Powders for .30-06

I've used a few different powders in 06, when I started, in the 90's I used imr 4064, worked pretty good for mid weight bullets, lately I've been loading blc2, superformsnce, h4350, and ramshot hunter. Imr and h 4985 are similar to imr 4064, the hodgen version is likely more temp stable.

Accurate has 2495, 2460 that should be close in performance to imr and hodgen 4895. I frequently use shooters reference, a data base of manufacturer's data to compare powders and try and find any that provide the performance I. Looking for. There are so.epowders from lovex called shooters world, but haven't used any yet,

Another popular powder is either imr or h 4831.

I’m having good success with IMR 4451.

I used Varget. A little too fast, but for a small give up in velocity I got lots of accuracy and lots of temp stability.

For 150'ish bullets, I'd use IMR4895, for 168's or heavier, IMR4064.

A Buddy of mine swears by this powder for a 30-06. Never tried it Myself.

I still use IMR4895. It it ain’t broken . . .

IMR 4350 165 grain Sierra Gameking JSP if your hunting deer, 180 Nosler Partition for Elk. Both shoot great out of my Savage 110.

AgPilot said:

View attachment 1031236 A Buddy of mine swears by this powder for a 30-06. Never tried it Myself.

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This powder is money in my father's 303 p14 enfield.

H4350 or IMR4350 is pretty darn good for bullets 150-180 gr. Lighter, or heavier might be better with different powders. I've had good luck with both getting almost identical velocity and accuracy with either. But prefer H4350 since it is more stable in temperature changes.

IMR4451 is a new powder that is supposed to perform very much like H4350. I've also had good luck with Ramshot Hunter.

I've been using Superformance, Staball 6.5, and IMR4064. Got some IMR4166 to try that should work good.

I don't own an -06 but have loaded and tested some for a friend. His rifle preferred IMR 4350 behind 165gr bullets. Something around 54grains but don't remember the exact load. I do know my .280Rem(based on the -06 case) loves IMR 4350 behind a 160gr bullet. Great all around powder. I'd give the Staball 6.5 a "shot" as far as new powders.

My go to powder for the 06 has always been IMR-4350 when using 165 gr-180gr bullets and IMR-4831 for the 200gr offering. Now everyone whines about temp-stable powders. I can't see that it makes any difference at normal hunting ranges. I can see where it matters when reaching out long range, but inside 300 yards It shouldn't be enough to miss when sighted-in properly.

Captcurt said:

My go to powder for the 06 has always been IMR-4350 when using 165 gr-180gr bullets and IMR-4831 for the 200gr offering. Now everyone whines about temp-stable powders. I can't see that it makes any difference at normal hunting ranges. I can see where it matters when reaching out long range, but inside 300 yards It shouldn't be enough to miss when sighted-in properly.

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Maybe. My elk hunting is at 9000 feet of elevation in late November. Load testing mostly done lower down in the summer when I have time. Shots are usually 150 to over 300 yards.

When I used and loaded a 30/06 I
used W748 powder

Just remember imr4064 and Varget are kings in 308. This means you should be looking at the next slower burn rate.
Reloader16, H4350, IMR4350, AA4350, and SW4350 would be the powders I would search for.

All of my elk were taken within 200 yards at elevation between 6000-8500 feet with the 180 grain Partition over IMR 4350 and the farthest any of them went was 10 steps.

You don’t mention what rifle you are loading for. The 4350’s are excellent in 30-06 bolt action loads but too slow for use in an M1.

H4350 if you can find some. I'm currently using it in three different 30-06's and all will shoot sub MOA with 165 and 180 grain bullets. In fact, at least with the 180's, all three will do sub MOA using the same exact loading, bullet and COAL.

I've used reloader 15 for 150 to 180 grain bullets. If you can find it.

nofendertom said:

I loaded 30-06 years ago. Only ever used IMR 4895 or H 4895. Would like advice on newer powders that might be comparable to these two as I am starting to load 30-06 again.

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All of the above from the other guys are solid .... the 4895s are old reliables, I use them both.

It all just depends on bullet weight and design. The heavier the slower ... 4064, BL-C(2) and even 748. I've used them all plus the midrange weights, 150 and less, 4895, Varget, Reloader 15, 4350, .... it's kinda crazy, I just now realized, I probably have 100+ pounds total of the above mentioned powders for my 30.06 and my .308 and my service rifles, the Garands and the M1As ... but I never shoot'em anymore. But back in the day man oh man did I stock-up on 30.06 and .308 apropos propellants. I used to shoot nothing but those as a young man.

Anyways, the heavier the projectile the slower the propellant is my general 30.06 rule, there are some exceptions.

So which projectile, or at least a type and weight, are you planning to load?

30.06 is the all-time greatest imho. It'll take any game in North America, it is versatile and you can load 110 plinkers or 190 skull crushers. The cases can be worked to oblivion .... you neck them down to 270 or cut them down and neck them to 308 or even cut them short and use them for 45 ACP.

Just an amazing cartridge. You can even load them for black powder in a pinch.

There is a powder du jour phenoma, but I am going to say, if you are going to claim a real improvement on the accuracy of IMR 4895/H4895, I want to see more than three shot, or five shot groups at 100 yards.

The old powders are still as good as they ever were











For those shooting a Garand, my advice is to stay with IMR 4895/H4895 and not use bolt gun loads. Loading data for the Garand is easy to find.

stillquietvoice said:

I've used a few different powders in 06, when I started, in the 90's I used imr 4064, worked pretty good for mid weight bullets, lately I've been loading blc2, superformsnce, h4350, and ramshot hunter. Imr and h 4985 are similar to imr 4064, the hodgen version is likely more temp stable.

Accurate has 2495, 2460 that should be close in performance to imr and hodgen 4895. I frequently use shooters reference, a data base of manufacturer's data to compare powders and try and find any that provide the performance I. Looking for. There are so.epowders from lovex called shooters world, but haven't used any yet,

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I see that there's some IMR 4064 and BL-C(2) on GunBroker for sale right now. And not too bad prices either!

Bullet Weights???

With 150’s, most any 4064 or 4895 equivalent is good. RL15, Varget, or IMR4064.

165’s. Any 4350 equivalent is great (I’m using RL17 for 3,000fps for cow elk soon I hope!)

180’s up, H4831 or equivalent. I prefer H4831 and RL22.

For an M1 Garand, use H or IMR4895 or IMR4064, Varget, or RL15. Also, Precision Rifle or TACTICAL Rifle.