best 30-06 powder

[kb2zya]

i will be starting hand loading soon and just wondered what has every one had the best luck with for powder.My best friend uses varget on his 150g k31 loads but theirs a lot of powders that say that they are good for 30-06.I will be for a Mossberg bolt atr-100.thanks you for your help
Tom

 

[longdayjake]

I think that most peoples use the versitile 4895 because it can be used in so many different calibers. I use it too with great results.

 

[ants]

Lotta good info here http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=411708&highlight=4064 about 2 weeks ago.

 

[Sunray]

The bolt action hunting rifle used doesn't matter much. Most have the same rifling twist of 1 in 10. That's the twist your rifle has too. 1 in 10 is the standard for the .30-06.
Varget certainly works well, but so does IMR4895 and IMR4064. IMR4064 gives more consistent accuracy than IMR4895 with any bullet. Haven't used Varget myself.
A 165 grain hunting bullet will kill any game you care to hunt using any of those powders. A 150 grain hunting bullet will give you a bit less felt recoil and will do nicely for deer sized game though.
A K31 isn't a .30-06. The 7.5 Swiss uses the same bullet diameter, but it can't use the same range of bullet weights.
Buy a copy of The ABC's of Reloading (your local gun shop or Amazon). It's a very good beginner's book. However, Lyman's manual is far more versatile. More loads using more powders and bullets than any powder or bullet maker's book. Not that any of those are bad. They have data for their products only.

 

[Grumulkin]

Without saying it's "the best" powder, I'll say I use Varget. Its advantages as I see them are:

1. It's a very versitile powder that is great for loading other cartridges.
2. It's an "Extreme" powder with less temperature sensitivity.
3. It gives me excellent accuracy in my 30/06 with 165 & 168 gr. bullets.

 

[interlock]

I use 60 gr IMR 4350 under 165gr bullets. this gives full cases and seems to give good velocity. however the longer grains don't meter very well and i set my hopper up for about 58 gr and trickle the rest in. However my 30-06 has a long barrel and a slower powder is good.

 

[NuJudge]

What target, what range, how many targets, etc

What do you intend to shoot at, at what range, and how much do you intend to shoot it? Can you tollerate gradually adjusting powder charges with a "trickler"? Are you going to experience considerable temperature changes?

My experience with bolt rifles is they like slower powders for heavier bullets. Heavier bullets give me a much larger feeling of recoil, so I don't like to shoot heavier bullets if I'm going to shoot a lot of them. For longer ranges, heavy bullets shed velocity slower, so at 600 yards a 168gr bullet from a .30-'06 is still supersonic, while a 150gr bullet (which started out faster) has become subsonic. When a bullet goes from supersonic to subsonic, groups usually increase tremendously. For some targets, you need a heavy bullet, such as large game, a heavy metal Silhouette target, and at long range.

If you intend something such as deer, I would suggest a 180gr bullet and work up to perhaps 56gr of IMR 4350. If you intend to shoot at something such as Metallic Silhouettes, I would suggest for the closer targets a lighter bullet such as a 150gr bullet and a powder such as 4895 or Varget, and 180's for the further ones.

If all you want to do is punch holes in targets at modest ranges such as 100 or 200 yards, a nice 125gr bullet would be fine, but I don't have any experience with those bullets in the -'06, so can't suggest a powder.

There are some loads where, if a rifle won't shoot well with it, it won't shoot well with anything. The above load with IMR 4350 and 180gr bullets is one of them.

Also, how much are you willing to fiddle around with your powder charges? Some powders such as the Ball/Spherical/globular powders meter beautifully and require little in the way of "trickling." Other powders such as the long extruded granule IMR powders meter poorly with all measures available today, and require a lot of trickling. In response, there are some Ball powders that mimic IMR powder speeds, as well as some "short cut" versions of IMR and other extruded "stick" powders.

Finally, higher ambient temperatures usually result in higher pressures, and the result is supposed to be more extreme with most Ball powders. It is supposed to be less noticeable with the stick powders.

 

[interlock]

good post

Nujudge,
That is a good post. i really should qualify mine further in that this is a load i use for longish range shooting of deer (200yards plus).I shoot deer upto the size of a big lowland red deer (20+ stones) across open fields. I shoot only a few of these and i pay as close attention to detail as i can when loading them. so i don't mind trickling powder. They are accurate out of my 24 inch barrelled mauser actioned Parker hale.

interlock

 

[smitty_bs]

I use IMR4064 or IMR4320 for 150gr bullets. You don't see 4320 cited much anymore, but it is very accurate with Hornady bullets in my Rem200.

 

[GooseGestapo]

Interlok;
We are talking about the booby prize, correct???

Not everyone can be from Alabama,USA; ya know !!!

There is hope, however. I have met some escapees from your socialist utopia!

 

[interlock]

goose,
the last 20 years has seen Great Britian change beyond recognition. It is not quite a socialist utopia, we still have some freedoms! (i think) Although it is more and more like Orwels 1984. at least i can hunt deer with a rifle all year round.

I tried the prohunter 120's from my 7mm08 with h4895.... excellant

interlock (not from alabama like my rednecked buddy goose gestapo)

 

[neal7250]

IMR 4064 worked best for me when I was loading single stage, and measured each charge by hand. I have since stepped up the progressive, presses that employ powder measures. To get the most consistant charges, I use powders such as H414, amd Winchester 760, to which are the same powder. I consistantly shoot MOA with a Woodsmaster.

 

[K-Dirt]

I have an old Remington Model 721 .30/06 that is like new. When I saw how it shot 165 gr. Hornady SST's with W760 and IMR 4350, I loaded up a bunch of rounds with W760 then turned my attention elsewhere. IMR 4350 worked just as well, but I need that for my 300wsm.

Both of those rifles shoot those powders about the same. Does anyone have a rifle that likes either W760 or IMR 4350 but not the other?

 

[The Bushmaster]

No one ever gives H4831/H4831SC a second look, but I did and I'm quite glad I did. It works best with 165 grain bullets and up.

 

[janobles14]

h4350 and then varget. for a super versatile powder go with varget.