brand new to reloading. about to work up my first load ever. i have some nosler brass and 150 accubonds. still waiting on my manual to get here before i begin. my question is do any of you have any go to powders for the 30-06? i would like to buy 1 or 2 different ones to try but can't afford to experiment very much right now.

Nosler calls RL19 the most accurate powder tested with the 30-06 and 150accubonds. IMR 4350 would be a second choice.

any one of the 4350s will work well with my vote going to IMR4350. However, I've shot only a few 150s back when I was starting out. I think the 30-06 was made to shoot 165s and 180s.

While it wouldn't be my first choice for hunting the great bears, a 30-06 with a 180/200gr bullet is capable of killing anything in NA. And SA for that matter.

quote:

IMR 4350 would be a second choice.

or H-4350..... and I'd concurr with RL-19 but for me H-414 is the powder to look to!

I really like Varget in the 30-06 with 150gr or lighter bullets not all that great for heavier bullets.As others have said IMR 4350 or H 4350 are good.


http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

Many people swear by IMR 4064 in the 30-06. My picks for the 30-06 would be in the following order:

1. IMR 4064
2. IMR 4350
3. RL-19 or H 414

You'r going to find quite a bit of variation among what people think is the best for the .30-06. Chances are, you'll have to try two or three different ones to find what your gun likes.

Good luck.

I have been using H414 w/ 165 & 180 Hornady SPs with good results. YMMV.

Yep, I agree. IMR 4350 and H414. Both will work very well.

If I was restricted to 2 choices I'd go with 4895 and 4350, both are quite versatile.

4320,4831,4895,4350 It would be easier to ask what powders not to use. Unique might be too fast, Retumbo might be too slow. Anything in between will work. I like IMR4320 because it meters very accurately and is fast enough for 150's. Pick your poison.

I've filled a lot of deer tags over the last 25 years with an 06 and IMR 4350.

4064. Everybody kept telling me 4350 was THE powder. 4064 works better in mine. 150's are THE bullet.

I agree that IMR 4064 could be an excellent choice if using 150gr bullets in the 30-06. It seems to me, based on testing a lot of loads at the range, that IMR4064 works best with the lighter bullets.

However, I wouldn't use 150 gr bullets out of a 30-06 for deer, unless the rifle has a 12" twist rate, and that particular weight bullet proves most accurate. Even then, shot placment is rather important, especially if you like eating venison. The 150gr is a meat mangler for sure. If you hit a shoulder, it will bloodshot the whole shoulder.

Like I said, use IMR4064 with light bullets, and use light bullets only if they are most accurate. Frankly, I don't like to use any bullet in the 30-06 lighter or heavier than 165-168gr, but I use what's most accurate. If that is 180gr, then that's what I shoot. And I've found that IMR or Hodgdon 4350 is the standard to measure all others by. My current load is 57grs of H4350 and Barnes TTSX 168gr. My FN wears a Lilja 10" twist barrel, and the combo will shoot groups so small that the holes are all touching each other, sometimes two shots in the same hole. I've done that many times, with that rifle.

Frankly, IMO, the 30-06 is significantly overkill for deer. I like the cartridge a lot, and will continue to use it, mostly because of the accuracy mentioned, and the utter reliability. But, just like using a 338WM for deer, shot placment to avoid excessive meat loss is an issue for me. I hunt deer because I would rather eat venison than beef or pork, and also I don't like cleaning a deer that's messed up from a bad hit.

Fortunately, precise shot placement is generally practical, when shooting an accurate rifle. An accurate tool is a great confidence builder. However, when hunting deer, I feel just as confident with an accurate 6.5x55 as I do with an accurate 30-06, and the 6.5 is more pleasant to shoot. IMO, the 6.5x55, or one of the cartridges that clone it ballistically, is the perfect deer cartridge.

I like the 30-06 and the 338WM, and even bigger calibers, because I love to hunt the sitka blacktail on the Islands of SE Alaska, and Prince William Sound, which are all inhabited by some of the largest land carnivors on the planet, the brown bear. When hunting in their domain, the 30-06 feels a little light. It's worth it to hunt there, because of all the deer hunting I've done, I like sitka blacktail in Alaska best. It's special and somehow pure - a hunter by choice among hunters by nature, an omnivore among natures best.

It just ain't the same down South, and never ever will be. Once you've seen worn down paths a foot wide, through the muskeg, and had the sensation like they say of goose bumps or hair standing up on the back of you neck, it's a type of deer hunting that is incomparable. I really love it. I like sitting on a stand down South too, but it's not the same kind of hunting. I think it has to be experienced to really appreciate. I also think that every deer hunter should have the experience. It changes your perspective.

KB

I tried them all, but I like H4350 the best in my sporterized Springfield.

1. The 150 grain is THE weight for deer in the .30-06 because it provides an excellent trajectory with very adequate downrange energy. Despite its being the "best" weight, 165's or 180's will certainly work, but sometimes heavier bullets are also a bit too "tough" and do not expand as fully as is desirable on relatively light game like deer.

2. I've had good luck with many of the medium to medium-slow burning powders with 150's. Both IMR and H-4895, along with IMR 4230 and IMR 4350, as well as H-414/WW760 have all provided acceptable velocities and accuracy with 150's in my '06's.

With the 30-06 I think IMR4350 is just a touch slow for best results with 150gr bullets

RL19 is good with that weight (RL22 would be a poor choice)

Frankly I think IMR4064 really shines in the 30-06.

As for bullet weight I prefer 165's in the 30-06
as there is ZERO velocity advantage with the vast majority of propellants for 150's Vs 165's.

If 165's can be launched at the same speed as a 150 why bother with a 150?


AD

Go with 165 grains and 4350. save your worrys for somthing else.
good luck!

I'm in the camp believing the 4350s are probably a tad on the beefy side to get the most speed out of a .30-06/150 grs. combination. It will be hard to get enough 4350 in the case to achieve top velocities. The 4350s start shining when you move to 165 grs. bullets.

That is not to say the 4350s don't work, but you might well get more speed with slightly faster powders.

Many good suggestions above. I'll just ad that RL15 also works well for 150 grs in a .30-06.

- mike

If you really want to optimize the .30-06 with the 150gr bullet then I would highly recommend Alliant RL-17 powder. I have used RL-19, IMR4350, and H4350. All 3 work well but in terms of speed RL-17 will leave them all at the starting gate. RL-17 in all my .30-06’s is as accurate as any I have used. When one carefully works up this powder it will take the .30-06 /w 150gr bullets into .300Win Mag territory.

Happy Shooting
sonnyboy

quote:

Originally posted by sonnyboy:
IRL-17 will leave them all at the starting gate.

QuickLoad agrees.

- mike

A lot of good advise so far. Other powders for the 150 grainers ,I don't think that have been mentioned that have worked good, are accurate XMR 4064, accurate 2520, accurate 2700, H-380 and Ramshot Big Game. roger

As seen, one of the appeals of the '06 is that it ain't picky about what you feed it.