im trying to help my freind load his 30-06 and a guy at the reloading store told me imr 4895 was made for the 30-06 but it is not listed in my hornady book for the the 30-06 and is only listed once on the imr website for the caliber. as i was loading it i realized thats the same powder i use for my 223....is this a good 30-06 powder and if so what are some good combos for 168gr hpbt?

It's a great powder for the 06 . start about 3 grains below BELOW 45 gr. with the 168 gr. bullet and work up. roger

quote:

a guy at the reloading store told me imr 4895 was made for the 30-06

If my memory still works 4895 was the powder for the M1 Garand 30-06.

IMR 4895, 4320, and 4350 all end up producing about the same velocity in my '06 with 150 grain bullets. Heavier bullets do better with powders slower than 4895.

Heck, when I started shooting and reloading the .30-06, IMR-4895 was considered the only powder to use for Garands!

LLS

For bolt guns, the choice would be 4350, about 56grs to start w/ 168gr. For the Garand, 4895 would be a major contender. NRA mag published a Garand load of 44gr of H or IMR 4895 with 168gr bullets. OAL 3.32. Kudude

Hey gilk

IMR4895 is listed for all bullet weights for the 30-06 in the Nosler #5 manual.

150 gr bullet - min 47 gr max 51 gr
165 gr bullet - min 44 gr max 48 gr
180 gr bullet - min 41 gr max 45 gr
200 gr bullet - min 39 gr max 43 gr

In each and every case IMR4895 yielded the lowest velocity and the least amount of load density (case volume percentage). In none of the bullet weights was it listed as the "most accurate powder tested". Those were

150 gr bullet - RL19 @ 61.5 gr
165 gr bullet - IMR4350 @ 57 gr
180 gr bullet - AA3100 @ 54.5 gr (I would recommend IMR4831)
200 gr bullet - RL19 @ 52 gr (I use RL22)

IMO, IMR4895 is old school and there are better powders for the 30-06 in the present day.

thanks for the advice, that is some good info

The reason that IMR 4895 and powders with a similar burn rate are used for the Garand and the M1A/M14 is because these rifles are set up to function properly on the pressure curve for these powders. Slower powders tend to bend operating rods in these guns because the peek pressure is developed as the bullet is further up the barrel where the gas port is located. In a bolt action rifle this is a moot point.