Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 30-06 load question

Guys, I'm going to start handloading this year. I hunt whitetail at under 200 yds. I'm familiar with various 165 and 180gr options, but wondered if there was a lighter .30 bullet recipe that would blend good speed with very light recoil.

Thanks.

some have been fat and happy with the 150 xxx.. i dont have the recipe but you may want to post in the big game reloading section...

woofer

Thanks. I probably should. I was thinking about 150gr, as well.

150gr Hornady SP (flatbase)
48.5gr H-4895
R-P cases
WLR primers

Very accurate in my buddy's rifle (Savage M110) and rather mild. Not a true reduced/youth load but not a hot rod either. Kills deer just fine.

THANKS!

I just posted this elsewhere. "Another way to reduce recoil is to use lead bullets. Maybe not enough to be worthwhile, but it does work. Very noticable in revolver shooting. For years lead bullets killed every animal there was. Still can. Have a .30-06 kicking the snot out of you, reload all lead hard cast 160 - 180 gr. bullets to 2,000 fps and you will have a new love for the rifle, and it will still kill anything you want. At that velocity, leading shouldn't be bad, if at all. Gas checks will help if you get leading. May be you need to keep shots a bit closer, but all rifles are compromises." This load will be similar to that of a .30-30 and will work for you.

This was about what I'd suggest as well, it's model perfect for you.

Dober

No problem.

you may want to try 130 tsx's. I seem to recall several people shooting the lighter weight tsx's in .06. They'd be fast, flat and mild in recoil.

I suggest you get a good manual.
One option is a 130 gr Hornady. Can be loaded hot or quite mild and I would still expect good expansion. I have used the 130 Hornady in a single shot 30-30 with excellent results.

I ordered 2 manuals today. I see this is going to be a lot of trial and error.

Should be fun, though.

I bet you will like reloading, Chawn.
It is a lot of fun, IMO.
Enjoy!

I just hate the investment. I see myself as someone who stays with what works. Once I find a load that I can live with, I'd be liable to make 500 of them and never need the press again!

'Course I'm operating on a lot of theory right now.

150 grain bullet of your choosing along with IMR 4064 is always a good choice.

You may just get to like reloading for it's own sake- almost.
Sounds silly, perhaps, but when you have been doing it a while, you start to shoot more just so you can reload and experiment a bit with different bullets, powders, seating depths, all that junk.

Guess I better order a nice journal, too

Another option would be a medium charge of RL 15 with 150's.

Nothing at all wrong with a good load of H4350 and a 150g TSX ... a man can muster a lot of mojo, with that combination ...

Classic - this is why I have a cabinet full of ammo for a multiplicity of rifles. Find a good load and load up enough to last several years. Then realize that something faster/better/cheaper/yada-yada is available, and start over. With the exception of the varmint rifles I shoot, I have enough loaded ammo to kill every big game animal I will ever shoot at, 4 or 5 times each. Of course, I still continue buying rifles and working up new loads. By far, most of these bullets will end up in a dirt bank or spattered on some distant rock....

what 284 said. my mild/medium load is something like 48.0 grs of 4064 under a 150-grain hornady (in my rifle alone, a winchester model 670a). from the hornady manual.