first time loading the 30-06, i've been loading my .223 and .204 for a few years now.

i'm using the following load:

52.0 grains H4350 (sierra manual states 54.7 is max)
180 grain Sierra GameKing Spitzer Boattail
CCI 200 Large rifle primers
Remington once shot brass
savage 114 euro classic

i shot a five shot group today, and in 3 of the 5 shots, i noticed a slight ridge near the case head. primers were flattened out a little - not bad, but a little flat. this is the first time i've shot h4350, and it was a new can of powder. each charge was individually weighed. the bolt did not stick - the rounds ejected fine.

when i loaded the rounds last night, i wanted to get the bullet right near the lands. i talked to a sierra tech some time ago, and he'd told me that it was ok to leave them just on the lands. so (using a dummy round) i seated the bullets long, chambered them, checked for marks from the lands, removed the marks with 0000 steel wool, and then seated a little deeper. repeated this process until the dummy round chambered fine, and it was leaving just light marks from the lands on the bullets. so i know, i was touching the lands.

could this cause pressure problems? i know i'm darn close to the lands on other calibers, and have never seen it produce pressure signs.

i plan to seat them a little deeper, and get off the lands, hope that corrects it.

at 52.0 grains of h4350, i can't believe i'm anywhere near the max..

any input would be appreciated.

btw, the book puts that load at around 2660 fps. i don't have a chrono, does that sound realistic? my goal was to get that 180 grain bullet up to 2700 fps, but not at the cost of high pressure.

You shouldn't be anywhere close to max. Many are using 56 grains of H4350 for about 2750 fps. I probably wouldn't load against the rifling, it has never been a major help for accuracy, and a potential problem for a hunting rifle.

quote:

shot a five shot group today, and in 3 of the 5 shots, i noticed a slight ridge near the case head. primers were flattened out a little

Can you describe the "ridge" a little more fully? It sounds like you could be describing the pressure ring (about 1/4 inch ahead of the rim and circling the case.) If so, this is normal and expected when pressures start to reach the "normal" level for a modern high-intensity cartridge. If a clearly visible pressure ring is NOT present on a newly fired case, then either the pressure is rather low or the chamber fits the brass unusually well.

thanks for the responses guys..

the ring is like you mentioned, stonecreek, just about 1/4" ahead of the head. i showed my hunting partner the cases, and his response was, "man, i'm not sure i'd have noticed that right away"... but i did.. its hard to feel with your finger, but its definately there if you scratch it with your fingernail. so this is normal? i should be able to feel a slight pressure ring? or just see one?

i called sierra as well - they mentioned that a pressure ring was normal - i guess i didn't realize that it could be felt.

some additional things i didn't add previously:

the brass i've got is once shot. but i got it from a relative that passed away. it was originally shot in a rem 7400 - an autoloader. the brass is about 10 years old. he shot it, and re-sized it with a small base die. then he primed it. there it sat for 10 years. when i got it, i de-primed it, without sizing it anymore, since i didn't know what kind of primer he was using. i then tumbled it and loaded it.

sierra said that because the brass has sat for 10 years, and because it was fire-formed in another gun, and then re-sized with a small base die, and then re-fireformed in my gun, that its a lot of stress to put on the brass. they recommended that i scrap the brass, start with new brass, and fireform it in my gun with a minimum load and the bullet just touching the lands. after each case has been fire-formed, then i should be able to do subsequent re-loadings just sizing the neck without setting the shoulder back. eventually, i'll come to a point where the shoulder needs to be set back a little, but i shouldn't set it back until i have to, and then, only enough to fit the round in the chamber.

they said if i do this, with quality brass, for a hunting round (which is what this is) that brass should last indefinitely.

do you guys concur with this approach? i've got probably 500-600 pieces of brass like this.

I don't necessarily agree with Sierra on that brass. Now that you have fireformed it to your rifle, it should work just fine. Do check the inside of the case with a straightened out paper clip that has one end bent to form a hook shaped like the letter "L". File the outside edge to sharpen it a bit and run it inside the case to see if there is a groove inside the case near the case head. If there is a groove, scrap the brass. If there is a groove you might also want to readjust your sizing die so as to just do the neck up to the shoulder. If teh die is set to shove the shoulder too far back, you are introducing a man-made headspace condition that will shorten case life by a great deal.
Paul B.

I agree with paul b you can causing a man made head space problem by bumping the shoulder back to far.

Now that you have fired them neck size only and they will be fine, or back your FL sizer off so the bolt just closes a little on the hard side and fire form the rest of your brass then neck size after that I use the lee collett dies there great and you will see an improvment in accuracy.

In addition to the "headspace" issue, brass fired in a autoloader tends to stretch which worsens the condition. I suspect that you will not get many reloads out of the brass because of this.

The load you are shooting isn't even close to what would cause a pressure issue. Check the inside of the case with a bent paper clip and see if there is a "dip" on the inside of the case at the point you have the ridge. If there is, discard the cases, and be careful to adjust you dies so you don't set back the shoulder anymore than necessary for reliable loading in your rifle. Kudude

If the brass is only once-fired, and you have 500 rounds of it, it will outlast your rifle, so I would hardly throw it away without determining if it is usable.

Having been resized with a small-base die may have the effect of making the pressure ring slightly more prominent on the second firing. But what you describe is well within the range of normal.

So long as you do not set the shoulder back on subsequent reloadings, you should be able to get a number of safe cycles out of the brass. After all, if you only get three more uses that's 1500 rounds -- more than most shooters put through an '06 in several lifetimes.

Be sure to watch your case length after the second firing -- you many need to trim and chamfer. As others have said, check the inside of the cases on the second firing with a small bent-wire probe to determine if there is a groove forming on the inside of the case opposite the ridge on the outside. If a groove at this point becomes deep enough to "snag" the end of the wire, then the case needs to be discarded lest you suffer a case failure (head separation) at that point on the next firing.

good information, guys, thanks..

so, just so i understand correctly -

its not uncommon to see a pressure ring, and even be able to feel it a little around the case head, as long as there's not a groove forming on the inside of the case?

i think my plan is this: take some of the good brass and get a hunting load ready. i like to have all my range shooting done by august, with bow season starting in october. as i get time, (probably this winter) i'll keep sorting through this once shot brass and fire forming it, discarding the rounds that look bad, and keeping the rounds that are fine.

any advice on a long session of fire forming brass for a 30-06? that is, if i load up 100 rounds, with light loads for fire forming, how quickly can i fire them? i don't want to put undue stress on the gun.. my normal bench shooting procedure is to wait 3-5 minutes for cooling between shots. i'll be at the range a long time shooting 600 rounds like that.. ;-)

you can't fireform with a light load - you need the hi pressure to form the case correctly. so far as shooting, just grab the barrel and feel of it, when it's to hot you won't be able to hold on. shoot until it gets hot and then let it cool off a bit. I am curious however about fireforming a 06 round in an 06. Yes, it will fill out the chamber, but when you resize it you - well - resize it. fireforming is usually done to form a new case from something different.

butchloc - maybe i'm using the term "fireform" incorrectly.

my goal is to shoot it in my chamber to form it to the dimensions of my chamber. then only resize the neck, without setting the shoulder back. eventually, i'll need to set the shoulder back a little, but not for a number of firings, according to what sierra told me.

sierra did mention that i should use a light load for this task - again, not necessarily the right term, i guess.

Harvester. Just load your new brass with a normal load you want to shoot and shoot it normaly at 100yd target etc. Then on your second reload of that case it will be fireformed to that chamber . Just neck size it now.

I mark on my plastic 20 rd boxes how many times that batch of 20 has been loaded/ when trimed/ when aneled/ etc.


You dont need to waste time and money and powder etc on this "light load fireform" crap

I load 20 or 40 rds of my new brass for a paticular caliber rifle, and reload that same 20 and 20 batch(2 boxes) many times , before a grab a new batch of 20 new brass. Thats just how I use mine.

I like haveing a stash of new virgin brass of all my calibers in my inventory of supplys.

The information you are getting here is good stuff. As for me, seeing that this is a 30-06 and the brass is plentiful and inexpensive, I would spend the $18.75 or so and get 100 new cases or some Lake City brass, there by eliminating further fretting.As a matter of fact I've done just that in the past. roger

I have had great success over the years with
30-06:

IMR 4350 @ 56.0
180 Sierra BT
fed 210 Match PRIMER
ww or FC CASES

or IMR 4350 @ 57.5
165 Sierra Gameking BTHP
same primer and cases

I tend do dislike military brass to hunt with...due to the thickness....the only military brass I have is M118LR that I use to duplicate with Reloader 15 and 175 Sierra MK in the 308 Win.