had barrel cut down-crowned-drilled for recoil. gunsmith recommended 130gr or less bullets. said short barrel would not burn all the powder in heavier ones. my question is what do you think of a 130gr sp with 51 gr of imr 4064? i took couple deer with win 125 gr factory loads no problem.

Shorter barrels just means use faster powders.

Speers 130 grain FN is a great bullet, as is a 125 grain Ballistic tip.

But you can still use a 150, 165 or 180 grain bullet ( either round nose, ballistic tip, magtip, etc) as they will still open up at lower velocities. You still have a great 250 yd deer rifle.

Check out load data using, RL 7, IMR 4198, SR 4759, H or IMR 4895.

An old 170 grain FN meant for a 30/30 is a great bullet to use also. I gather it was cut down to use in brush or short range, besides being easier to carry afield.

Ruger's International is available in 30/06 with an 18 inch barrel and has been for years. A 180 grain Round Nose or 220 grain round nose out of them proved to be just dandy years ago for a friend of mine hunting with us in the swamps and Bogs of Northern Wisconsin and Northern Minnesota.
MV was about 2500 fps for the 180s and 2200 for the 220 grain. We sure did not do any deer trailing once he shot one with that rifle.

Cheers and Happy Holidays
seafire

this is the first i have tried reloading. i used a lee hand loader. one at a time because i do not shoot a lot anymore. i do not want to put a lot of money in different powders and bullets. i figure the cost is about 63 cents a shot. is the imr 4064 fast enough?