For years I�ve played around with a Ruger Number 1B with the idea of eventually making it an all round rifle. A decent target rifle, to pdawgs, Coyotes, to mulies. Just something I�ve always wanted to do for no particular reason. Learned to shoot it with no optics then I recently added a Leupold VX-II 3-9 40mm. I can�t say I�m by any means an expert handloader, but do Rem. 222 to 44 mag (rifle) including the frustrating 22 Savage Hi Power. I�ve learned a great deal from this group. I have purchased bullets for the 06 in 110-125-150-165 and 200 gr. Probably will try the 220 gr. too.

Would anybody have suggestions from experience on primers and powder for these loads. I�m having success with the AA2520 in the medium gr. loads, but haven�t tried the small and heavy gr. yet.

Scott

Scott, the /06 is normally a very easy cartridge to get along with. You'll have trouble finding loads it doesn't like rather than finding loads it DOES like.

I've hade great luck with 4831 with the heavier bullets. 4064 and 4320 are good ones. 4895 shoots good. Ball C would be a good choice for your lighter bullets.

If you ever want to play with cast bullets, the /06 is superb in this department as well!

OH - for primers I would use WW or Federal Large Rifle. IMHO magnum primers are little more than a gimmick and they surely never did anything for one of my /06s.

Good luck with it!

[ 09-26-2002, 08:46: Message edited by: Pecos45 ]

Thanks Pecos45,

Many of us I assume do not have face to face folks to assist us in this hobby. It most certainly is a great help to get feedback from others who have loaded and shot the rounds. Often it's info overload when looking up loads. The tips on primers will be heeded as well.

Hopefully we shall see how the Ruger performs this weekend, for my son and I have a early season youth hunt, and he wishes to use it.

Scott

I am a firm believer in the "One gun, One Load" theory. Too many rifles and this trims components down by a bunch!

However may I suggest one thing? To make your life easier and more enjoyable do this. Find a load in the 110gr range (Hornadt SST's or spire points etc.) and try IMR 4064 or Varget with WW primers. When you get to 3100-3200 fps (easy with the 26" Ruger #1 barrel) and good accuracy then you got your Prairie dog/coyote/fox etc. load.

Then decide on a 180 gr Bullet. I like the 180gr Hornady (or Partition) and work up a load with H4350 (56 gr or so) or Reloder 22 (61 gr or so) until you reach the 2700 fps mark with good accuracy.

There you go with 2 loads you can clobber anything short of Cape Buffalo and Polar Bears!

The 06 has been my whitetail caliber for at least 20 years, JB, and I've found few things I want to do that it won't do.

My only deer load for years was a 165 Ballistic Tip over 50gr of IMR4064. You'll find 4064 a great powder for any bullets in the 150-180gr range.

About 3-4 years ago I got tired of hearing folks praise 4350, so I decided to try it. I can't remember the precise charge weight I use, but I'm pretty sure it's in the 56-57gr range. Obviously you'll have to work it up for your gun. What I found was that, if anything, 4350 might be a tad more consistent in my gun, with fewer wandering rounds than 4064. So try either of those powders for your mid-weight bullets.

My best luck with light bullets in 06 has been with 125 grainers. I don't remember what powders I've used, but I do remember distinctly that 125s are more accurate in my gun than are 110 grainers. From reading thousands of posts, I believe I'm correct in saying "most" shooters find the same to be true in their guns. So buy some premium 125s and see if they won't shoot pretty well for you.

Few 06 rifles like the 110 grain bullet with the 1 in 10" twist. For medium range deer hunting the 125 grain bullet and Rel-15 powder is one deadly combination in my 06 hunting rifle. You just do not need to use a heavy bullet to harvest any deer. Recoil is less and that translates to better groups. The vast majority of deer are harvested at 100 yards or less and the 125 grain bullet is the ideal weight in the 06 rifle. The flat trajectory and velocity the 125 grain bullet gives you leaves less margin for error. Sight the rifle in to print 1" high at 100 yards and that buck of a lifetime will be yours. Fire a few groups at 200 yards you may be surprised.

You fellers were correct. The "dream" was a partial success, though the 110 grain loads were pretty much useless. Had a great deal of frustration time in zeroing in, and even then not accurate. The 125 gr, were much better, but not in the class of my .222, which I load one size for. Am a follower of the One load line of thinking. This 06 experiment was simply one of those things a person wonders about, then does, and afterwards can only state, "I did it."

Have to laugh, for after all the shooting, some old loads in 180 grain were by far the most accurate shot after shot. These were the only ones I did not load recently.

Thanks, Scott

It doesn't surprise me at all, JB, that you couldn't get a light 06 bullet to group as well as your .222 shoots. Nor does it surprise me that your gun shoots 180s better than anything else.

I say this because from what I understand each rifle caliber has a certain weight and profile bullet that in general tends to be the most accurate FOR THAT CALIBER. That 180 grain bullet (spitzer, I'll wager)tends to be just about perfect for a .30 cal bore. The 125 grain pill in .30 cal, on the other hand, is much stubbier and the ballistic coefficient won't be nearly as high as for the 180.

Don't forget in this comparison of accuracy that your original question was whether you might find suitable loads to make your 06 a good all-round hunting gun. The operative word here is "hunting." A coyote is a coyote, not a prairie dog, so does it matter that you could only get 125s to group into say 1.5" instead of sub-MOA? A coyote at 75 or 100 yards will not care whether the gun shoots 1MOA or 3MOA; if you aim center chest he's gonna be dead either way.

Just my 2 cents worth. Interesting thread.

I don't know what 110gr bullet you were useing but I use hornandy v-max with 58 gr. re-15 with outstanding results. I am getting 3400 fps and .65 in groups @ 100 yards. These bullets are slightly longer than 125s and probably stabilize better