I'm currently cleaning up an abused, sporterized 1903, reconfiguring the rollover stock, installing an old Redfield aperture sight, etc. Also ordered a box of Hornady 220-grain round nose .308 bullets just to duplicate the loads that the pioneers of the Springfield so often used. Anyone else shooting heavies in their .30-06s? Favorite loads? Performance or accuracy anecdotes?

I shoot 150gr bullets in my 30/06. Top fps for the 220gr bullets in a 30/06 is about 2500fps to 2600fps. With a shorter barrel maybe 2400 fps

Good for close up shooting maybe bears over bait.

Bill, them 220 Partitions drive right on thru-a good bullet. Slow and heavy works. Might want to try out the Woodleigh .30/240 PP that are out as well. A bonded core if it matters, at them speeds of 2400fps the bullet will perform almost "magically" in either weights.

I got both 220's and 240's loaded up for my wifes rifle the Ruger MK II .30-06 and she will take the first shot with them Woodleighs on either a Ak. moose or the interior grizz.

Been using the ole .06 for countless yrs.--tough to beat!

regards,

220 grain RN is my favorite 06 bullet...

I have always used them at about 2400 fps... goosing the MV up to 2600 fps, may give some more ft lbs of energy, but the gain is little in real world value.. but it increased the recoil substantially I though...

Accuracy has always been excellent and with a sectional density of 330. then will definitely penetrate a long long ways... and also do a lot of peripheral damage...

I shoot them in 30/40 Krags at 2000 fps, in the 06 at 2400 fps and then the 300 Win Mag at 2950 fps...

IN the 06, I usually use IMR 4064 for powder...

good luck and cheers
seafire

30-06 Springfield Mauser 98 Sporter 24 220 Sierra RN 2500 A H-414 50 CCI 200 WIN
30-06 Springfield Mauser 98 Sporter 24 220 Sierra RN 2400 A Varget 46 CCI 200 REM
30-06 Springfield Mauser 98 Sporter 24 220 Hornady RN 2500 A H-414 50 CCI 250 WIN
30-06 Springfield Mauser 98 Sporter 24 220 Hornady RN 2470 a AA-3100 59 CCI 250 IMI
30-06 Springfield Mauser 98 Sporter 24 220 Hornady RN 2500 A H-414 52 CCI 250 Rem
30-06 Springfield Mauser 98 Sporter 24 220 Barnes Solid 2500 A H-414 50 CCI 200 PMC
30-06 Springfield Mauser 98 Sporter 24 220 Barnes Solid 2500A AA-3100 57.5 CCI 250 PMC
30-06 Springfield Mauser 98 Sporter 24 220 Barnes Solid 2500 A H-414 50 CCI 250 Mil Match

All decent loads.

See this thread: 30/06 220 RN.

-Bob F.

Worked up 220 grain .30-06 loads for a South African safari in 2004, had nothing but success with those loads.
220 grain Nosler Partition
51.5 grains IMR-4350
Winchester cases and primers

Plan to use the same load in Africa again next year, unless my 200 grain Accubond experiments turn out too good to ignore. Took a huge Kudu at 125 yards with the 220 grain load, Kudu went down right away, no problems at all. The oldtimers that developed the.30-06 220 grain loads knew what they were doing!!

I'm not knocking the 220 round nose but far prefer the 200 grain A-Frames as a heavy for the 30-06

Fellas: Glad to hear there are a few other enthusiasts who are willing to give up a little trajectory for superior section density. Can't wait to work up some loads for the Hornadys. I was always fond of their 160-grain RN "flying pencils" in the 6.5 Swede.

Hey Bill,

Had an interesting talk with a couple of guys today bemoaning that they never get shoot thrus with their .30-06 and .270 - using Ballistic tips - and not even stopping the deer in some cases. I kept my mouth shut and thought about kills on deer with the 6.5x55 and 6.5x54 all the way out to 300 yards, all with 154-160 grain class bullets that flew right on thru. There is a lot to be said for heavy long bullets in the game fields. I think the "good old boys" of a century ago really did know what they were doing.
Larry

quote:

Had an interesting talk with a couple of guys today bemoaning that they never get shoot thrus with their .30-06 and .270 - using Ballistic tips - and not even stopping the deer in some cases. I kept my mouth shut and thought about kills on deer with the 6.5x55 and 6.5x54 all the way out to 300 yards, all with 154-160 grain class bullets that flew right on thru. There is a lot to be said for heavy long bullets in the game fields. I think the "good old boys" of a century ago really did know what they were doing.

I have used the 220s in my 1903 for years on black bear and wild boars as I have with the 300s i nthe 333 OKH. I have a 6.5X54 1903 Mannlicher that is fantastic. I have in my hands a 6.5X55SE from Montana Rifleman with a 1:7.5 and a lot of 155 Megas and 160 gran Woodliegh bullets. The whole point is these long heavy bullets are serious killers without consideration to caliber. Screw the fast velocities. I tried that and will never go back! Bell, Hemingway, Teddy R., Selous, Stigand, and others knew what they were talking about when they used the long for caliber bullets on heavy game. The 6.5X53R, 275 Rigby, and the 30 Govt 1906.......

Yeah, the old fashioned formula of a heavy-for-caliber (high sectional density) bullet at moderate velocity still gets the job done.

Some of my current favorite hunting handloads are:

.30-06 -- 220 gr (sec den = .331) Woodleigh RN at 2460 fps
8x57JS -- 220 gr (sec den = .301) Woodleigh RN at 2400 fps
9.3x62 -- 286 gr (sec den = .305) Woodleigh RN at 2390 fps

Granted, these aren't the types of loads to use for shooting across canyons but they all shoot surpisingly flat out to 200 yards or so with a 150 yd zero. Of course, we have better bullets now than they did back in the "good old days" but the high sectional density bullet at moderate velocity formula still works quite well. Besides, sometimes it's just fun to be a little old fashioned.

Cheers!
-Bob F.

While waiting for my Hornady 220s to arrive, I found a bag of Nosler 200-grain Partition blems for about $12 and will try a few of them over some Re19.
Might also mention that, althought I haven't used them on game yet, I have been loading some .312 225-grain softpoints to about 2100 in the .303, which ought to give classic Krag performance.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
... I have been loading some .312 225-grain softpoints to about 2100 in the .303, which ought to give classic Krag performance.

Classic Krag performance??... Well sure it is, BUT... that's also classic .303 British performance too!!



see: http://www.kynochammunition.co.uk/

Cheers!!
-Bob F.

quote:

Classic Krag performance??...

And the recoil won't knock you cross-eyed while hunting in a T-shirt. I really enjoy the heavy for caliber/moderate velocity route myself. Very effective!

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
While waiting for my Hornady 220s to arrive, I found a bag of Nosler 200-grain Partition blems....

I've been meaning to work up a load in my .30-06 using the 200 gr Nosler Partition. I just haven't gotten around to it.

The .308 caliber 200 grainer's sectional density of .301 puts it right in line with such bullets as:

.284" 175 gr SD = .310
.311" 215 gr SD = .318 (.311" or .312" for .303 British)
.323" 220 gr SD = .301
.338" 250 gr SD = .313
.366" 286 gr SD = .305
.375" 300 gr SD = .305

Plus, the Nosler 200 gr Partition has an excellent ballistic coefficient (.481). Loaded to around 2550-2600 fps in the .30-06, I think it would make a great all-around load. Now, if I can just find the time to do some loading and get some range time.

-Bob F.

I just loaded up 20 with Hornady RN bullets. In my load manual by LEE says I can use 53.5 grs of IMR4350. I figure I'll get about 2530 fps with my 25" barrel. The recoil will be 25.5 Foot
lbs with my 8 lb rifle.

jro45,

Here's some of my load data that you may find useful as a reference.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 6/23/2002
Cartridge: .30-06 Springfield
Firearm: Ruger M77 MkII
Scope: Leupold Vari-X III 1.5-5x
Barrel Length: 22"
---------------------------------------------------------------
Bullet: 220 gr Hornady RN
Powder: 52.0 grs of IMR-4350
Case Make: W-W
Primer: WLR (not magnum)
C.O.L:. 3.18"

Chrono Summary (for 10 shots):
Average Velocity: 2,421 fps
Average Energy: 2,864 ft lbs
High Velocity: 2,436 fps
Low Velocity: 2,402 fps
Extreme Spread: 34 fps
Standard Deviation: 13 fps
---------------------------------------------------------------
Bullet: 220 gr Woodleigh RN
Powder: 52.0 grs of IMR-4350
Case Make: W-W
Primer: WLR (not magnum)
C.O.L.: 3.15" (My Ruger has a short throat and the Woodleigh RN is a blunt bullet.)

Chrono Summary (for 10 shots):
Average Velocity: 2,462 fps
Average Energy: 2,962 ft lbs
High Velocity: 2,479 fps
Low Velocity: 2,437 fps
Extreme Spread: 42 fps
Standard Deviation: 12 fps
---------------------------------------------------------------

Notice that the Woodleigh averaged a little faster than the Hornady with the same powder charge. I never worked up to 53.0-53.5 grs of IMR-4350. I was getting very good accuracy with 52.0 grs so I stopped there.

BTW: 52.0 grs of IMR-4350 was Jack O'Connor's recommended load for 220 gr bullets in the .30-06.

Cheers!
-Bob F.

Have used 220gr Nosler Partitions in Zimbabwe several times with very good results. Load is 51grs of IMR4350 which is very accurate in my PreWar Mdl 70 custom.

I've played with Sierra, Hornady and Nosler 220s and Barnes 250s, all with up to and including book max charges of IMR4350. The Sierras were most accurate. The Noslers gave me pressure signs way below the others. I took the Hornadys to Africa where I found them effective if a little on the soft side. The Barnes Originals were the least accurate but I keep thinking they and the Woodleigh 240s deserve a few more tries.

BFaucett,

I've shot them out of my 300 Win before at 2650,
and once I raised my setting on my scope to reach 100 yds, I shot a three shot group with them touching each other. I know that I could not go that FPS with my 30/06. But I feel that
2530 fps might do the same as 2650 fps. If not I might try your powder weight.