Advice on Load Development Rem 700 - 30 06

[lanjo]

Hi All,

I was wondering if you guys can give me advice on how to logically build a load for a 30 06 Rem 700. I just got the gun new and want to develop a custom load for it. In the past I have always just bought factor ammo for deer, but I want to see if I can do better than the 2-3 MOA I usually get with the factory deer ammo. Just for fun. I reload for competitive pistol shooting, so I know the process and am somewhat experienced in it.

I took the gun to the range and got the following MOA at 100 yards for the following factory loads....

CMP Match Ammo 150 gr FMJ - 1 MOA
Federal Premium 180 gr Nosler Partition - 2 MOA
Federal 150 gr Power Shok - 2.5 MOA
Remington 165 gr Core Lokt - 1.5 MOA
Winchester 150 gr Power Point - 3 MOA

The CMP FMJ Match Ammo is the best. But you cant use FMJ for deer. From this data I would start with a Core Lokt bullet and try different bullet weights, powders and charges. Is this logical, or is it possible that the Power Point bullet would turn out to be the best with a different weight or powder - basically it is impossible to tell unless you tired the combination? In that case there is no logical steps to drilling down on a accurate load. You just have to try a bunch of stuff and see if you get lucky?

Where I sit with this data how do I logically go about this to try to get a sub MOA load - if it is even possible for this gun?

Any advice?

Best,

Joe

 

[Rsadams]

That is a list of factory ammo tried.... The one to try is Federal Gold Medal Match in whatever grain you shoot.... It's been around on store shelves here... Not exactly a hunting round but it will shoot far better than what you tried.... I didn't see what you will be hunting but for whitetail here in Texas there's been many many many dropped with a core-lokt bullet...

You need to find a decent bullet for your reloads , that depends on what your hunting and how far your shots will be taking place.....

 

[lanjo]

I will be hunting Virginia deer. They are a little on the smaller side. So I would think a 150 gr bullet would be max needed but I will shoot anything that is most accurate for the gun. Max shots would be in the 200 to 300 yard range.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

The problem(s) with most factory ammo, powder charge inconsistency , seating depth(your barrel may(does) require a specific bullet seating position. A flat base bullet would probably be the easiest for you to start load development. Tough part is purchasing components for testing. A 150-180 gr hunting bullet should not be to hard to find a load for, true sub 1moa may require more time and components then a "good deer load". Your core lok testing( if indeed 1.5 moa) would be fine out to 300 yards.

 

[Adam in WI]

What have you done to the rifle? With a good trigger and sound bedding, you could very likely get the 165 Core Loct down close to or under the 1 MOA mark. That's what I would do before burning too much powder.

 

[lanjo]

When I first got the rifle the thing would shoot 8 MOA. The crown was damaged and the lugs were seating unevenly - right from the factory. I sent it back to Remington (they made me pay for shipping which was outrageous) and complained. They recrowned the barrel and gave me a new bolt. They shot for group and got <1MOA (so they say). Other than that that is it. I like to tinker a littl at the reloading bench so I was going to see what I can do with a little experimentation.

Would Serra Game King bullets be an equivalent to Core Lokt? I don't see that I can get the Core Lokt bullets around here. But the Game Kings are available.

 

[MikeMcCasland]

GameKings are probably better than CoreLokt bullets; assuming the barrel likes them, they'll shoot accurately and will be easy to tune. Generally speaking, bullets from Sierra or Berger are going to be more accurate/consistent than other factory offerings.

I'm not sure how you're set for components, but I'd probably try ~2 powders, and ~2 primers with your chosen bullet. IMR 4350 or H4831sc would be where I'd start; both are great powders in that that application.

I'd do a powder test .020 off the lands, find a node based on vertical, then fine tune with depth. I bet you find something that'll shoot well.

Small deer inside 300 aren't hard to kill with a 30-06. I wouldn't get too worried about hitting certain velocity numbers; just stick with what's accurate.

 

[lanjo]

I have IMR 4350 and CCI large rifle primers (No 200). Most of the stuff I have in reloading is for bullseye pistol. I can try to get some of what you suggested Mike. Are the CCI primers OK, what other would you try?

 

[MikeMcCasland]

I have IMR 4350 and CCI large rifle primers (No 200). Most of the stuff I have in reloading is for bullseye pistol. I can try to get some of what you suggested Mike. Are the CCI primers OK, what other would you try?

The problem is, you never really know what's going to work best until you try it. Generally I try Fed and CCI in everything I'm shooting; I think most folks have the best luck with those. That said, Win/Rem primers can work well too.

The point being that your load will likely favor one primer over another. Cast as wide a net as you can/want to.

Regardless, components are difficult to come by, so you'll probably have to work with what you've got. Fortunately GameKings, CCI 200s and IMR 4350 is a combo that stands a good chance of working well.

 

[NZ_Fclass]

My accurate hunting load is 59.3g H4350, 165 Hornady tipped thingy, Federal LR Match primers. Not fussy on the primer. Winchester cases. Rifle is a 22in Parker Hale. Never checked the speed, but it outruns deer.

 

[Flycaster1977]

I use cci 200’s and imr4350 to load for my 06. I like the 150 grn bullet and that is what i started with.
I used noslers data and started at min load and worked to max in 1 grain increments. I load and shoot 3 of each load. When i find the 1 or 2 that look the most promising. I will load A half grain above and a half grain below that load. The most accurate group is usually what i go with.
However, i like to keep in mind the velocities that i want to stay around. As in i wouldnt use a load at the bottom of the spectrum if a load near the top was nearly as good or better.

As for primers, primer consistency is much more important than primer choice. They will all ignite powder, but if you work up a load with one primer, then switch to another primer, that load can be skewed all over. Just find a load and use rhe same primers for that load.
Also, record everything in a notebook or binder. Its easy to forget or get mixed up when testing loads. I also mark my loaded rounds with a sharpie so i dont mess that up either.

 

[RegionRat]

Your H4350 and CCI 200 is a fine starting point, and these days a bird in hand...

H4350 is a very sought after powder because it works very well in this cartridge class and is one of the best in terms of temperature stability. That makes it very popular with hunters as well as competition shooters. H4350 is imported in bulk delivery and then repackaged and distributed, so there can be long dry spells when everybody has to wait for the next shipment.

The same will go for your choice of bullet. Components have been very tricky to find for a long time and it is hard to know what you will find.

You should try and find a good hunting bullet that you like and in a weight that works well with your H4350. The 165 weight range tends to work better with the 4350 than the 150s, but these days we often have to take what we can get.

A 180 would be a little overkill, and a 125 would be light for the 4350. The 150 or 165 would fit the bill if you can find any.

That CMP ammo is a typical Garand load so it isn't hot. They run about 2740 fps from a Garand on average and that would typically be about 49 gr H4895 plus or minus.

If you ever find yourself doing tests like the above, it would be good to get some velocity numbers. For a given bullet, that speed would tell you what your gun likes as well as what it doesn't like. Suppose for example you found those magic bullets that were shooting really tight. You would be able to run a charge ladder and copy their speed with minimal effort by knowing the speed range ahead of time. Having that speed data could potentially save you a lot of steps.

No worries if you didn't get the speed data. A Rem 700 in 30-06 was and is an extremely popular rig and there are many well known safe starting points that should get you rolling.

If you can find some of those Sierra 165 gr Game Kings, you could try from 57.5 gr H4350 plus or minus, seated at 3.340 OAL as a starting point to see how it does. Good Luck and Good Luck on the hunt.

ETA: Out of curiosity I looked around on the web to see if those Sierra #2145 are laying around and didn't find any. Some email shared on this forum was supposed to be the list of bullets Sierra was going to be running for the near term and that bullet wasn't one of them. If it was me, I would try and get any decent hunting bullets and roll with them for this fall without being too picky.

 

[Rsadams]

When I first got the rifle the thing would shoot 8 MOA. The crown was damaged and the lugs were seating unevenly - right from the factory. I sent it back to Remington (they made me pay for shipping which was outrageous) and complained. They recrowned the barrel and gave me a new bolt. They shot for group and got <1MOA (so they say). Other than that that is it. I like to tinker a littl at the reloading bench so I was going to see what I can do with a little experimentation.

Would Serra Game King bullets be an equivalent to Core Lokt? I don't see that I can get the Core Lokt bullets around here. But the Game Kings are available.

Definitely don't be scared of the Gameking bullets.... It's just personal preference like a lit of things but I like a lead nose bullet over a tipped bullet for deer.... Here you shoot around 100 to 150 yards because of the brush normally... Some bullets want speed and some not so much to open correctly so at further distance a bullet that blows up at close distance would be ok.... In my experience the core-lokt works well at short range , not so much at long distance becouse you lose speed and vice versa for other bullets...

 

[Downeast]

I did a little horse trading lately for some Nosler 168's and pulled my Nosler manual off the shelf, checked the most accurate powder listed and charge weight (IMR 4350 at max of 57 grains), loaded two grains below max and shot a 3 round group at 100 that measured 1 1/4 inch. I lightened the trigger from 4 pounds to 1 1/2 pounds (finally, after owning the darn thing for over 10 years) and if it ever stops raining I'll check the group once more. So anyway I'm good for hunting. Sierra prints some hunting and accuracy loads as well. I shoot a lot of Berger bullets in my target rifles but they don't publish any recommended hunting or accuracy loads. I guess they don't take much stock in their products.

So, try some of the Nosler or Sierra recipes. You will be surprised and with a little tweaking you can tighten them up even more.

Nosler Load Data

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[Jtate]

Berger 168 classic hunter and H4350

 

[Intheshop]

Sierra's 150g Gameking with worked up loads of IMR4350 is dynamite on Virginia deer. Used that combo out of several '06's for 3 or 4 decades. Just never needed "premium" or boutique bullets for deer?

Accuracy?.... oh heck yeah. But some sort of special construction never seemed to matter. Good luck with your project.

 

[Nick Caprinolo]

When shooting for groups in a hunting rifle, it is important to realize that heat is you worst enemy. I have a Remington 700 in 30-06. It has what I call a pencil barrel which gets too hot after the second round fired.

When shooting groups, the first round will usually be very close to point of aim. second shot will be close and the third round will be spaced out considerably. By the time the third shot is fired, the barrel is too hot to comfortably touch. One minute of angle with this caliber is about all you can expect. Hunting rifles are designed for one shot. If you have to take a second shot, the animal is usually running and you will most likely be trailing it.

 

[338 dude]

Hi All,

I was wondering if you guys can give me advice on how to logically build a load for a 30 06 Rem 700. I just got the gun new and want to develop a custom load for it. In the past I have always just bought factor ammo for deer, but I want to see if I can do better than the 2-3 MOA I usually get with the factory deer ammo. Just for fun. I reload for competitive pistol shooting, so I know the process and am somewhat experienced in it.

I took the gun to the range and got the following MOA at 100 yards for the following factory loads....

CMP Match Ammo 150 gr FMJ - 1 MOA
Federal Premium 180 gr Nosler Partition - 2 MOA
Federal 150 gr Power Shok - 2.5 MOA
Remington 165 gr Core Lokt - 1.5 MOA
Winchester 150 gr Power Point - 3 MOA

The CMP FMJ Match Ammo is the best. But you cant use FMJ for deer. From this data I would start with a Core Lokt bullet and try different bullet weights, powders and charges. Is this logical, or is it possible that the Power Point bullet would turn out to be the best with a different weight or powder - basically it is impossible to tell unless you tired the combination? In that case there is no logical steps to drilling down on a accurate load. You just have to try a bunch of stuff and see if you get lucky?

Where I sit with this data how do I logically go about this to try to get a sub MOA load - if it is even possible for this gun?

Any advice?

Best,

Joe

More than likely your barrel is a one in 12 twist my personal experiences have been to stick with a 150 grain bullet 180s were starting to keyhole for me a 165 might be on the ragged edge

 

[STOMP442]

Like has been said above, H4350 and just about any bullet of your choosing should produce excellent results. Another powder that I have had good results with that may be a bit easier to find is IMR4064. This powder works well with 150-168 bullets.

 

[lb-ft]

Ed Harris: America’s Greatest, The All-Around .30-’06! – www.GrantCunningham.com

This article is a great read. The ‘06 really is fantastic.

To accomplish what you’re after, 150 class hunting bullet with the already mentioned H4895 or with IMR4064 or the likes will be plenty of power, lighter on recoil, and therefore easier to shoot precisely.