I am fixin to reload for my 30-06- just a plain old hunting bolt action with a scope.

Is there any specific bullet weights and/or powders that statistically provide better than average groups?

Or will I have to find the best load for my rifle by trial and error? I am told every rifle is different. There shure are very many powders and bullets to choose from.

The only important thing here is that I want to hunt weith these reloads. The rifle range only goes to 200 yards and I hunt in woods so I am not particularly interested in long range flat shooting loads.

I am thinking about using 165, 180, and 200 grn bullets to start with.

Thanks

In 3 different 30-06 rifles (pre-war Model 70; stainless Savage "weather warrior"; Mannlicher-Schoenauer) I get 1/2 inch accuracy with 46 gr. 3031 and a 180 gr. pointed Winch. or Hornady.

165 grain bullet of your choice on top of
58-60 grains of H4350.

good shooting, dxr

my model 70 win likes 58 grains of imr 4350 with hornady 150 gr. interbond bullet very accurate.

in a sako 75, 30.06 AI, 167gn scenars on 54gn Vit N150, three and five shot groups on paper at 100 yds are printing near as damn it 1 hole groups

I think you hit it with..."find the best load for my rifle by trial and error". Different rifles will do different things with different loads. My Vanguard in .30-06 produced groups around 1/2" with 130gr. HP's and IMR3031...but only at 100yd. And that's not a stellar all-around bullet. This Vanguard seemed to like 180 to 200 grain bullets, with IMR 4831 or IMR 4350, producing 3/4" to 1" groups at 100 and not much bigger at 200.

Good luck,

Thanks for the advice-

What is the difference between H4350 and IMR 4350? Is one company trying to duplicate the performance of the other?

I have about 100 once fired shells- I full length resized them and trimmed them. once they have been fired out of my rifle I will only neck size them.

I am working with IMR4350 and RL22 (I had planned to get RL19 but it was sold out) and 165gr Sierra and Hornady Bullets. I also loaded some reduced loads with 2400.

I also am trying 22/308 sabots- I shot one group and it was 5.72 inches- by far the worst and unfit for varmint snooting, which was my logical intent for using the 22 caliber bullet.

I am going to get some 180 grain bullets to try out and probably some RL19 to try on the 165gn.

I am loading 9 rounds each of a specific formula and shooting three 3-shot groups and measuring them. I am recording the avg, min, mas and SD for each formula.

I am using the suggested starting loads and working up towards max loads for each powder at one grain increments.

I seated the bullets for .022 clearance to the grooves.

When I have group data for each powder/bullet combination I will go back using neck sized shells and attempt to fine tune the better loads by adjusting bullet seating depth and/or powder by 1/2 grain increments.

So far 1 load of 6 tried so far have beat factory wincheter ammo, and another one has just about matched it. The best group I shot 0.8 inch at 100yd and the worst is 3.57 inches.

It is a lot of fun to see what you can do.

Thanks
Brad

Brad--grab that load that shot .8" and tweak the seating depth +/- .005 and .010 and reshoot it. Then take the best of the 5 loads (original and 4 tweaked loads) and shoot a couple of groups with it. If it continues to produce acceptable accuracy, you've found your load, assuming the velocity is acceptable. If you feel you need more velocity, start bumping the charge up .2 gr at a time until you get acceptable accuracy--and velocity. You might also try a few different types of primers as well.

When I neck-size for cartridges with long necks, (.30-06, .270, 6mm Rem) as opposed to .308/.243 types, I only size about 2/3rds of the length of the neck. The unsized, larger portion serves to center the case in the chamber a little better, and in my mind, improves accuracy potential.

Eventually, cases will get hard to chamber, and then it is time to partially full-length resize them by bumping the shoulder back .002 or .003", trim to length, chamfer and deburr, and go at it some more.

And, shoot off good sandbags or a shooting rest, front and rear.


Fun!!!

Try 165 Accubonds with 48gr of IMR-4064. Not real hot but ragged dot accuracy with a hunting bullet.