Went to the range today with my 30-06 loads I used this fall for deer. The weather here in Leavenworth, KS today is 10 F above, with 25 mph winds gusting to 35 mph, with a wind chill of -10 F. Not as cold as many places today.
I put the rounds in the back of my truck this morning before church, and they stayed out until I made the range trip after church. The rounds were in the shade all day also, even at the range, as the shooting positions are covered and were shaded today.
The rifle is chambered in 30-06.
The load is 58.8 grains Ramshot Hunter, CCI 250 (magnum) primers, Nosler brass, 180 Nosler Partitions.
When I last ran this load over the Magnetospeed this summer (about 85 F), the load averaged 2760 fps, with about 8 or 9 rounds shot for the average.
The Magnetospeed picked up every round today, no problems with the batteries. I had a set of spare batteries in my shirt pocket in case I needed to make the switch.
Average today, with 8 rounds shot for the average: 2590.
Quickload says if I increased the powder to about 61 grains I would get back to "normal" velocity. Quickload is wrong, of course, because all models are wrong. But it's interesting nonetheless.
Is that about a normal amount of velocity loss based on your observations? If I did the math right the velocity loss is only about 6%, really pretty reasonable.
Do you increase the powder in your case for winter hunting (like cow elk depredation hunts, etc.)? You could just work up a load at 10 degrees and use it for your cold weather hunts? One could also switch to another powder, like H4350, but I would think a cold weather load using the same powder would be just as good as switching powders.
Not that this matters, as I'll be hunting elk in September this year. But I thought shooting this load in cold weather would produce interesting results.
I put the rounds in the back of my truck this morning before church, and they stayed out until I made the range trip after church. The rounds were in the shade all day also, even at the range, as the shooting positions are covered and were shaded today.
The rifle is chambered in 30-06.
The load is 58.8 grains Ramshot Hunter, CCI 250 (magnum) primers, Nosler brass, 180 Nosler Partitions.
When I last ran this load over the Magnetospeed this summer (about 85 F), the load averaged 2760 fps, with about 8 or 9 rounds shot for the average.
The Magnetospeed picked up every round today, no problems with the batteries. I had a set of spare batteries in my shirt pocket in case I needed to make the switch.
Average today, with 8 rounds shot for the average: 2590.
Quickload says if I increased the powder to about 61 grains I would get back to "normal" velocity. Quickload is wrong, of course, because all models are wrong. But it's interesting nonetheless.
Is that about a normal amount of velocity loss based on your observations? If I did the math right the velocity loss is only about 6%, really pretty reasonable.
Do you increase the powder in your case for winter hunting (like cow elk depredation hunts, etc.)? You could just work up a load at 10 degrees and use it for your cold weather hunts? One could also switch to another powder, like H4350, but I would think a cold weather load using the same powder would be just as good as switching powders.
Not that this matters, as I'll be hunting elk in September this year. But I thought shooting this load in cold weather would produce interesting results.