I've got a really nice, 7 1/4 lb. 06 that I really like. But I don't like to shoot it much as it kicks a bit. So, I thought I'd try our some reduced loads.
My hunting loads run from 200 gr. NP's over 59 grs. of H4831 down through 58 grs. of Ramshot Hunter with somebody's 180 gr. bullet to a 150-155 gr. bullet over 57-58 grs. of Ramshot Big Game. What I've noticed is that the lighter the bullet, the less it kicks.
However, previous experiments with 150 gr. bullets and either Varget or RS TAC didn't shoot well enough to make me happy.
However, going to both H4895 and 130 gr. Hornady bullets give much better results. Both in reduced recoil, and good accuracy. 47.5 grs. gave me a four shot group of .88, while 48.5 and 49.5 grs. did a bit more at 1.0-1.1 MOA groups for four rounds.
For a much lighter kicking load, at reduced velocity, the 110 gr. Nosler went 1.1 MOA for 4, with 33 grs. of H4198, and .97 groups for 32 grs. of the same.
The H4895/130 gr. load shoot closer to zero with my 57 gr. BG/150 gr. TTSX load than did the 110 gr. loads with H4198, but none were very far off. E

13.0 grs Red Dot with a 180gr cast bullet! guess that's not what your looking for! LOL But it is like shooting a 22LR!

As your loads show (once again), H or IMR4895 are great ones to use for "somewhat" reduced loads. You can take them down to 30% below max and they still work great. Actually, I only know about using IMR but H is so close that any difference is a non-factor.

46 grains IMR4895 under a 150 grain bullet in the 30-06 turns it into a .300 Savage at about 2600 fps. That one load - 46.0/150 gr. bullet, consistently produces some of the tightest groups in the four '06's I've used it in.

Same 46 grain load under a 130 grain bullet in the .270 makes that into a very accurate 7mm-08.

It's been a while but I used to load a .308 down to about 2000 fps with a 150 grain bullet and, you guessed it - IMR4895.

Nowadays most all of my shooting of anything over .25 caliber is done with those "somewhat reduced" loads and 8 pound jugs of 4895 occupy a prominent place on the powder shelves.

TrailBoss and 125 NBT or Sierra SPTZ is a good one.

Try about 52 grains of 4064 under a 150. It's not really reduced, but it isn't heavy recoiling for a 30-06 and usually produces very good groups.

125 Nosler Ballistic Tip and H4895.

Look up the reduced loading they have using it.

The little hornady 110 vmax has been fun and accurate for me in a number of 308 cartridges.

For many years I used a load of 40 grains 4895 and Sierra 165 HPBT in my 6 3/4 lb. Mauser that was pretty brutal with full charges. I bet I put upwards of 8-900 of them through that rifle before I retired it to cast bullets only. Accuracy is outstanding (as it always is on the Internet)- on the order of 1- 1 1/4" for five shots at 100 off the bench. Velocity isn't much to write home about, but I don't care.

Now I'm feeding it a 180 grain RN cast at 1600 fps (18 gr. SR-4759) with equal accuracy, and it's almost embarrassingly fun to shoot (and stupid cheap, too).

243

Speer # 10

100 gr plinker w/ 16 gr SR4759....1548 fps
110 gr w/ 17 gr SR4759.......1590 FPS
150 GR W/ 20 GR SR4759......1620 FPS; 24 GR SR 4759......1957 FPS

I used to shoot hundreds of light 30-06 rounds each summer for ground squirrels. I liked the 110 gr Speer Varminter over 40 gr of IMR 3031. At the proper velocity it gave acceptable accuracy to 200 yds.

This bullet must be held to minimal velocity in a rifle as it has a large soft lead meplat which will fragment in flight due to excessive rotational velocity. But when loaded appropriately, it is very pleasant on the shoulder, and quite devastating on target.

This.

just for information purposes...

Remington's Managed Recoil loads for the 06 are 36 grains of IMR 4198 and a 125 grain bullet...

for my son, I load up 30 grains of IMR 4198 with a 150 grain ballistic tip each fall...

My son uses 125 CoreLokt with that 36 grains of 4198. Works very well.

I loaded 150 grain TSX bullets for my wife with both 46 grains of IMR3031 and 47 grains of H4895. Both shot real well out of her 30-06, and with the H4895 load, she killed a nice bull moose with one shot and the moose dropped and stayed down with that one shot, she said the recoil was not objectionable.

I use a 130 grain cast bullet with 14 grains of Unique for bunnies. Quiet and accurate in my Tikka.

48gr of 4064 with a Nosler 150gr Ballistic Tip or Accubond will get you a very usable 2678fps (sort of like a 7x57 150gr load), and calculated recoil is only 17.2 ft/lbs.

In contrast, a common 180gr load in that 7.25 lb rifle (62gr of 4831) will kick at at 27.1 ft/lbs.

Not a real mini load, but it should be appreciably softer on the shoulder while still being quite usable for most game.

That's my favorite load for getting trigger time and for teaching kids to shoot a full size center fire rifle.

Ed

^^^^^^^^^^^^ I know this one works in several 06s I've tried it in. ^^^^*^*

I started reading this thread just to see if anyone used/ recommended this load. Unless I'm mistaken I got the data from J OC.


Jerry

I ate a lot of venison bagged with that load. My father used to get invites to deer camps and leases (job side benefit) and I assembled his cartridges.

Yes m m it DO work!

Jerry