.30-06: Recommend a twist rate and chamber reamer

[SWThomas]

I'm having my .30-06 Rem 700 rebuilt. The barrel will be a 26" Bartlein. I will be shooting 165-210 grain bullets. What twist would you go with?

1:10

or

1:11.25

Any recommendations on a chamber reamer? This will be a precision rifle that will see some occasional hunting use. I want the most precise chamber I can get. I will be handloading the ammo for it.

 

[Steve Blair]

A 10" twist has worked well in .30-'06 for 108 years. I don't see much reason to change it.

 

[mac86951]

Yup for the 210gr, you'll want the 1:10. It will do just fine for the 165 as well.

German Salazar has lots of info on the web about 30-06.

-Mac

 

[SWThomas]

Germans article says the 11 twist is optimal with bullets up to 210. I just wanted to see what everyone's thought are on the subject.

Any thoughts on a reamer?

 

[Steve Blair]

I have a 10" twist .308 that shoots Berger 155.5 Fullbore bullets extremely well. Shooting them at 2990 fps produces a Miller stability factor of 2.184, well above "optimal" stability. Yet, it still shoots very well. High quality, modern bullets are less subject to over spinning problems than bullets from years ago. A 10" twist with a 1½° leade, as in the "Serengeti" .30-'06 reamer, will produce excellent results. That reamer is PT&G print number 9685. German feels that the freebore should be lengthened for 210 grain bullets. My freebore for 230 Hybrids is .280". It will still work for 215 Hybrids but is optimized for 230's.

 

[ThunderDownUnder]

Germans article says the 11 twist is optimal with bullets up to 210. I just wanted to see what everyone's thought are on the subject.

Any thoughts on a reamer?

German's right, you only need look at the Berger bullet box to see that 11 T or higher is recommended for the 210s (Vld) or 200 hybrids. I would opt for the 10T barrel as you seem to be interested in the heavier 30 cal bullets. I've just built a F-Open rifle in 30-06AI and used a Krieger 10T, 5R barrel and it shoots really well. I'm launching 200gr hybrids at 2900 fps (32" barrel) and shooting one hole groups at 100 yards. If you want to shoot the heavier 30 cal bullets the AI version is worth considering as you pick up a little extra case capacity and 50 - 100 fps more than the standard 30-06. PTG do the reamer and you just need to stipulate what bullet you want it optimised for use in target or hunting.

I'm using lapua brass and fire forming with 155gr Vlds, so you could use this possibly for hunting while you fire form, as the accuracy is still good even fire forming. I only mention the AI as you seem to want to use the heavier high BC bullets. If you just want to shoot up to only 185gr bullets then the AI does not provide any real advantage and its best to stay with the standard case.

Ian

 

[wboggs]

Ian What powder are you using to get 2900 with a 200gr. in your Ackley Imp.? Also, what is the OAL of the round?
Thanks

 

[SWThomas]

Germans article says the 11 twist is optimal with bullets up to 210. I just wanted to see what everyone's thought are on the subject.

Any thoughts on a reamer?

German's right, you only need look at the Berger bullet box to see that 11 T or higher is recommended for the 210s (Vld) or 200 hybrids. I would opt for the 10T barrel as you seem to be interested in the heavier 30 cal bullets. I've just built a F-Open rifle in 30-06AI and used a Krieger 10T, 5R barrel and it shoots really well. I'm launching 200gr hybrids at 2900 fps (32" barrel) and shooting one hole groups at 100 yards. If you want to shoot the heavier 30 cal bullets the AI version is worth considering as you pick up a little extra case capacity and 50 - 100 fps more than the standard 30-06. PTG do the reamer and you just need to stipulate what bullet you want it optimised for use in target or hunting.

I'm using lapua brass and fire forming with 155gr Vlds, so you could use this possibly for hunting while you fire form, as the accuracy is still good even fire forming. I only mention the AI as you seem to want to use the heavier high BC bullets. If you just want to shoot up to only 185gr bullets then the AI does not provide any real advantage and its best to stay with the standard case.

Ian

Thanks for that info! I don't plan to shoot 210g bullets, I just wanted the ability to do so. Being that I can shoot a great distance effectively and also drop anything in North America with a 180g bullet, I'll be sticking with that for hunting. I'll stick with my 175s for paper punching.

Would there be any cons in going with a 1:10 twist and not shooting heavier bullets?

 

[ThunderDownUnder]

Thanks for that info! I don't plan to shoot 210g bullets, I just wanted the ability to do so. Being that I can shoot a great distance effectively and also drop anything in North America with a 180g bullet, I'll be sticking with that for hunting. I'll stick with my 175s for paper punching.

Would there be any cons in going with a 1:10 twist and not shooting heavier bullets?

There are no cons to shooting a 30-06 with a 10T barrel. I have an 11T and a 10T barrel and both are equally as good. The 11T barrel was a spare blank I had in heavy palma for F T/R that I decided to experiment with as a 30-06AI in F-Open. The result of that experiment ended up with me buying a 1.25" parallel barrel for F-Open as the accuracy using the 200gr hybrids was exceptional.

Ian

 

[ThunderDownUnder]

Ian What powder are you using to get 2900 with a 200gr. in your Ackley Imp.? Also, what is the OAL of the round?
Thanks

I'm using AR2209, (H4350) and the CBTO with 200gr Berger hybrids, (case base to ogive - using a Hornady comparator) is 2.735" in one of my barrels and 2.660" in another. One of the chambers was cut with a slighlty longer throat accidentally, but both shoot fine. Both chambers place the bottom of the bullet bearing surface, (boat tail junction) just ahead of the case neck/shoulder junction.

I also tried using AR2213SC, (H4831) as my 284 Shehane had best accuracy with this powder but found for the 30-06AI that AR2209 was better by a considerable margin. It provided greater accuracy with easy load development and less powder in the case. I also find that the Lapua brass is very good and consistent with fire formed cases good to go competition shooting with after the one firing.

Ian

 

[wboggs]

Ian Thanks for the info. I am running a standard 06 with the Berger 215 H. My best powder is also H4350. Mine are seated 2.595" using the Hornady insert so your chamber is a little longer than mine since I'm 0.02" off with my load. Using Lapua brass and a 30" Krieger 1-10, my most accurate load is 2650 and I can run up to about 2700 before I get case expansion. Have not tried the 200s but I doubt I could get much more than 2800 so your imp. case and longer throat might be something to consider. I'll try to get some 200s and see what my standard version will do.
The 06 is no shrinking violet when loaded properly.
Thanks again.
Bill

 

[SWThomas]

Can you guys tell me if I will be able to load rounds to the lands with this chamber and still have them fit an internal magazine?