Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire How many reloads before you settle on a load?

That's not much of a reduction.

My load that works with 165's and a 30-06 has always been 57 gr's of IMR 4350. Probably a lower node down the scale like you're listing that works well also, but 57 has always worked so well for me, that's where I head first. 57 of 4350 with 165's and 56-56.5 of 4350 with 180's has been an easy button in a lot of 30-06's.

48 gr's of H4895 and Sierra 150 PH has become a new go to load also. 30-06's seem to like that combo a lot.

Check out Gun Gack IV:
The Little Book of Rifle Loads That Work

Courtesy of Mule Deer aka: John Barsness
It's the best starting point I can think of - especially as hard as components are to find now!

It has been a long time since I have worked a load for a new rifle. However, I may have to find a new load for my 7Mag when I finally run out of RL25 and 160 Nosler Partitions. Things being what they are now, I may never find those again.

Be that as it may, This is how I do it.
Choose a bullet I want to use.
Choose a powder that gives the velocities I want without going to the max load and which fills the case 80 -85 % full.
Seat the bullet just lightly touching the lands.
Select a primer (standard or mag) appropriate for the powder and charge weight.

While fire forming cases and breaking in the barrel, hunt with it.
After the barrel is well broken in and the brass is fire formed for that chamber, neck size the brass, test different powder charge weights in five shot groups until I get an MOA group.

Two rifles I have owned did not give MOA groups on the first attempt with that method. I changed bullets with one 25-06 and that did the trick. With a 7 Mag I changed to a powder with a slightly different burn rate and that worked.
Once I find the load the rifle likes, I buy enough of those components to last a good long while.

These are hunting rifles, not bench rest rifles. So the first MOA load I find is where I stop tuning the load.

Dude

160 gr Partitions


https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/19179060/1






P

I have ruger ranch 450bushy- what barrel break-in system should I use to insure the rifle shoots 1/4'' groups all day long ?? ??

Marzoom: I get a new Rifle (Varmint or Big Game Hunting types) and "I" decide on which bullet to shoot in it for my purposes.
Then I putter around til I get near .500" groups (5 shots at 100 yards) with that bullet and that about settles that for my Colony Varmint and predator Hunting guns.
My Big Game Rifles, again "I" decide on the exact bullet I want to shoot in it and putter around until I get groups (3 shots at 100 yards) just under 1.000".
Last Varmint Rifle I bought (a used but as new Remington XR-100 in 204 Ruger) I settled on the FIRST loading with that bullet I tried - its shoots exceptionally well.
I do NOT bemoan the folks that seem to endlessly be trying to find an even more accurate loading in their Rifles - range time is enjoyment time for them. And for me, to a certain extent.
Handloading for me is not a chore and is in fact therapeutic it seems. But out of respect for expensive barrels these days, I get my Varmint/Big Game Rifles load development done ASAP and then they are mostly only shot at Varmints/Game or for sight in verification.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Ol mike: Thats funny!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy