Rem 700 .30-06 loads
Ragnar Danneksjold
load for my Remington 700 .30-06. For starters, I loaded:
- New Winchester brass
- #210 large rifle Federal primers
- 165 grain Nosler balistic tip bullets
- ~ 54.4 grains IMR 4350 powder.
My best 3 shot group was about 1 inch at 100 yards. Interestingly enough,
that same day I put 3 shots in one ragged hole with the ghetto-ass Remington
Core-Lokt stuff. Also, there were one or two shots where the bullet went
about six inches high, and unless I slipped at the last second and didn't
realize it, I know it was the round and not me, because I was on sand bags
and saw where the crosshairs were aimed at.
Anyway, I'm not all that impressed with the accuracy I'm getting with my
handloads. What could I change to make them more accurate, and why? More
powder, less powder, different powder? Heavier bullet? Which bullet brand
is generally the most accurate?
I'm new to this and trying to get it all figured out. Any help is
appreciated.
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Clyde321
#handloads. What could I change to make them more accurate, and why? More
#powder, less powder, different powder? Heavier bullet? Which bullet brand
#is generally the most accurate?
I'm not an expert by any means, but one thing I have learned is to only change
ONE component at a time. I found (with my .300 win mag) that using large rifle
primers instead of magnum rifle primers gave me a better group. I was able to
develope a load that will shoot less than an inch at 200 yards from a
sandbagged rest. So keep trying different stuff, it may take a while, but
you'll get it.
Clyde
Ken Marsh
If you're getting some bullets in the same hole and some just about
anywhere, take a look at other things-
1. Is the rifle glass bedded (pillar bedded, etc.)
2. Do you have a cheap or old scope
3. Loose scope mount
4. Very heavy trigger pull
5. Flinch
Every rifle I've glass bedded and upgraded the scope on has shown
remarkable improvements in accuracy and consistancy.
A six-inches high flyer is a lot. To me that would indicate a failing
scope, mount, or loose bedding. Your load should be very good for
.30-06, I've used similar loads with good results. Even if it is not a
sub-MOA load for your particular rifle, it should be consistant and give
you groups without flyers.
Another cause of flyers is crooked loads, though these usually don't fly
6 inches out of the group. Sizing each case twice, rotating in between,
and seating the bullet 1/3 at a time, rotating it by 1/3 each time, and
then spinning it 180 degrees and confirming the seat, will increase
concentricity. You'll have to buy some kind of arrangement to actually
check concentricity, like an RCBS Case Master or some small machinist
V-Blocks and a dial indicator with magnetic base. The latter setup can
be had from places like KBC Tools for under $40!
Ken.
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WVanhou237
<rag...@adnmail.com> writes:
# New Winchester brass
#- #210 large rifle Federal primers
#- 165 grain Nosler balistic tip bullets
#- ~ 54.4 grains IMR 4350 powder.
#
#My best 3 shot group was about 1 inch at 100 yards.
Pretty good start.
#Anyway, I'm not all that impressed with the accuracy I'm getting with my
#handloads. What could I change to make them more accurate, and why? More
#powder, less powder, different powder? Heavier bullet? Which bullet brand
#is generally the most accurate?
That's the whole purpose behind handloading. Tailoring a load to your
rifle. Try all the things you mentioned. If you are not happy with IMR 4350
try IMR4831 or IMR 4320. Try 150gr bullets. Find out how far out you can
load the bullets and keep them ~ .030" from touching the rifling. (This might
surprise you). Try neck sizing instead of full length sizing. Since you
started
with new brass you'll probably get better accuracy the second time around
when the brass is formed to *your* chamber. As soon as your fired brass is
neck sized, trim and de-burr it. Don't forget to clean the primer pockets.
If you're using a single stage press, you can set the full length sizing die to
neck size only. Screw the de-capping pin up out of the way. Put a nickel (coin)
on top of the shell holder. With the ram all the way up screw the die body down
untill it's touching the nickel. Then run the lock ring down and tighten the
set
screw. Then reset the de-capping pin. It's still a good idea to lube the brass
lightly.
Have fun.
Bill Van Houten (USA Ret)
"No matter how hard you try, you can't throw a potato chip very far."
"Linus"
Russ Frazier
"Ragnar Danneksjold" <rag...@adnmail.com> wrote in message
news:acin3q$651$1...@grapevine.wam.umd.edu...
> ...
Remington
> ...
brand
> ...
Michael Courtney
and one needs to tweak a handload to find the best load. I've found
accurate handloads for my Rem 700 in 30-06 and for two Rem 700's in .308.
IMR 4350 and the 165 grain ballistic tip are a good start, but I usually do
some accuracy testing as I work up a load toward the book maximum in one
grain increments from 4-5 grains below the maximum. In most cases, one of
the increments will shoot really well and I'm done, assuming I'm not trying
to squeeze out maximum velocity.
If the first powder doesn't show any promise, then I try another powder, but
4350 has done well for me in the 30-06 with 165 grain bullets. But if it
doesn't work for you, there are a lot of other choices. If you don't like
the idea of switching powders, then you can change bullets. Some rifles
just don't like particular bullets, but most rifles do like ballistic tips,
so I'd change the powder first.
I'm not sure which Rem 700 you have (ADL, BDL, mountain rifle, etc.), but
some of them have long throats (freebore), especially in 30-06 to accomodate
heavy bullets. The long action (and long magazine) on the Rem 700 in 30-06
will allow you to seat your bullets longer than the SAAMI spec for OAL, and
it can be conducive to accuracy to get as close to the lands (rifling) as
possible. In my 30-06 (Rem 700 ADL), the throat is so long that I can't
even reach the lands with 180 grain bullets, so I load them long for better
accuracy. When I loaded the Hornady 165 BTSP, the cannelure was 0.15" or so
ahead of the case neck. Likewise, my Nosler BT loads are almost always as
long as I can make them and still have enough of the bullet base in the neck
that they don't come apart. But you do need to make sure that by exceeding
the SAAMI OAL spec that you are not jamming the bullet into the rifling, as
this can cause high pressures.
Another thing to consider is the accuracy potential of the rifle. With a
unbedded, unfloated factory stock on an ADL, BDL, or mountain rifle, you'll
have to do some work to find a handload it really likes. I've also noticed
that with an unfloated barrel in a factory stock, how the forend of the
rifle is rested on the sandbag can greatly affect the accuracy. Either
using a bipod or being consistent in how the forend rests on the front bag
can solve the problem, but floating the barrel is the better choice because
it gives more consistency in the field.
Bedding the stock and floating the barrel make finding a consistent MOA load
much easier. Another route is to replace the factory stock with an HS
Precision stock with the aluminum bedding block. These stocks do not
contact the barrel and the bedding block produces consistent stock to action
contact. I've replaced two Rem 700 ADL stocks (30-06 and .308) with the HS
Precision Stock, and I am extremely satisfied. I had originally bedded the
original 30-06 stock and floated the barrel, but after several years the
bedding job wore down ad was no longer effective. This is the stock
Remington uses on their Rem 700 Sendero, VS, VSSF, and Police models, and it
is a large part of the greater accuracy of these models (along with a
shorter throat and bull barrel).
The Rem core lokt is an acceptable bullet if you don't need wind resistance
and you never plan to shoot anything past 200 yards. But it's BC is very
low (0.2 range) and it will move nearly twice as much as the BT of the same
weight in the wind.
Michael Courtney
Jim DeClercq
: I'm pretty new to reloading, and would like to figure out a super accurate
: load for my Remington 700 .30-06. For starters, I loaded:
: - New Winchester brass
: - #210 large rifle Federal primers
: - 165 grain Nosler balistic tip bullets
: - ~ 54.4 grains IMR 4350 powder.
Some ideas: 168 grain bullets have the best characteristics. The shape
was determined using lead bullets, and making something that shape
in a jacketed bullet comes out 168 grains.
That being said, a box of 1967 Lake City Match ammo says it contains
173 grain bullets.
Whatever the right number might be, for match performance, one might
try current match bullets.
For that cartridge shape, the most potent primers you can get are the
thing to use, and which one that is is a matter for practical testing.
Barrels ring when subjected to the shock load of firing, and the idea
is to get the bullet to leave when the barrel is temporarily almost
stationary at the extreme of its excursion.
That box of match cartridges lists a muzzle velocity of 2640 fps, which is
the right speed for best repeatability of impact point for the barrel
length of a Garand rifle, which is probably the same as for the rifle you
have. Slower is sometimes better.
One does need to know how fast is fast, in order to do that.
If you want to drive tacks, either a chronometer or bigger
tacks would help.
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Kevin
gotten 7/16" 3 shot groups at 100yds, this is a used rifle. after
playing with grains of powder to get the most accurate charge, then
adjust your OAL of the cartridge, this can make a dramatic difference,
many people seem to like to set the bullet about .010 off the lands,
it varys, i start at the low end then work my way up to the max that
will chember and or load in the magazine of the rifle until i find the
one that is most accurate, the 165 gr bullet is a nice weight i used
to use 165 Ballistic tips, now i use 165gr SST's
QC
with either the factory REmington core-lokt (what the hell do you have
against it anyways?) or a handload I came up with. Once-fired Remington
brass, 47 grains of Varget, CCI 200 primer, 150-grain Speer BT-PSP. With
either I can get 1-inch groups at 150 yards (and I'm not a very good shot!).
Other loads I've tried are (all remington brass and CCI 200 primers), a
100-grain Speer plinker over 51 grains of A2230 (delivers decent accuracy
but detonates anything it hits at closer ranges), and a 150-grain Remington
core-lokt bullet over a case full of Pyrodex-RS (they're pretty accurate but
drop like mad, so you have to aim quite a ways above the target). Try
www.centerfirecentral.com to get a pile of load data for free. Happy
shooting. -QC
Charles Winters
different powders and bullets. For one thing, .30-06 barrels typically
have 1 in 10 inch twist. This calls for longer bullets. If you want top
accuracy, try 180 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips. For powder, try 58.0
grains of H-4831 regular or short cut. Alternatively, try IMR 4064
starting with 45 grains and working up or down to suit accuracy and
velocity. Having a chronograph to measure speed and therefore pressure
is a must IMO. Be patient, it takes time and lots of experimentation.
I've been doing it all my adult life and still haven't finished load
development for my .30-06 rifles. Maybe if I had a range right outside
my back door, I could make more progress. - CW
Ragnar Danneksjold wrote:
> ...
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Herb Leong
Jim DeClercq <ji...@panix.com> wrote:
#Ragnar Danneksjold <rag...@adnmail.com> writes:
#
#: I'm pretty new to reloading, and would like to figure out a super accurate
#: load for my Remington 700 .30-06. For starters, I loaded:
#
#: - New Winchester brass
#: - #210 large rifle Federal primers
#: - 165 grain Nosler balistic tip bullets
#: - ~ 54.4 grains IMR 4350 powder.
#
#Some ideas: 168 grain bullets have the best characteristics. The shape
#was determined using lead bullets, and making something that shape
#in a jacketed bullet comes out 168 grains.
Huh? I am guessing that you are refering to the Sierra 168gr MatchKing.
A jacketed-hollowpoint-boattail design. If so, I am pretty sure that
Sierra designed the bullet from scratch as a jacketed-hollowpoint-boattail
from the get-go. I am also pretty sure that there were no "production"
.30-'06 full power loads ever made with an all lead bullet.
#That being said, a box of 1967 Lake City Match ammo says it contains
#173 grain bullets.
That is because the GI 173 gr match bullet is a FMJ-boattail design.
Two different bullets. I have used load data for the 168, but with a
10% reduced charge worked up to something I liked.
#Whatever the right number might be, for match performance, one might
#try current match bullets.
You may want to take the twist rate of your barrel into consideration
when choosing bullets. A general rule is that longer bullets need a
faster twist to stableize them. Shorter bullets may no like faster
spinrates. (For the most part, longer=heavier unless you are talking
about special purpose bullets like tracers and AP rounds).
#For that cartridge shape, the most potent primers you can get are the
#thing to use, and which one that is is a matter for practical testing.
Um, why not just buy Sierra's rifle reloading manual, and use what they
list in the book?
/herb
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Billy Ford
My magic load is - Winchester brass, CCI standard rifle primers, 165 grain
Remington Corlokt bullets (from Midway) and 50 grains of IMR 4064. I hunt
mostly in the woods so I sight in at 50 yards. This load produces 1 hole
groups at that distance in my Remington 700. It is an economical load also.
Everything that I have shot with it has gone down within a few steps. bpf
"Herb Leong" <he...@urusei.net> wrote in message
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> ...
mpach...@yesco.com
Bullet COAL of 3.340 CCI 200 Large rifle primers. the result was three shots and
one single hole. Each gun acts differently but a remington 700 should get 1/2"
groups with a receipie that works in your gun. This takes time testing and patience.
load five shoot load five shoot repeat. start at 25 yards not 100 and only concern
yourself with patterningnot accuracy, then dial in that bullet to your scope. gona
load some 190 SBHP loads tonight!
Oregonian Haruspex
# i just loaded 168 grain sierra boattail hollowpoints with 58.5 grains
# of IMR 4350.
# Bullet COAL of 3.340 CCI 200 Large rifle primers. the result was three
# shots and
# one single hole. Each gun acts differently but a remington 700 should get 1/2"
# groups with a receipie that works in your gun. This takes time testing
# and patience.
# load five shoot load five shoot repeat. start at 25 yards not 100 and
# only concern
# yourself with patterningnot accuracy, then dial in that bullet to your
# scope. gona
# load some 190 SBHP loads tonight!
I'm kind of a one gun, one load type of guy. Pick a bullet that has
the characteristics you need and stick with it, until you have it
dialed in for your gun / cases / primers / powder. Right now I'm using
175 grain .30 caliber VLD Hunting Bergers, with Federal Premium Large
Rifle Match primers, Lapua .30-06 cases, and 46.9 grains of IMR 4350.
It's a lighter powder charge but with higher accuracy than a larger
measure of powder in my Remington 721.
58.5 grains of 4350 seems like a very strong charge, which will have an
adverse effect on barrel life and cartridge life, as well as increased
copper fouling with that bullet. If you had any other gun I'd say it
seems a bit stout for the action as well, but we all know how strong
the 700 is. Then again, if it works for you then that's awesome!
Louis Boyd
# dialed in for your gun / cases / primers / powder. Right now I'm using
# 175 grain .30 caliber VLD Hunting Bergers, with Federal Premium Large
# Rifle Match primers, Lapua .30-06 cases, and 46.9 grains of IMR 4350.
# It's a lighter powder charge but with higher accuracy than a larger
# measure of powder in my Remington 721.
#
# 58.5 grains of 4350 seems like a very strong charge, which will have an
# adverse effect on barrel life and cartridge life, as well as increased
# copper fouling with that bullet. If you had any other gun I'd say it
# seems a bit stout for the action as well, but we all know how strong
# the 700 is. Then again, if it works for you then that's awesome!
#
According to the Quickload ballistics program mpachowicz's load above is
about 58,500 psi. SAAMI max for the 30-06 is 60,000 PSI. Assuming a
24" barrel it should give 2850 FPS.
The 30-06 cartridge is limited by historic firearms. I wouldn't shoot
that load in a 1903 Springfield or an M1 Garand but I would in a Rem
700.
Oregonian Haruspex
# # I'm kind of a one gun, one load type of guy. Pick a bullet that has
# # the characteristics you need and stick with it, until you have it
# # dialed in for your gun / cases / primers / powder. Right now I'm using
# # 175 grain .30 caliber VLD Hunting Bergers, with Federal Premium Large
# # Rifle Match primers, Lapua .30-06 cases, and 46.9 grains of IMR 4350.
# # It's a lighter powder charge but with higher accuracy than a larger
# # measure of powder in my Remington 721.
# # 58.5 grains of 4350 seems like a very strong charge, which will have an
# # copper fouling with that bullet. If you had any other gun I'd say it
# # seems a bit stout for the action as well, but we all know how strong
# # the 700 is. Then again, if it works for you then that's awesome!
# #
#
# 24" barrel it should give 2850 FPS.
#
# The 30-06 cartridge is limited by historic firearms. I wouldn't shoot
# that load in a 1903 Springfield or an M1 Garand but I would in a Rem
# 700.
Could you do me a huge favor and run my load through Quickload? I
would gratly appreciate it.
Louis Boyd
# i just loaded 168 grain sierra boattail hollowpoints with 58.5 grains of IMR 4350.
# Bullet COAL of 3.340 CCI 200 Large rifle primers. the result was three shots and
# one single hole. Each gun acts differently but a remington 700 should get 1/2"
# groups with a receipie that works in your gun. This takes time testing and patience.
# load five shoot load five shoot repeat. start at 25 yards not 100 and only concern
# yourself with patterningnot accuracy, then dial in that bullet to your scope. gona
# load some 190 SBHP loads tonight!
#
The 30-06 cartridge has a 3.34" SAAMI overall length specification.
However, Rem 700's chambered in 30-06 have 3.6" magazines. If you
handload, experimenting with various low drag bullets with long ogives
can enhance ballistic performance. Seating depth obviously is still
controlled by the throat depth. Generally VLDs don't give tighter
100 yard groups than higher drag bullets. The significant improvement is
lower wind deflection and higher terminal energy for long range shooting.
Louis Boyd
# # 24" barrel it should give 2850 FPS.
# # The 30-06 cartridge is limited by historic firearms. I wouldn't shoot
# # 700.
#
# Could you do me a huge favor and run my load through Quickload? I
# would gratly appreciate it.
Quickload needs more input information than you have provided. It also
provides more output in the form of charts and graphs than is practical
to post on rec.guns. If you're remotely serious about handloading you
really should buy a copy for yourself. I use it under Windows 7 and
don't make any handloads without it. It pays for itself quickly
because you don't make nearly as many cartridges which don't perform
well and don't damage your firearms by guessing.
http://www.neconos.com/category/Software-2
pcm...@gmail.com
# I'm pretty new to reloading, and would like to figure out a super accurate
# load for my Remington 700 .30-06. For starters, I loaded:
# ....
#
# My best 3 shot group was about 1 inch at 100 yards. Interestingly enough,
# that same day I put 3 shots in one ragged hole with the ghetto-ass Remington
# Core-Lokt stuff. Also, there were one or two shots where the bullet went
# about six inches high, and unless I slipped at the last second and didn't
# realize it, I know it was the round and not me, because I was on sand bags
# and saw where the crosshairs were aimed at.
#
# Anyway, I'm not all that impressed with the accuracy I'm getting with my
# handloads. What could I change to make them more accurate, and why? More
# powder, less powder, different powder? Heavier bullet? Which bullet brand
# is generally the most accurate?
#
# I'm new to this and trying to get it all figured out. Any help is
# appreciated.
Dude. Disregard ever-thang you find here, and get yersef a reloading manual.
Period. Punkt. 'Nuff said.
Rubaiyat of Omar Bradley
#
#
# Period. Punkt. 'Nuff said.
The original post in this thread was from 12 years ago. Its probably much too late
to be offering advice.
Rob Sciuk
# Dude. Disregard ever-thang you find here, and get yersef a reloading manual.
One thing which can significantly affect accuracy is bullet run-out. It
is also very easy to fix ... after seating/crimping your bullet in your
press, simply turn the cartridge 90 degress and reseat with a single
stroke. Tests with a runout gauge show this to be very effective.
You can chamfer your brass, hand clean the primer pockets, and do all
kinds of technical stuff, change your powder loads to find barrel
resonance nodes etc. etc. but this simple procedure will go a long way
towards making your ammunition more consistent no matter what kind of dies
you use. The more consistent your ammo, the more consistent the placement
of shots, and all things being equal .. the tighter your groups.
Cheers,
Rob