30-06 Brass

[smoothie25]

I've been shooting some factory loads of Winchester and Remington thru my 30-06. I'm starting to accumulate some brass from each and have been using both in working up a couple loads. I'm looking to move to one brand of brass to get more consistency in my load development. Here are my 3 options:

1. Remington brass - seems to be good stuff, less case capacity than my win brass

2. Winchester brass - equal quality to Remington in my limited observations, more case capacity

3. Scrap or sell the rem/win brass and buy another brand.

I like the win brass because of the extra case capacity. I'm using rl22 and need as much room as I can get. I'm worried that the win brass may not last nearly as long as the rem brass.

What are your thoughts? What's another brand of brass that'll give me the best case capacity and quality?

Thanks
Nick


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[jmr40]

I use both as well as some other brands. I don't see a lot of difference in performance. More case capacity doesn't necessarily mean you can get more speed. You can often get the same speeds with less powder from the case that has less capacity.

I have several hundred pieces of brass from 4 different manufacturers. I sort by brand and when I load a batch I'll use the same brand of brass for that load. For example I may load 165 gr bullets in Remington brass, 150's in Winchester and 180's in Hornady.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I mostly use Rem, Win and Federal brass in the 30-06 and all seem to last just as long as any other brass. I'm using H4350 mostly and some IMR4350 at times.

 

[Hardtarget]

The only 30.06 I've reloaded is HXP for my M1. Its just that I've not loaded any ammo for the 1903...yet. The '03 was my dad's deer rifle...we must have some tough white tail in middle Tennessee!

Mark

Waite...that was tongue-in-cheek...I know and believe the '06 is a great deer cartridge. Tennessee woods don't allow long shots and his rifle has open sights...close shots are good.

 

[USSR]

More case capacity doesn't necessarily mean you can get more speed.

With RL-22 it does.

Don

 

[smoothie25]

I'm looking to develop a couple different loads for this gun so I may just split the brands up for the different loads and call it good.

I'm getting some good groups with 168 CC and RL22 loaded just under max according to nosler book. Anyone else have any experience with this powder?

A member on another forum suggested I use RL17 if I start running out of room in the case with rl22. Any experience with this powder?


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[ArchAngelCD]

I'm looking to develop a couple different loads for this gun so I may just split the brands up for the different loads and call it good.

I'm getting some good groups with 168 CC and RL22 loaded just under max according to nosler book. Anyone else have any experience with this powder?

A member on another forum suggested I use RL17 if I start running out of room in the case with rl22. Any experience with this powder?


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Sorry, I have never tried it. IMO it's too slow a powder for the 30-06. It's even slower than H4831. In the book you're using the starting charge is compressed @107% and the max charge is @114% with a 165/168gr bullet. Nope, not for me.

If for some reason you're looking for very high velocities give Superformance powder a try but the 30-06 has been killing North American game for a very long time without the excessive velocity.

 

[USSR]

I'm getting some good groups with 168 CC and RL22 loaded just under max according to nosler book. Anyone else have any experience with this powder?

smoothie25,

Too slow for 168gr bullets. With the 190gr Sierra MatchKing bullet, RL22 will give you the highest velocity possible with that bullet. I will refer you to the load listed in Lyman's 49th Edition Reloading Manual for that load. With 150 - 168gr bullets you want a 4350 burn rate powder.

Don

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I'm with Don. RL17 would be a better choice for 168 grain bullets (if you can find it). If you can't IMR4350 is nearly the same thing.

As far as your brass, I can't tell a bit of difference between them. I have loaded the same load and shot 3-shot groups with 3 different brands of brass. The groups were just as small as the ones with the same brand cases.

Now, I do not target shoot and do not claim to be a terrific shot. If a load is in the neighborhood of MOA I'm happy.

If you're shooting benchrest competitions at 1k meters you may be able to tell.

What application do you use your .30-06 for?
If you're target shooting for the smallest groups possible, sure, sort your brass.
If you're hunting deer it plain doesn't matter.

 

[Captcurt]

smoothie25,

Too slow for 168gr bullets. With the 190gr Sierra MatchKing bullet, RL22 will give you the highest velocity possible with that bullet. I will refer you to the load listed in Lyman's 49th Edition Reloading Manual for that load. With 150 - 168gr bullets you want a 4350 burn rate powder.

Don

This goes with what I have found. If your gun doesn't shoot a 165gr Nosler BT or a 168gr SMK with IMR-4350 it probably needs some tuning. 4350 has been my goto powder in a 270 or 30-06 case for over 40 years.

 

[jimbeaux82]

Pick which ever brand you want to keep and standardize on that brand. Get on various reloading sites, including this one, and make an offer to trade the brand you don't want for the one you do want. I do it all the time. That way you have standard brass.

I have reloaded both Rem and Win and not seen any problems with either so no preference for either on my part. Just pick one that you have the most of and trade the other.

 

[dgod]

I personally have had more consistency with the Winchester Brass. For plinking, adjusting, etc, any of it will work. For me, the Win brass produces more consistent results, accuracy and with chrony.

Good Luck
Dan