dan -

Remember some time ago you were talking about the 57.5 H4350/165 30-06 load, and how you got better accuracy with IMR 4350, and mentioned that I might chrono some loads of each? Okay, this past weekend I had a chance to conduct said experiment. Didn't get to post anything yet because of familial responsibilities (CHRISTmas shopping), then we had an ice storm this week and no power for two days (boy, was THAT a bummer).

Two 30-06's, a Rem 700 Classic and HOWA 1500, both with 22" barrels. Temperature was 52 degrees F, and the wind was 15-25 and gusty, so, I didn't really do too much group-wise.

The Rem used Fed. Gold Medal Match brass, 197 - 199 grain weight, F210M primers and 165 Speer flat base bullets, seated to 3.280". Powder was weighed as close to 57.5 grains as I could get it using an RCBS 502 beam scale and the R-WEST "finger trickle" method.
With I4350, velocities were: 2735, 2705, 2716, 2745 and 2764 for 2733 FPS avg and 59 E.S.
With H4350: 2815, 2817, 2769, 2792, 2802 for 2799 FPS avg and 48 E.S. This is my hunting load for this rifle, and averages around 1 - 1.25" for 5 shots, with the occasional group sneaking under 1". It'll do 3 shots consistently under 1", and, if I'm having a good day, under 1/2". Not too many of them lately.
For the heck of it, I loaded up some with 57.5 Accurate 4350, and got 2708 Avg/38 E.S.

In the HOWA, R-P brass (193-195 gn avg), WLR primers and 165 R-P Core-Lokts at 3.210".
With I4350: 2748, 2783, 2747, 2749, 2735, 2752AVG and 48 E.S.
H4350: 2769, 2774, 2795, 2736, 2760; 2766 Avg and 38 E.S.
This rifle actually prefers 58 grains of Accurate's 4350, which averages 2768 FPS and the occasional 1" group. Of course, the HOWA only cost about 70% of what the 700 did, and isn't bedded like the 700, so, it SHOULDN'T shoot as well, right?

Okay, what did I determine? It looks like H4350 consistently gave higher average velocity and a smaller extreme spread (never tried to figure Standard Deviation - too confusing, and it probably doesn't matter anyhow). The results here are in my rifles, on that day. As Big Stick says - 'your mileage may vary'. I still think you're doing the best thing, ACTUAL shooting of each load at various ranges to test which one works the best. It all comes down to getting the bullet out of the barrel when it's in its "sweet spot".

R-WEST

Thanks for sharing your results. I haven't been back to the field to compare the two powders a second time to verify results in my rifle. (For any who've just tuned in, IMR 4350 shot much tighter groups from my Remington 700 at 425 yards than did the H4350, but groups at 100 yards were pretty similar).

I used Remington 9 1/2 primers in the IMR loads, and CCI 200's in the Hodgdon loads. Right there is a variable that induces some amount of question to my tests.

I have a chronograph on the way, so I'll check actual velocities as well as group sizes next time.

Take care, and that's good information. It seems that either powder will do the job in the 30-06 nicely, especially when 165 grain bullets are on the menu.

Dan Newberry
green 788

Those Howa 30-06's will shoot, wish I hadn't sold mine to my brother.