I've had really good luck with IMR4350 at 57 to 57.5 gr and 165 Hornady SP. Also 150 hornady SP and H414, haven't got to max but 57 gr shows really good accuracy at 2900fps. Haven't tried 180's, I don't feel the need for the deer around here. These from a Win M70 Featherweight.

My main 30-06 is a Remington pump(760) and it loves 165gr. Nosler BTs or Remington PSPSCLs with 54.5-55.2gr. of IMR 4350. I use R-P cases and have used Federal BR primers and WLR primers with complete satisfaction. Not a hot load but darn sure kills deer plenty good and sub MOA in my gun.

I load for several people so I have come up with a load that works in several types of rifles. 49 grains of IMR 4064-165 Remington Corelock- fed 210 primer and any commercial case you have. The bullet is seated to the cannalure and lightly crimped. If using military cases I would drop down to 47 grains.

This is a great general purpose load. We shoot it in BAR's Bolts and pumps. It works great in the M1. It feeds and functions in every bodies gun. Mostly it has been used on south Texas white tail deer and hogs and it works great on these animals.

Another advantage is that it is relatively in expensive to shoot so you can get lots of practice.

One of my favorites thus far is..... 165 Hornady BTSP, 55.5 grains of H414, Win Brass, Win Large Rifle Primer, OAL 3.230. This load will do under 1 MOA at a 100 yards. Esox357

I've also heard some good things about 57gr. of IMR 4350 for 165gr. Have loaded several will test them out soon.

7mm. guy

I loaded up some CL 165g with 59g of RL 19. I'm only getting 2580fps out of my ADL 22" barrel but 20 rounds made a big 1.5" hole at 100 yards. That's good for +/- 3" out to about 250 yards. That's the longest shot on my place.

As per the Nosler manual- 61.5 Gr. of R-19
behind a 150 grain Nosler Partiton. 2993 fps
out of my 22 7/16" Tikka. Three shots into 1 egg shaped hole. Not bad.

Mine is a little different cause I wanted to shoot the 200 gr Accubond for Elk this year.

200 gr Accubond
59.5 gr RL22
Norma brass
Neck sized
.030" off lands
2650 fps

Matches my TDS reticle and carries a lot of energy.

Gidday Guys,

My favorite load is a 150gr coreloct, hotcore or NBT, over 53gr IMR4064 in Winchester cases with Win lr primers.

This is a hot load so work up from 51 gr.

It will kill any medium game like lightning and gives sub 1" groups in any rifle it has been tried in so far.

Happy Hunting

Hamish

I didn't see anyone write about H4895.

Over the years, I have found that H4895 in charges from 47.0gr. to 51.0gr. is extremely accurate with the 150gr bullet. Afterall, this powder/bullet wt combo was what went thru WWI & WWII with the '03 et al.

My Dad's '03 shoots 1/2" @ 100yds with 47.5gr & the Speer bullet.

Inlaws M70 has shot an amazing 9/16" CtC @ 180 yds with 50 gr.

A Bud's M700 will shoot 1"+ @ 100 with 49.0 gr.

All with the Speer, WW cases, & CCI primers.

The Rem M700 will not handle more than 50.0
The M70 is hot with 51.0.
Haven't pushed the '03; no need to with the results above.

Hi
Well ya opened it up with this one eh?.. lol.
Just remember that your rifle will shoot what it likes regardless of what everyone else's rifles do..
But when it comes to an "all around" load for the 30-06 I believe you can't go wrong with a stout load with Nosler 165gr Partitions.
My rifle liked this one:

165 gr. Partition
59.0 gr. IMR4831
W-W cases
W-W primers

2850 fps out of a 22" barrel

This was the most accurate high velocity load I could find at the time.
Trust me, you get good with this load, know how it shoots at all the ranges it is good for, and you will be good to go for any big game hunting situation you could run into.

Favorite 06 hunting loads:

150gr hornady with 32grs Reloader 7 (30-30 speed, no recoil.)
180gr hornady with 54grs. IMR 4350
220gr hornady with 55grs. IMR 4831 (Very accurate in Interarm Mark X . The 03 Springfield, as issued, likes 56grs IMR 4831)

Most favored of the three is the Reloader 7 load.

The 150gr and 180gr hit the same zero @ 50 yds.

I've loaded for several 30 06's over the years and they all seem to like 180 gr bullets and IMR 4350. If it didn't shoot with that load they usually didn't shoot anything well.

54 grains/imr 4350 with 200 grain Speer flat base.

This is from a JC Higgins FN Mauser in 30-06 with 1-10 twist (22" bbl). Shoots ~ 1.5 moa (or less) for 5 shots at 100 yards.

I really like the 200 grain Speer flat base bullet (sectional density of ~ 0.30, same as .284/7mm 175 grain, or 6.5mm 160 grain). All known for great penetration.

I don't have a chrono, but guessing MV is ~2500-2550 fps. Effective, and easy on the bullet.

[Quote] by Woods
I'm into 168 and 180 TSX's also, but I think I'm starting to push them too hard. Using 60 grains IMR4350 for the 168 grain for 2950 fps and 58.5 grains IMR4350 for the 180 grain to get 2850 fps. The 180 grain load has ballistics like the 300 Win but I'm starting to get shiny spots on the heads. Guess I should start to download and let the 30-06 shoot slower like it was meant to. [Quote]

I use 59 grains of H-4350 with the 168 TSX and 57.5 with hte 180 TSX in Winnchester case's and federal 210 primers.... very good loads for the 30-06

Does anyone have a good recipe for Hornady SST 165 gr. bullets over VV N160 powder in 30-06?

Much obliged!

quote:

Originally posted by naja302:

Everyone I know (all shoot factory ammo) say that their guns handles 180's better than 150's. Would handloading allow these lighter bullets a better chance of closing the accuracy gap?

I don't know, but I do know that I've worked with 30-06 rifles that gave better accuracy with 150 grain bullets, and others that gave better accuracy with 180 grain ones. These were all handloads. I rarely shoot factory loads, but the few 150 grain factory loads I've tried did not shoot very well in any of the rifles I tried them in.

I've had several 30-06 rifles give excellent results with 150 grain bullets -- better results than they gave with 180 grain ones -- and heavy (52 to 53 gr.) loads of IMR 4064.