Best 30-06 load?

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What is the best 30-06 load for accuracy and distance. I looking for something that stays flat as possible. What is ur thoughts for the best off the shelf ammo for the same. Any help would be great.
 
If you are looking for a flat trajectory, choose the bullet with the highest ballistic coefficient. I suggest a 150 grain pointed pullet and a powder in the 4350 speed range. Heavier bullets have a higher ballistic coefficient, but you can't drive them as fast so actual bullet path may not be as flat as the lighter bullet.

(Oh,oh, now I said that I had best go look up a ballistic chart?)
 
165, 168, 180, 190, and 200 are much better then 150 for long range.

They start out slower, but they get there faster with less wind drift.

rc
 
Check the Hodgdon site for 150g and Superperformance. At the max load of 65.0g its clocked at 3072 FPS with 53KSI of pressure . I've heard its very flat shooting and consistent. That's hot for an '06 yet the pressure is low. IMR 4064 and 4350 59 & 57KSI pressure respectively at their max loads, which are also slower.
 
Im running 180grn SSTs at a nudge under 2900 (avg velocity) from a 24" barrel. Load is right at 60grn (.3 over hodgdon max), shows no pressure, but bullets are loaded about .02" long. Ive got a few 165 CT balistics,that i chronoed at a bit over 2980, with a sd of less then 7 or 8, i only chronoed 5 rounds, and i have 5 still sitting here.
 
A 22" barrel pre-64 Winchester model 70 and a pre-70 670. All around guns that I will be doing everything with from white tail to elk and plinking to pushing targets as far as I can. I talked to a lot of guys on here and they told me that the 06 had so many choices when it came to ammo so I bought the guns and you all were not lying it makes my head spin. I've always shot hornady rounds for my "good stuff" and the cheapest thing I could find for plinking.
 
If i were building 1000 yard 30-06 rounds it would be with a much heavier bullet than a 150gr. Out to 600 yards I would choose a 168gr Sierra Match King. Further like the 1000 yards you're thinking of it would be a 175gr or a 180gr SMK bullet. Sierra makes .308" bullets in 190gr, 200gr and all the way up to 220gr but I think those bullets are too heavy for the 30-06 and are better suited for use in the 300 Win-Mag. I really like the 175gr Match King in the 30-06, I have shot many out to 400 yards even though the 168gr SMK would do just fine out to 400 yards. (the longest range available within 100 miles or more)

I also like 4350 for use with those heavier bullets.
 
For long distance I would stay at or above a 165 gr. PSP BT, or a HP. A 150 gr. bullet isn't going to maintain it's velocity as well as the heavier bullets will. You can certainly push a lighter bullet to a much higher muzzle velocity, but, it is going to slow down much quicker than a heavier bullet with a higher B.C.. So it's not all about MV, and specifically if your wanting to get all you can at extended distances.
Now the powders that will give you as much MV as possible without having to push the pressures excessively high are slow burners like IMR-4350, RL19 as examples of what I use. But there are a good number of slow burning powders now days that will fit the profile regarding velocity, safe operating pressures, and reliable accuracy at long distance.
 
Still I wonder how good Dons recipe would work for everyone else in their rifle.:D I always get best performance with medium to faster velocities/medium to lower pressure and bullet weight chosen for the distance needed as a rule. The High pressure thrashers have never been the most accurate load in any of my firearms yet so I try to avoid them to save wear and tear on both me and my gear. For me this tailoring of the load is what reloading is all about.:)
 
i shoot a couple of different rounds in my .30-06 mauser sporter. it has a 22 inch stainless barrel. I am shooting 165 gr bullets for hunting.

brass in both is imi
primers in both are fed 210

#1 60 gr imr 4350 and 165 gr sgk
#2 50 gr n140 and 165gr hornady interlock spbt

both reall accurate and the same poi at 100 yards. i don't have a chrono... probably a good thing... i would only ruin good loads looking for fps.

the imr powder is much slower burning the n140. i wonder if it gets all available performance from the 22 inch barrel
 
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"What is the best 30-06 load for accuracy and distance."

Sorry, but it's not all that calibrated for either handloads or factory. If it were that easy our manuals would only list the one "best" load and the one "best" factory load would dominate the market.
 
It is impossable to know what shoots best in your gun, but every single rifle I have ever loaded for likes Serria Game kings and Ballistic tips, they also happen to have good BC for their weight. Superformance will shoot flatter but some rifles do not like them.
 
Still I wonder how good Dons recipe would work for everyone else in their rifle.:D I always get best performance with medium to faster velocities/medium to lower pressure and bullet weight chosen for the distance needed as a rule. The High pressure thrashers have never been the most accurate load in any of my firearms yet so I try to avoid them to save wear and tear on both me and my gear. For me this tailoring of the load is what reloading is all about.:)
Of course we all know every gun is different but sometimes a good load is just a good load. Lyman offers suggestions on their "potentially most accurate" loads and many times they are good loads. I'm always interested in the successes of others.
 
So fellas from what I gather from all your knowledge is a bullet between 165-168gr Sierra Match King with velocity between 2700-3000fps. I have not got into loading my own rounds yet, still learning. My local shop has a reloader that I have free reign of so I'm going to give it a shot. Ya'll have talked about 4350 powder how much of that should I load? interlock said 60gr do you guys agree? Now off the shelf stuff would you go with Black Hills Gold 168gr. A-Max Ballistic Tip or Hornady 165 GR InterBond Superformance
 
If you read the original post, he asked for "OFF THE SHELF", meaning "factory" ammo.

For plinking and up to whitetail deer, the cheapest thing you can find. Academy sports sells the "Monarch" line which is made in Serbia, by PrviPartisan. It's "shootable", and my experience with the PrviPartisan bullets is that it's around 2-3moa accurate.

For Elk, Moose, or Bears, I'd use the Federal 180gr Premium with 180gr Nosler Partition. You'll need to resight if using different weight bullets, so I'd first sight with the cheaper 180gr PrviPartisan ammo if available.

Failing that, Walmart carries the Federal "blue-box" ammo in 150 and 180gr (some also 165gr). Use the 150's for plinking and deer, use the 180's for the "bigger" stuff. But, there is nothing wrong with shooting the deer with the 180's either.

For "just one load", you can't go wrong with the 180's in the '06. Try the Winchester, Remington, and Federal's. Stock up on what shoots best in your rifle.

FWIW; USSR has said that his "1000yd load" is a 190gr Sierra MK over 60.0gr of RL22. I plan on trying that under a 190gr BtSpt Hornady in my '06... But, I'll start at 57.0 and "work up" as my ColtLR has a very nice, tight chamber......
 
The suggestions for 165gr bullets surprise me. I don't know but I would have thought a round-nose boat-tail in the 180gr range would have been close to optimum for long-range accuracy. Live and learn, I guess.:)
 
Here is THE load:

Lapua brass
Fed. 210M primer
Sierra 190gr MatchKing bullet
60.7gr RL 22 powder

Developed by myself and another guy on the Snipers Hide website over 10 years ago, we both were able to reach an honest 2900fps from our 26" Krieger barrels. From a 100 yard zero, I found that it required only 30 MOA of up to reach 1k. This is a safe load (Lyman's 49th Edition lists 60.5gr), with QuickLoad listing it at 59k psi. My initial load development also included H4831 powder, but I quickly found that it could not produce the velocity that RL22 could. Hope that helps.

Don
 
So fellas from what I gather from all your knowledge is a bullet between 165-168gr Sierra Match King with velocity between 2700-3000fps. I have not got into loading my own rounds yet, still learning. My local shop has a reloader that I have free reign of so I'm going to give it a shot. Ya'll have talked about 4350 powder how much of that should I load? interlock said 60gr do you guys agree? Now off the shelf stuff would you go with Black Hills Gold 168gr. A-Max Ballistic Tip or Hornady 165 GR InterBond Superformance
It depends upon which 4350 you're loading. H4350 usually lists at least 1 full grain less powder than IMR4350 under a 165gr bullet in the 30-06.

I load a 168gr SGK bullet over 57.0gr H4350. I used to charge 58.0gr H4350 but when I finally for around to checking several loads over a Chrono I found there was no velocity difference between the 57.0gr and 58.0gr load in a 26" barrel and accuracy was the same.

No one can tell you what charge weight will achieve the highest velocity and best accuracy in your rifle. I will tell you DO NOT start at the 60.0gr Max recommended charge weight. You should ALWAYS start ~10% below the Max and work up to the Max always looking for signs of excessive pressure. Safety first!
 
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