Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Good 30/06 Loads

Not sure what some object too. I'm a beginning hand loader and this has been very educational. It has given me good starting points on powder, primer and bullet suggestions. Sure, some dosages and powder type are mention a few times, others mentioned MANY times...guess where I'm going to start?

Thanks for all the contributions.

All this shows is that most 30-06s are incinerators for powder, and very effective at shooting good groups and killing stuff. I love it, and this thread is on my watch list.

A 168 gr TSX in front of 50 grains of IMR 4064, best load I have found for my Tikka "super" lite.


Runs below 2800 fps but shoots .75 groups at 200 yards!

45.0 grains H4895, 125 gr NBT, 2600 ft/sec, great reduced recoil load for the youngsters.
2.5" high at 100 yards puts you dead on at 210.


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I have just reviewed all these pages as I am working up loads with Norma 180 gr HP's and Speer 180 gr SP's using H4350.

Out of 7 manuals ( old and new) I could find none that ran over 57 gr of H4350 or IMR 4350 using any 180 gr bullets. Some guys must really like living on the edge as those 60 gr loads must be something.

From 54 gr to 56 grians in 1/2 gr increments,the sweet spot with my Pre 64 Model 70 FWT in .06, 55'ish grains looks promising.Book value on velocity is in the 2760fps realm.These were set about .020 off the lands They hover around 1" at 100 yards which is about the best this gun will do.

Loads satrted out giving 2&1/2 " groups,shrunk downto 1" and thenopednbak up to a little over 2" as I approached 56 gr.

I was out two days ago,but could not chrony them.

I completed loading today of another batch in 1/4 grain increments around the 55 grain load.

With 180 gr Sierra GK,my accuracy load has always been 57&1/2 gr of H4831,but it did good if it broke 2600fps

My 700 Remington likes 59 grains of IMR 4350 with a Seirra 150 grain spitzer very well

I'm using Barnes 150gr TTSXs and 51gr of H4895. Seems to shoot flat and accuracy has been exceptional.

25 years ago,2 721s and a 700 all liked this recipe. It's been proven in various 30/06s over time by a bunch of folks. Bread and butter Otter fodder.

Another version of a .30/30 bullet load -

170 grain Hornady FN interlock and 46.0 grains of IMR4895
gives me 2490 fps chronographed out of a 22 inch Winchester featherweight and easy one inch groups in two rifles.

This is about .307 Winchester ballistics or about the same as a .303 British load.

56.5 gr H414. CCI LR primer with 150 grain Sierra GK or 150 grain Hornady BTSP. Winchester WW Super brass.

Ugly, Ugly, Ugly!

Had 150 rounds of those ugly .250 gr. Hornady bastids come with the 2nd hand .338 WM I bought about20 years ago. 15 years or so later, I got tired of looking at the ugly things, so I picked a high-end load (one grain under max, IIRC) out of the book, a different primer (on hand) (and possibly brass, too) and threw together the whole batch of bunch of junk loads to just shoot up. Screw any work-up. Rugers are tough!

Fuggers shoot MOA, drop like a rock at longer ranges, but since I shoot moose at 100 yards or less (mostly), no prob. Now I'm stuck with boxes of the buggers, since my ideal moose season goes like this... Take rifle out of storage, check screws, run patch down bbl, fire 1 round across the bench to confirm POA (I already know how it groups, carries, and shoulders).

Shoot moose. Walk up. Employ insurance round from a few yards out (had the crap scared out of me a couple times.... )

Clean gun, put away for another year.

Kinda boring, really. Leaves me free to enjoy the hunt.

I'm probably gonna die before I run out of those ugly things.... I just don't let my hunting pards see them....

I have obtained a Remington 742 in 30-06. With Winchester factory ammo it groups under 1 1/2" at 100 yards. Are there problems reloading for the Remington semi autos? Ammo is scarce in this area. I am considering reloading for this rifle in order to have a supply, not for accuracy. The gun will be used for hunting in woods with proper functioning more important than velocity.

Pick any 165 grain pill you want, and work up from 55 to 57 grains of either of the 4350s and you're good to go. I would full length size every case, though. If you want more weight in the bullet, go with a 180 grain and work up to 55 grains of IMR4550. Lots of combos work well in the '06 case.

Tried 56-57.5 of Imr 4350. With 165 gr. GMX.
Seated. .020 off the lands.
57.5 left a little wiff of smoke coming from the bolt after I shot. I thought uhoh. But the brass extracted ok examined the primer, did not smear it, but there was a little gray/black circle on the brass around the primer pocket, so I figured that was my limit.
56 grains actually produced the best results, somewhere in the neighborhood of .5 inch 3 shot group. I figured good enough for my Ruger MKll M77 boat paddle. When I got the gun, I bedded it, free floated, worked the trigger down to 1.5 oz's, and had it braked. Then duracoated snow gray.

1.5 ounces??? Are you sure??? Even 1.5 pounds is plenty light.

Typo. Meant to type 1.5 lbs.

This works great!

Tried with 180gr Nosler Partitions and shoots a 4 shot 1/2" group.

58 grs. IMR-4350 Hornady 150 gr. SP Rem 9&1/2 primer.
I used that load in three different 760's. Small Base Dies.
100 yard Groups were 1 to 1&1/4 inch. Bullets were seated to the cannelure to fit the clips. Great deer load.

Now in my Dad's 1903 Springfield a3-03 military rifle I used 57 grs. IMR-4350 and the 150 gr. Hornady or the Rem. 150 gr. Bronze Points. (why'd they stop making the Bronze points?) CCI 200 primers.

I load 53.0 grains of IMR4895 with 150 BT's and get sub MOA with a velocity of 2930 fps. The load also works with 150 grain Hornady flatbase interlocks. Out of a Winchester 70 fthwt.

I have a Remington model 7600 30-06 that shoots Hornady factory ammo 150 gr, 165 gr, and 180 gr very well (MOA at 100 and 200). I am new to reloading and have briefly read through a couple of reloading manuals on the 30-06 and powders used and the starting load to the max load.
I know Hodgdon makes a Hornady Superformance powder, but after reading the label I wasn�t sure if it would be the best for my 30-06 even though I shoot really good groups with their SST and Interbond Superformance ammo from the factory. I recently purchased a bottle of Hodgdon 4350 after talking to some friends that shoot 30-06, 300 win mag, etc and they recommended this powder.
Are there any others that I should strongly consider? I am wanting to get as close as possible to the factory FPS as possible.