A few re-loading questions for .30-06 Ruger M77 Mark II All Weather.
fufu
like the gun. I've finally learned how to shoot good groups with it and took
my first moose (first large game ever) about a week ago at just over 150
yards.
I'm primarily interested in hunting moose, elk, and deer in the central
interior of British Columbia.
A friend bought a bunch of used reloading gear at our local pawn shop. It
came with a never used 30-06 die. I've never reloaded before and have a few
questions.
1 - What bullet do I use? I've heard lots of good stuff about the Hornady
BTSP bullets and was kind of leaning toward them, but if anyone has other
suggestions.
2 - What weight of bullet do I use? I'd like to only reload one weight of
bullet. I've been told the 180 is a good moose hunting bullet and the 150 is
a good deer hunting bullet. Can I go with the Hornady 165 BTSP as a good
intermediate? Is there going to be problems killing either moose or deer
with this bullet?
Just as a side note. the moose I shot last week was with a factory Hornady
165 SST LM. It went right through the lungs and broke a rib on the way out.
Didn't seem like it caused a lot of damage. Pretty small hole on the way in
and out.
3 - What type of powder do I use? This is where I'm really in the dark. A
friend has suggested IMR 4064. The IMR page also says the 4895 is a good
powder.
4 - I've got about 150 rounds of spent Federal brass (only 1 shot on each).
Should i buy different brass, or is Federal good?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks for your help.
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Lee Carkenord
# interior of British Columbia.
#
# >
# 1 - What bullet do I use? >
# 2 - What weight of bullet do I use?
# 3 - What type of powder do I use?
# 4 Should i buy different brass, or is Federal good?
Ive hunted with the 30-06 for 48 years. I've reloaded my own 30-06
hunting ammo for maybe 42 years? Critters I have hunted and killed
include antelope, caribou, moose, elk, deer, and javelina.
This has been a good cartridge for me. I've used lots of different
bullets, powders, etc. I researched almost all my loads, before I
bought the components. Therefore most of the reloads have performed
satisfactorily.
I've used bullet weights from 110 grain up to 200 grain.
Having said all that, I have one load that I use probably more than
90% of the time. Its just always passed the "hunting test" with
flying colors.
That load is WW brass, Nosler 180 grain Partition bullet, IMR-4350
powder, and Federal 210 large rifle primers.
Federal brass is fine, too.
Lee Carkenord
FBC3
data from folks on the internet. Try natchezss.com. 180 grain bullets are my
choice in the 30-06, using IMR 4350 powder. I get great accuracy from Sierra
bullets. There are more expensive bullets intended to expand reliably on game,
such as Nosler and Barnes.
Charles Winters
tailored to your rifle. Accuracy is paramount. Avoid maximum loads. An
extra 100 fps of velocity does little for killing power but add much wear
and tear on the rifle and brass. Bear in mind each rifle is different and
has its own "preferences".
Start by measuring the twist rate of the rifling. Use a cleaning rod with a
tight patch and measure how far the rod goes to make one turn. Almost all
.30-06 rifles have 1 in 10" twist. Heavier bullets do best with this
relatively fast rate, i.e., 180 grains and up. I suggest you try several
brands of quality 180 grainers, I suggest premium bullets from Nosler,
Hornady, Barnes and Sierra. Another excellent bullet is the Winchester
Failsafe.
As for powder, my .30-06 favs are 4064, 760 and H4831. Proper primers are
Winchester Large Rifle. Your Federal brass will work just fine but make
sure you get a dial caliper and measure the case length after every resizing
and trim when necessary. The Lyman reloading manual has all the info you
need.
If you are not inclined to tinker with various loads and just want one for
killing moose, try the 180 grain Failsafe over 58 grains of H4831 short cut
with WLR primer and OAL of 3.40" or slightly less if that is too long for
your box magazine. This will give you about 2550 fps and possibly excellent
accuracy. This bullet has an outstanding reputation for performance on
large game. Good luck - CW
Jim Dauven
available
make it sufficient for almost anything you run up against. I have even seen
a .30-06 loaded with a 220 grain projectile used on Brownies in Alaska
but I wouldn't do it. By the way the guy was shooting 220 grains out of
a stock M1903 and it took only two rounds to do the job. One round in
the right sholder second shot down the throat and one dead bear.
I have used 220 gain on elk, and have a couple of one shot kills on some
rather big elk. 700 lbs on the hoof but then again every shot was under
100 yds and in the chest cavity. That 220 grain projectile works pretty
well on large animals.
The Independent
Lee Carkenord wrote:
> ...
B. Gatto
> ...
H4831 is also a stalwart powder for this round. I have the same rifle
and use Nosler Ballistic Tips in 165gr. Alot of folks might think
that this is a fragile bullet. However, I have fired these at 1/2
inch plate steel and they bust open a 1 inch hole. I neck size the
brass and can keep 7/8 inch groups at 100yds.
Michael J. Medley
# friend has suggested IMR 4064. The IMR page also says the 4895 is a good
# powder.
Those two powders in particular are optimized of gas operated rifles,
M-1,
M1A ect., but they will work. Better performance can be had with other
powders
in the IMR Series.
# 4 - I've got about 150 rounds of spent Federal brass (only 1 shot on
each).
# Should i buy different brass, or is Federal good?
Your brass should be fine. It will last many more firings. As you are
using a bolt
gun, neck size, not full length resize after the first firing. This will
help to improve
brass longevity and increase accuracy.
"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Tolerance in the face of
tyranny is no virtue."
-Barry Goldwater
Dan Varner
wrote:
> ...
None at all provided you put the bullet in the proper place, You may
want to look at sierras bullets as well. The truth be known, while
some bullets are better for certain condition just about any bullet
made by a major manufacture is damn good. I would recommend a bullet
weight you like (for what ever reason) and that your rifle likes (shot
group size will let you know) That will help fulfill the requirement
of my first sentence
> ...
4064 is great generally recommended for heavier bullets 4895 is also
great, generally for lighter bullets.
You cannot go wrong by calling sierra they will e-mail you the 30-06
reloading pages out of their manual free of charge
http://www.sierrabullets.com/ 1.800.223.8799
.. Sierra recomments best hunting and best target loads for nearly
every caliber and bullet weight. Buying the whole book is a great
Idea once you get started in reloading it is funny how many new
calibers you may end up reloading
The lyman manual is also great (does a good job of explaining the
process and the whys and wherefores) Some of the Lyman data is
somewhat more agressive than other manuals. One thing for certain the
lyman manual has a lot more lead bullet loads than most others.
> ...
Yes, Given you have a bolt action rifle, if you neck size or full
lenth resize without pushing the shoulder back too far you should get
many reloads before incipent head separation becomes a problem
> ...
Yardpilot
"B. Gatto" <bg77...@ohio.edu> wrote in message
news:bikr6h$2vk$1...@grapevine.wam.umd.edu...
# fb...@aol.com (FBC3) wrote in message
news:<biicfo$711$1...@grapevine.wam.umd.edu>...
# > ...
#
# H4831 is also a stalwart powder for this round. I have the same rifle
# and use Nosler Ballistic Tips in 165gr. Alot of folks might think
# that this is a fragile bullet. However, I have fired these at 1/2
# inch plate steel and they bust open a 1 inch hole. I neck size the
# brass and can keep 7/8 inch groups at 100yds.
I burn a lot of 4831 under 165 and 180 grain bullets in the 30-06. It is
very consistent, which is why I like it.