Light load for 30-06?

[Third_Rail]

I have a 1917 Enfield in 30-06, and my SO would like to shoot it. I don't reload yet, but my uncle does, and he said that if I can get a few different 110-135 grain loads for 30-06 that it would be light recoiling enough for a smaller lady.


Does anyone have loads that use bullets I could easily get from Midway?

 

[Tory]

I believe it was Speer

that made a 100 grain "Plinker" bullet for EXACTLY the sort of purpose you want the light load for. The 110 grain bullets for M1 Carbines would also work; you can often buy "pulls" from surplus places for very short money.

I used to use 3031 or Reloader 7 for light loads. Check your manuals.

 

[Jim Watson]

Check the Hodgdon site
www.hodgdon.com
and look for "youth loads."

 

[Sleeping Dog]

I bought a bunch of "blemished" 110 gr poly-tipped bullets, probably from Midway, maybe from Natchez Shooting Sports.

I use 22.0 gr of SR4759 and it's a nice accurate low-recoil plinker.

But, as everyone else sez, check the manuals for load data.

Regards.

 

[oldgold]

Sleeping Dog;

Had the need for reduced loads for .308 after a motorcycle destroyed my shoulder.

Accuratereloading.com had a reference to Blue Dot in .308 and 30-06 I tried to find. Their search engine won't work for me right now. Somewhere the is a reference to a web page with loads like you want. I download .308 and 7.5 Swiss with 21 grains of Blue Dot and get 2000 fps out of both with very good accuracy.

I know , it sounds scarey but after starting at 17grns.and working up I was very suprised at the results. No pressure signs and after about 19 grns. no sooty cases either.

When their search engine resumes , check it out yourself. Naturally you shouldn't take just my word for it. The web page I can't find has loads and velocities and I think pressures from the guy that developed the loads.

Hope this helps. Goldy

 

[Sleeping Dog]

I guess the similarity of the low-recoil loads is that they all seem to use fast-burning powder, pistol or shotgun powder.

By only using a small amount, the pressure is kept within safe limits. And, it's completely combusted by the time the bullet is halfway through the bore, so there's no extra recoil from blast when it leaves the bore.

I use another even lower-recoil recipe when shooting lead (gas-checked) bullets in my swede mauser. 6.5x55. 130-gr bullet, 11 grains of Win231. Nice for 50 yards, loses a lot of elevation at 100.

With all these loads, most important is to pay attention when loading, because two or even three powder loads will fit into the brass. I put powder into a tray of cases, then peer carefully into each with a flashlight (and safety glasses) to see that they all look the same. With 11-grain loads, it's still easy to mess up. Once I think they have the right amount of powder, I seat the bullets.

An alternative to low-recoil rounds is a PAST shoulder pad, can be worn under a shirt. It's pretty good at absorbing recoil.

Regards.

 

[GooseGestapo]

Be EXTREMELY cautious loading pistol powders in the '06.

I did it for years, loading Unique and Blue Dot under cast bullets for great plinking. However, a double charge of Unique almost wrecked my MkX Mauser by shearing of a small projection of the bolt face where the ejector cut is. The head of the case expanded and flowed that much with an accidental double charge. Fortunately It was possible to weld it up and resurface the bolt and rechecking the headspace revealed it was still OK. (Gunsmith also sent action out and had it magnafluxed to check for cracks.)

I now prefer to use either IMR-4759, XMP-5744, or reduced charges of "H" or IMR-4895.

I really like the Remington 125gr Cor-lokts. If you prefer, you can down load the 150gr Cor-lokts for your "dear", and then load them regular for "deer" hunting.

Remington is offering the 125gr Cor-lokts in a "managed-recoil" loading that runs it at around 2,650fps. Recoil is about like a .243 from my experience loading rounds to this level.

Accuracy is usually GREAT, and trajectory is not that much compromised.

You can reduce the 4895's by up to 40% and still get good accuracy and performance.

That would be my suggestion.

Or, load up some of the lead "cowboy" action cast bullets for the .30/30, with about 10gr of Unique;

BUT BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO DOUBLE CHARGE !

A .30/06 case will hold almost 5 times this much powder, and it is difficult to see a double charge.

Lyman manual and Accurate Arms manuals have some good data for reduced loads.