One powder to rule them all (30-06)?

[Don A Parsons]

I like what the old guy said. Pick a few bullets you want to work with ,,, find a powder that works with them all,,, keep everything the same.

130's,,, 168's,,, and the 180 ++ category for me... That way everything is the same.

 

[nicholasjohn]

Buddy just got "gran pappy's 30-06". Literally. It's a pre-64 M70 passed down from grandfather to father to son. We're looking to reload for it, and though I have several bullet choices on my shelf (I have a 308), I don't have much left in the powder department for 06.

I've only got enough H4350 and IMR4350 for a dozen or so rounds each, but otherwise the pickings are slim.

The rifle will pull duty as a long range target gun for fun, and more importantly, a ≤ 400 yd deer/elk rifle.

What powder is your favorite for 165-180 gr class bullets? He's not going to be shooting a ton, and obviously isn't trying to create a half minute tack driver, so we're looking for one good powder that will just "get the job done".

Either of those would be excellent, but I would lean toward the hodgdon powder for its insensitivity to temperature changes. I have used a ton of H4350 in both the standard 30-06 and the 30-06 Ackley. It is my preferred powder by far for both. It is also the powder I would start with for any new cartridge I start to load for that is based on the 30-06 case design.

If I was going to do anything different at all, it would be to use H4831 with the 180-grain bullets. 100% load density is a good thing, and with that powder I doubt that you could get get enough of it in the case to hurt yourself. I've heard guys say to just scoop the case full and level it off with a straight-edge, then seat a bullet and go kill an elk. Don't think I'd go that far, but it would probably work.

 

[TAZMAN]

I run RL26 with a 215 primer and a 190 Berger hunting VLD. 2840fps with a 6...yes 6fps spread and 3/8 moa 5 shot group in a 22 inch Proof carbon barrel. 62.3 grains and Lapua brass. This is by far my new favorite rifle. Had it out to 570 yards so far.

 

[entoptics]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've got some 165 Accubonds and some 178 ELDX to try. I should have enough H and I 4350 to run a quick and dirty comparison. I've also got some RL22. I'll load up 10 or so of each, and see what shakes out.

 

[nicholasjohn]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've got some 165 Accubonds and some 178 ELDX to try. I should have enough H and I 4350 to run a quick and dirty comparison. I've also got some RL22. I'll load up 10 or so of each, and see what shakes out.

The RL-22 should work well with the 180-grain bullets. With that bullet weight, you should get your best velocities with that powder. One of my buddies got really good accuracy at very high velocity, but he did comment that it was pretty sensitive to temperature changes. I've read that RL-23 is about the same burning rate as RL-22, but with much less temperature sensitivity. I don't know, because I haven't tried it yet. A lot of guys don't put much emphasis on this, but I do. It's quite often pretty hot on an antelope hunt, or pretty cold a couple of months later when you're out after deer or elk. It makes a difference.

 

[greenejc]

Buddy just got "gran pappy's 30-06". Literally. It's a pre-64 M70 passed down from grandfather to father to son. We're looking to reload for it, and though I have several bullet choices on my shelf (I have a 308), I don't have much left in the powder department for 06.

I've only got enough H4350 and IMR4350 for a dozen or so rounds each, but otherwise the pickings are slim.

The rifle will pull duty as a long range target gun for fun, and more importantly, a ≤ 400 yd deer/elk rifle.

What powder is your favorite for 165-180 gr class bullets? He's not going to be shooting a ton, and obviously isn't trying to create a half minute tack driver, so we're looking for one good powder that will just "get the job done".

The best powder I've ever found over about 45 years of reloading is IMR 4350. I use about 55 to 55.5 grains behind either Speer or Sierra 180 grain bullets, which are the best bullets for elk or mule deer in my opinion. I get less than 1" at 100 yards with this powder and Remington 9 1/2 primers in most brass, and it is also great with Nosler Ballistic tips. It works with the 300 winmag too. I get about 2600 to 2675 fps depending on the lot number of powders from a 22" barrel on an M77MKII. I haven't found any other powders which are as accurate. I've tried RL 19 and 22, IMR 4831, and some others, but IMR 4350 has been the best.

 

[MkJose]

I use Varget for .243 (100 gr bullets) and .30-06 (150 gr bullets).

It isn't the best performing powder for either caliber, but it seems to work consistently, at slightly less than maximum possible velocities if I used other powders.

 

[greenejc]

I like varget, too, but not for the 30-06 with heavier bullets. Its max charge for the 180 grain bullet is 47 grains, which doesn't come close to filling the casing. And I wouldn't want to shoot elk with less than a 165 to 200 grain bullet in this cartridge. The lighter bullets just don't get the penetration I want on animals as big as elk. Also, the larger powder charges if the medium powders fill the casing better, and get a better, more even burn. Which makes them more accurate. I use varget in my 6 mm remington and my .308, though. It works really well in them. Another powder I'm beginning to experiment with in 30-06 is Superformance. I haven't used it enough for an opinion yet.

 

[Orange Dust]

H4831

 

[Double Dropper]

06 and lighter bullets, I love RL-17 with 150 grain Barnes TTSX, getting over 3100 fps and good brass life. Also with 56.5 grains (safe in my rifle only) over 165 grain Accubonds, its a comfortable load in the Browning BAR and achieves over 2900 FPS, easy ejection and good brass life. The 150 grain load is in a bolt action rifle.

 

[MkJose]

IMR-4064. I used it regularly to load, .243, .30-06, .300 Savage, and 6.5 Arisaka. It did very well with all of those.

 

[greenejc]

Reloder 17 and RL 22 are good powders for the -06 with 180 grain bullets, but I emailed Speer for their data on the 200 grain HotCor and they sent me data for RL26 and IMR 4350 which is as follows: Max charge of 54.0 grains of IMR 4350 for 2475fps and max charge of RL26 of 57.8 grains for a velocity of 2667 fps. Alliant reloading guide also lists Reloder 16 for the 180 grain Partition and the Speer Spitzer Softpoint (HotCor) with good load density (above 55.5 grains as a max) and velocities at or very close to 2800fps from I assume a 24 inch barrel. You'd get about 70fps less in a 22 inch tube. Go to the Alliant or Hodgdon Websites and review their recipes for the -06. Speer and Alliant are owned by the same corp. and Hodgden owns IMR and Winchester powders now. Also, you might try the Sierra 200 grain Gameking if you want real penetration and long range performance from the 30-06 Springfield. I've used it for shots here in Colorado at steel out to 600 yards on the range I'm a member of and it is highly accurate from a modified 03-a3 with a 24 inch barrel or a Ruger M77 MkII, both using 3X10 Shepherd Scopes and 54 grains of IMR 4350. Muzzle velocities measured with a Chrony are at about 2600 from the A3 and 2540 or so from the Ruger with the 22 inch barrel. The thing to remember is that you're going to need mass and density to reliably kill elk at anything beyond 200 yards. The -06 with 180 to 200 grain bullets gives you that. Personally, I hunt elk with a 35 Whelen and either Sierra 225 grain bullets at 2700+ fps or the Speer 250 grain HotCor at around 2675 fps.
I also took the time to review the energy and velocity for these 200 grain bullets at 450 yards. The Speer generates about 1930 footpounds of energy, while the Sierra exceeds 2,000 ftlbs at the same distance at an altitude of 8,000 feet (assuming you're hunting here). That will give you adequate killing power and the trajectory with either bullet is vertually the same with a drop of 32 inches at 400 yards and 43 to 44 inches at 450 yards. That's more than adequate for elk at these distances at altitudes above 8,000 feet. And if the RL 26 works good with the 200 grain bullets, it should be great with 180 grain bullets, too. I hope this is close to what you're looking for. But I wouldn't stay with just one powder for the -06. It limits its versititility.

 

[xsn10s]

IMR-4064. I used it regularly to load, .243, .30-06, .300 Savage, and 6.5 Arisaka. It did very well with all of those.

So what load were you using for the Arisaka?

 

[MkJose]

So what load were you using for the Arisaka?

Norma 6.5 mm Japanese ammunition