New to the forum. New to handloading

[IMR4064]

Hello all. i joined the forum in hopes i might learn a little. i recently started handloading last fall. still pretty new at it. ive done a couple load work ups/ladder tests and have developed passable loads for hunting but nothing really remarkable. my best group to date in 1.2 inches at 100 yards.

i reload for 30-06 and 243 win. im still looking for that perfect load for the 30-06. the only thing ive shot with it that grouped less than an inch was hornady whitetail 150 loaded ammo, but i have found that 52 grains of imr 4064 and 150 interlock do ok.

ive found some odd things about my rifle (older rem 700). when i try sst boat tails the groups tend to spread further apart as velocity increases where as when i load 150 grain interlock flat base it seems to tighten up as velocities increase. i dont know that it matters much but i found it odd. i may try another powder on those. all i could find at the time was blc2

my kids 243 (also older rem 700) doesnt seem to care. anything i throw together seems to shoot an inch or less. but im going to try some more ladder tests one day just to see how good it can get.

anyway ive always used 150s in the 3006 in the past, and i have plenty on hand, but im going to try some new stuff. i have a ladder test in the safe waiting to be shot for 200 grain hot cor and h4831. i found them on sale and figured it might be fun. im just waiting for the weather to cool off for testing.

i would like to devolope a load for 165 soft points just to see how it does. i cant seem to make up my mind on a powder tho. i have plenty of imr 4064, h4831, imr 4895, stayball 6.5 amd even a pound of h4350 on hand.


anyway thats where im at in my journey. thanks for having me.

 

[Just Say Moe]

Welcome,
Looks like you are on the right track. With your 30-06, I would in addition to a good clean barrel, to look at the crown. I had a 6mm Rem that shot boat tail bullets into 4-5 inch groups and flat base bullets under an inch. After touching up the crown, the boat tails shot about 1.5 inches and the flat bases shot the same. A cheap and easy fix.

With the 165's SB6.5 looks interesting.

Good luck - the fun part is trying everything just because you can!

Moe

 

[IMR4064]

Welcome,
Looks like you are on the right track. With your 30-06, I would in addition to a good clean barrel, to look at the crown. I had a 6mm Rem that shot boat tail bullets into 4-5 inch groups and flat base bullets under an inch. After touching up the crown, the boat tails shot about 1.5 inches and the flat bases shot the same. A cheap and easy fix.

With the 165's SB6.5 looks interesting.

Good luck - the fun part is trying everything just because you can!

Moe

thanks. ill take it by the local shop and have my guy check it out.

 

[17cal Fan]

I have a 60's era 700 243 that loves IMR3031 pushing 100 grain anything. Killed a bazillion deer with it using anything from 58 grain to 100 grain bullets. One that shot under .75 was a Nosler Ballistic tip 95 behind IMR 4350. 243 is pretty forgiving on powder options. Used IMR3031 in my Dad's 60's era 30-06 pushing anything from 125 to180 grain bullets. Keep the copper out of them, they'll shoot. Lap the bolt lugs. Simple and effective. If you're shooting original wood, float the barrel with a thin piece of plastic under the recoil lug.

 

[IMR4064]

I have a 60's era 700 243 that loves IMR3031 pushing 100 grain anything. Killed a bazillion deer with it using anything from 58 grain to 100 grain bullets. One that shot under .75 was a Nosler Ballistic tip 95 behind IMR 4350. 243 is pretty forgiving on powder options. Used IMR3031 in my Dad's 60's era 30-06 pushing anything from 125 to180 grain bullets. Keep the copper out of them, they'll shoot. Lap the bolt lugs. Simple and effective. If you're shooting original wood, float the barrel with a thin piece of plastic under the recoil lug.

the best group i ever got with the 243 was some 85 grain spitzers over 44 grains of h414 loaded in 1987 by a friend. it made clovers in the paper but it was also dusk and i noticed flames coming from the barrel.

i havent came across any 760 so i havent tried to recreate it. so far it shoots really well with the starting load of 4831 with 100 grain soft points or 95 sst.

 

[joshb]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Gary in MD]

H4350 is hard to beat in the 30-06 and 243 Winchester.
I tried StayBall6.5 in my 30-06 last year with 150 grain bullet - 3060 fps and very good accuracy.

 

[IMR4064]

H4350 is hard to beat in the 30-06 and 243 Winchester.
I tried StayBall6.5 in my 30-06 last year with 150 grain bullet - 3060 fps and very good accuracy.

im sitting on 2lbs of stayball 6.5. havent tried it yet. i was thinking of trying it with barnes 130 grain. lol get it up to 3400 fps or so. haha. idk

 

[IMR4064]

Welcome to the forum.

thanks josh

 

[IMR4064]

ok this is going to be the next ladder test. 165 interlock flat base with h4350 and federal brass. ill post results if it EVER gets below 100°f here. just too dang hot to shoot now.

 

[IMR4064]

I have a 60's era 700 243 that loves IMR3031 pushing 100 grain anything. Killed a bazillion deer with it using anything from 58 grain to 100 grain bullets. One that shot under .75 was a Nosler Ballistic tip 95 behind IMR 4350. 243 is pretty forgiving on powder options. Used IMR3031 in my Dad's 60's era 30-06 pushing anything from 125 to180 grain bullets. Keep the copper out of them, they'll shoot. Lap the bolt lugs. Simple and effective. If you're shooting original wood, float the barrel with a thin piece of plastic under the recoil lug.

ive been readong on floating barrels and im riding the fence. id surely have it done by a pro if i did. i plan on passing this one down to my grandkids one day


what do you think about bedding the stock? or glass bedding or what ever its called.

 

[snert]

I glass bedded every factory 700 wood stock rifle I ever owned and it always seemed to help a little, sometimes a lot. More a matter of consistency over time than huge improvements over "the last group shot" kinda stuff.
It isn't hard to do for a simple bedding job. I was always partial to Brownells Steel Bed myself, for that application.

My ADL 30-06 seemed to shoot about an inch with 165 Sierra SP over IMR 4350. For pure accuracy testing I used 168 Matchkings, just to find the rifle's abilities. A factory 700 in a sporter stock might shoot 3/4 inch, but most were 1 inch guns, honestly.

 

[joshb]

View attachment 1468084

ok this is going to be the next ladder test. 165 interlock flat base with h4350 and federal brass. ill post results if it EVER gets below 100°f here. just too dang hot to shoot now.

It’s getting a little cool up here in Delaware. 70-80’s. I’ll be heading past you in a week and a half, on my way to Kerrville. I need to work on my tan.
Bedding will help your accuracy. So will free floating the barrel. Both are pretty easy to do.
I recently bought a nice old 243. I’ll be looking for loads too.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

It’s getting a little cool up here in Delaware. 70-80’s. I’ll be heading past you in a week and a half, on my way to Kerrville. I need to work on my tan.
Bedding will help your accuracy. So will free floating the barrel. Both are pretty easy to do.
I recently bought a nice old 243. I’ll be looking for loads too.

Josh the way the heats been, I’d wait till Halloween to come back

 

[17cal Fan]

View attachment 1468084

ok this is going to be the next ladder test. 165 interlock flat base with h4350 and federal brass. ill post results if it EVER gets below 100°f here. just too dang hot to shoot now.

Manuals ! Good man !
I use Devcon Plastic Steel Putty for bedding and it's pretty easy to deal with. The plastic shim will give you a good idea of what's gonna happen when you bed it and costs nothing. Use enough shims to just float the barrel off the wood. Here's a link to one of my rifle builds that includes 2 links to really good bedding videos. http://centerfirecentral.com/lathe/third rifle.htm

 

[17cal Fan]

You are creating contact points for the action to sit on. The wood may or may not touch the action evenly and when pulled down with the action screws can twist or bow the action. The epoxy which is now the mirror image of the action contact points will make full even contact. The idea is that when you set the action into the bedding, no influences to the action occur when the screws are installed.

Rest your finger along the forearm at the junction where the barrel drops out of sight so that your finger is touching both the barrel and the wood. If you slightly loosen either screw on an unbedded action you might feel the barrel shift. We don't want any movement there. Movement indicates stress on the action.

 

[joshb]

Josh the way the heats been, I’d wait till Halloween to come back

I hear you, but the “heat” up here is worse. A gun guy is not treated well in Delaware. I can feel the tentacles of King Biden creeping into my life. Besides, I don’t like my fellow Texans suffering without me! I feel a little like a deserter.

 

[ShtrRdy]

I've used the following product and procedure to bed a 60's era Rem 700 ADL and it turned out great. Look for the Pro-bed 2000

What We Manufacture | Score High Gunsmithing

We Manufacture a variety of products use to accurize rifles including Probed 2000 Stock Bedding Epoxy and Pillar Bedding Kits for DIY Gunsmithing.

scorehi.com

 

[K22]

ive been readong on floating barrels and im riding the fence. id surely have it done by a pro if i did. i plan on passing this one down to my grandkids one day


what do you think about bedding the stock? or glass bedding or what ever its called.

In my experience, free floating works best with stocks that have a solid bedding system, either pillar, glass bedding or an aftermarket stockswith bedding blocks.

 

[IMR4064]

i never really liked the stock i have. its a darker wood adl thats got a few scratches amd wear and the pad is shot. i may look into a new bdl or cdl stock with the lighter finish. no sense doing all of that twice. some of them have metal blocks inside yo stiffen things up too