Some time I loaded some 150 gr. Hornady RN with 57 gr. N160; a combination that is not listed in the VV manual. N160 is believed to be too slow for 150 gr. bullets and the 150 gr. RN was not designed for .30-06 but for 30-30 rifles.
Moreover the bullet has the ballistic coefficient of a sold brick.

V0 was not measured but calculated to be around 2550 fps.

I was stunned by the accuracy of this bullet/powder combination; 5-5 shot groups at 100 meters were between 15 and 18mm, so around 0,5-0,7 MOA. This is accuracy I have never been able to reach with 180 gr. NP, NA, NBT and Mega bullets in front of 52 - 55 gr. N160.

The rifle is a Howa 1500 sporter in stainless steel, 1-10 twist, barrel length 22"

Later on a hunting mate tried the same combination in an 98 Mauser sporter. He too said that these bullets shoot tighter groups than any of his handloads.

Is there anyone else who shoots these bullets in 30-06 and/or can give a reasonable explanation for this, other than that "every rifle likes it's own load"?
Is it a matter of rifle twist or do .30-06 barrels like 150 gr. bullets better than the heavier ones?

I plan to shoot roe deer size animals and foxes with them, so max. 25 kg. animals

I commonly load my '06 with 42 grains of IMR-3031/170 grain flat nose .30-30 bullets. Velocity runs 2350 fps, accuracy .75" to 1", and recoil very mild.
I'll bet your load will kill deer like lightning, without spoiling a lot of meat. Good hunting!

For "light-loads" in the .30-06; I use 50.0 grs. of IMR-4064 and a 150 grainer. Recoil is a non-issue. ACCURATE LOAD as well. Taken several deer with this load!

quote:

Originally posted by reindeer:
Is there anyone else who shoots these bullets in 30-06 and/or can give a reasonable explanation for this, other than that "every rifle likes it's own load"? ...

Hey Reindeer, If you take one of those Bullets and a 0.001" capable set of Calipers, you can see what the answer is. That specific Bullet is a 2-Diameter Design.

Forward of the cannelure the Bullet is "Bore" Diameter. Aft of the cannelure the Bullet is "Groove" Diameter.

When it starts down the barrel, the Forward section rides atop the Lands and the Aft section fills the Grooves to seal the Gas off.

The fine folks at Hornady used to make a lot of excellent 2-Diameter Bullets, but they are not as "Cool" as the latest Super Sleek Designs. Your Bulletsare Designed to operate at 30-30 "Impact Velocities", so it would be possible to get them going so fast in a 30-06 that they would Expand too much up close on a Shoulder.

Speaking of Velocity, those same 150gr 2-Diameter RNs can be driven faster than just about any other Bullet at Safe Pressures. Reason is because there is less Bore Friction(Drag) due to the actual "Contact Patch" with the Grooves being relatively short, in comparison to other Bullets.

I do not know how their Velocity would compare to one of the New Expanding Solid Designs that have 3-4 Rings that are Groove Diameter.

They are a great old Bullet Design which has worked well for many many years - at the appropriate Impact Velocity.

Good Hunting and clean 1-shot Kills.

I am a gun show buzzard and buy any old box of bullets that I find at a decent price. A lot of RNs in every caliber show up at guns show because they are way out of fashion now. You know not high tech, bonded, monolithic, partitioned or plastic tipped. They are just about like a jacketed wad cutter. They are very short length for their weight and they have a lot of bearing surface for their lengths. I have never had a RN fail to shoot exceptionally well. In Mausers with near mint barrels they shoot better than commercial rifles.