I'd like to find a low recoil 30.06 to shoot for fun. Do any of you know of any sources or will I have to load down to achieve this?
30.06 "lite"
- Thread starter hso
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There was a thread within the last day or two about reduced loads.
My reduced load is 13.0 grains of Red Dot and a cast bullet that drops from the mould at approx. 196 grains.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14726
My reduced load is 13.0 grains of Red Dot and a cast bullet that drops from the mould at approx. 196 grains.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14726
Mike Irwin
Member
I had a very similar load for .30-06, I believe I used 14 grains of Red Dot, and a 150-gr. cast lead bullet, that was absolute murder on the squirrel population in Central Pennsylvania.
I backed it off to 11.5 or 12 grains when I started using it in my .300 Savage.
I backed it off to 11.5 or 12 grains when I started using it in my .300 Savage.
braindead0
Member
I used to have a load that ran about 5 grains of bullseye behind a 150gr cast lead, or was it seven grains? It came right out of an old reloading manual, I'd think they still had that kinda thing..
Quantrill
Member
The old Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook (1973 version) had a mess of those cast bullet, fast powder loads. As I remember, my favorite was 7.5gr of 700-X with a 170gr flat nose Lee mold bullet. Quantrill
The folks @ Sierra gave me a load of 16gr. of Unique behind a 168 gr. Matchking which would shoot bughole groups @ 100 yds in my rifle on a calm day! It was so slow (about 1650 fps) the wind had lots of time to work on it and groups went south fast as wind increased.
One word of caution about reduced loads:
Your brass will develop excessive headspace after only one or two firings because the firing pin drives case forward hard enough to set shoulder back and the low pressure does not blow case back to fill the chamber. I would definately not use cases fired w/reduced loads for full charges later. Just keep your reduced brass separated from regular brass and it will not be a problem.
Regards,
hps
One word of caution about reduced loads:
Your brass will develop excessive headspace after only one or two firings because the firing pin drives case forward hard enough to set shoulder back and the low pressure does not blow case back to fill the chamber. I would definately not use cases fired w/reduced loads for full charges later. Just keep your reduced brass separated from regular brass and it will not be a problem.
Regards,
hps
Fatelvis
Member
Or just neck size `em! They`ll last forever.
Jim Watson
Member
My M70 sporter shoots well with the Laser Cast 165 gr plainbase and either 7.0 or 12.0 grains of 700X.
If you want more zing, a 150 grain softpoint and 40 grains of H322 is very close to a .30-30. Ought to do ok with cheap bulk 147 gr FMJ. Norma makes this for European non-reloaders as the ".30-30-06" but I doubt you would want to pay their price for it.
If you want more zing, a 150 grain softpoint and 40 grains of H322 is very close to a .30-30. Ought to do ok with cheap bulk 147 gr FMJ. Norma makes this for European non-reloaders as the ".30-30-06" but I doubt you would want to pay their price for it.
Neck sizing will not prevent "shrinking" of cases used for reduced loads. What causes the cases to "shrink" is the firing pin pushing the case forward hard enough to push shoulder back.
I just measured a case that had been once fired in my mod. 70, rechambered the case and "dry fired" it. It measured .0015" shorter after only one dry firing. I suspect they continue to shorten w/each firing because IIRC cases I had used for several reduced load firings were considerably "short" (base to shoulder length). Perhaps the detonating primer also contributes to shoving case forward, but the firing pin only will set shoulder back.
Regards,
hps
achadwick
Member
Eight to 12 grains of Unique under a 170 grain plain base Oregon Trail cast bullet shoot great in my A-Bolt .30-06. Groups open up aboce 12 grains. Eight grains, although slow, is a tack driver.
OP
OP
Great advice folks, thanks. Any commercial lite loads out there pushing a lite bullet with enough oomph to cycle a Garand?
Fatelvis
Member
Hps, I dont know for sure, but it seems unlikely to me, that a firing pin alone, can set back a cartridges` shoulder. I would figure that that little firing pin spring wouldnt have the "ooompff".
Mike Irwin
Member
HPS,
I never had a lick of headspace trouble with the loads that I was using.
I had 40 .30-06 cases that I regularly ran through the drill. They were all neck sized after firing with full loads.
Over about 5 years I put maybe 70 to 100 loads through those 40 cases, and never had anything even remotely resembling headspace trouble.
I never had a lick of headspace trouble with the loads that I was using.
I had 40 .30-06 cases that I regularly ran through the drill. They were all neck sized after firing with full loads.
Over about 5 years I put maybe 70 to 100 loads through those 40 cases, and never had anything even remotely resembling headspace trouble.
In the interest of science, I just took a once fired LC 67 case and measured it, using a Mo's micrometer case gauge. It measured exactly .000. Put it in my pre-64 Win. 70 Tgt. rifle and dry fired it six times. The measurements follow:
once fired case = .000
1. minus .003
2. minus .007
3. minus .0085
4. minus .010
5. minus .011
The sixth dry firing failed to push shoulder back any further, I suspect due to the fact that the extractor kept the case from going far enough to strike the shoulder.
It was interesting to note how the shoulder of the case evolved from a rounded corner to very sharp corners by the 5th time.
Perhaps my mod 70 has stronger than average firing pin spring?
I don't know, but they sure shrink in my rifle.
Now, is this enough to give problems if you should reload these cases to full load? I don't know, but I would rather keep 'em separate.
Regards,
hps
once fired case = .000
1. minus .003
2. minus .007
3. minus .0085
4. minus .010
5. minus .011
The sixth dry firing failed to push shoulder back any further, I suspect due to the fact that the extractor kept the case from going far enough to strike the shoulder.
It was interesting to note how the shoulder of the case evolved from a rounded corner to very sharp corners by the 5th time.
Perhaps my mod 70 has stronger than average firing pin spring?
I don't know, but they sure shrink in my rifle.Now, is this enough to give problems if you should reload these cases to full load? I don't know, but I would rather keep 'em separate.
Regards,
hps
Mike:
I have neck sized cases in the past, but found that every third or fourt firing I could feel slight resistance on the bolt as it closed, messing up my timing in the rapid fire strings so started setting my full length die so that it just barely bumps the shoulder, essentially neck sizing with it. This keeps the shoulder from growing after several firings and still gives me very good case life.
Its amazing how long brass lasts if it is not overworked by excessive sizing.
The headspace problem I mentioned in my previous post was the opposite......cases actually shrink when firing reduced loads so I was advocating keeping brass fired with reduced loads separate from regular brass.
Regards,
hps
I have neck sized cases in the past, but found that every third or fourt firing I could feel slight resistance on the bolt as it closed, messing up my timing in the rapid fire strings so started setting my full length die so that it just barely bumps the shoulder, essentially neck sizing with it. This keeps the shoulder from growing after several firings and still gives me very good case life.
Its amazing how long brass lasts if it is not overworked by excessive sizing.
The headspace problem I mentioned in my previous post was the opposite......cases actually shrink when firing reduced loads so I was advocating keeping brass fired with reduced loads separate from regular brass.
Regards,
hps
Dave Markowitz
Member
When I had a Garand, I used to load 150 FMJBTs with enough IMR-4064 to push them at ~2700 fps. This was the equivalent to original .30 M1906 ballistics, ~150 fps slower than M2 Ball.
It functioned perfectly and gave noticeably less recoil than M2 Ball. I used it in DCM competition and it was pretty accuracte, too.
It functioned perfectly and gave noticeably less recoil than M2 Ball. I used it in DCM competition and it was pretty accuracte, too.
Art Eatman
Moderator In Memoriam
Around 20 grains of 2400 will give about 1,900 ft/sec or so with a 169-grain lead gas-check bullet. The recoil is trivial.
Five grains of most any pistol or shotgun powder with a round lead ball makes a nice squirrel load.
, Art
Five grains of most any pistol or shotgun powder with a round lead ball makes a nice squirrel load.
, Art- Status
