. In the later models, Colt removed the bridge. Problem solved.

Also, the original loads exceed what modern loading manuals list today.

It especially depends on the rifle....

Unless I'm missing something, that sort of begs the question for needing the AI.

There have been some .30-06 factory loads that got quite a bit more than "standard" velocities. Over 20 years ago Federal had a "High Energy" load with the 180-grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claw that they claimed got 2880 fps. This was apparently possible at SAAMI specs by using a heavily compressed load of well over 60 grains of a slower burning spherical powder. It worked great in my NULA .30-06, getting a little over 2900 fps and grouping a little under an inch. Essentially it was a .300 WSM, before the WSM appeared.

But other rifles could have some difficulty with it. A friend had another NULA, and bolt lifts were so stiff he didn't use the ammo in the field. Back then I also had an old FN Mauser sporter .30-06, which had a slightly shorter than average throat. In the FN the ammo blew primers--and got over 3000 fps from the 22" barrel! The guys at Federal very interested to hear this, and asked me to send them what remained of that box of ammo for testing. They reported it got "normal" pressures in their test barrel, around 58,000 PSI.

In my NULA most 180-grain factory ammo gets right around the standard 2700 fps velocity, but I suspect the 24" barrel has a tighter chamber and perhaps bore than most factory .30-06s. And of course many factory rifles have 22" barrels--or even shorter.

A few years ago three friends and I hunted elk on a ranch about 100 miles south of here. The rifle season had been open for a couple weeks, and consequently a lot of elk had had come onto the ranch from off the surrounding Forest Service land, and we all got decent 6-point bulls.

One of the guys used Federal .30-06 factory ammunition with 180-grain Partitions in a lightweight Weatherby Vanguard with a 20" barrel. I'd guess the muzzle velocity was around 2600 fps, but he never chronographed it. Instead he knew the trajectory out to 400 yards--and made the longest shot on the 4 bulls, around 360 if I recall correctly. The 180 Partition landed about 1/3 of the way up the chest behind the shoulder, and the bull ran about 40 yards before keeling over.

"The other was the 180-grain Partition load that you mentioned (P3006R), which did 2,800 fps in the same rifle."

You misread my post. The High Energy 180-grain load mentioned used the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, not the180 Partition.

I actually used that High Energy 180 Grain Partition load quite a bit. I got about 2850 out of my model 70 with it. It was also very accurate in my rifle, and I used it almost exclusively while it was available. I could not equal it with my handloads. I still can’t, but I can get close enough that it doesn’t really make a difference.

I have always handloaded, but would not hesitate to hunt with factory .30-06 ammo. Factory .30-06 ammo has been killing game the world over for more than 100 years. What difference could 100 FPS make ?

Whether it's loaded down or not the important question is how well does it shoot and does it kill stuff. In this enlightened age it is a wonderment to me that people still get hung up on velocity, especially since rangefinders have taken the guesswork out of considerations over point blank range vs. "long range" and bullet technology is at a level our fathers only dreamed of.