Good morning. New here, PA varmint shooter seeking advice.

[str8tshootr]

So... I came across this site while looking for load data and liked it enough to join because there seem to be a lot of very good information being shared. I use three guns in the pursuit of my hobby.
1. Howa 1500 Mini action .223 w/ 22" 1/8 twist barrel. 100 - 400 yd groundhog rifle
2. Ruger Precision Rifle 6mm CM w/ 24" 1/7.5 twist. 400 - 800 yd groundhog, coyote rifle
3. Steyr professional 30-06 w/ 22" 1/10 Deer rifle
The powders on hand that I use:
Varget
H4350
IMR 4064
IMR 4895
BLC-2

Bullets for the .223:
50g V-max
53 HP match
55g V-max
60g V-max
69g BTHP

Bullets for the 6mm:
55g Nosler balistic tip
58g Z-max
87g Hornady BTHP
87g V-max
95g Nosler BT
100g Hornady BTSP
105 Hornady BTHP match

'06 bullets:
125g Nosler BT
125g Sierra SP spitzer
150g Hornady BTSP
150g Serria SPBT
165g Hornady BTSP interlock
180g Nosler BT
208g Hornady ELD match

Rather that reinvent the wheel and minimize waste I would like to know if anyone has a pet load that uses a combination of any of the above.
I would also like to know if there is a way to determine how far off the lands a bullet is without using a bullet comparator if that is possible. If it isn't can you recommend a good one that doesn't break the bank. Is it really necessary to know?

Thanks in advance, I look forward to your input.

 

[Adam in WI]

Each cartridge I load, I have a resized case that's been cut from the mouth to just into the body of the case. This will hold a bullet with enough tension to keep it in place, but lightly enough that the rifling will finish seating it. This also lets you see how far above or below the base of the neck/ shoulder junction the bullet is. I use these cases each time I try a new bullet to see what overall length "touch" is.

 

[dgeesaman]

Im not a believer in pet loads. Unless you get lucky, it’s no more likely to be the best in your barrel than any other reasonable load. Barrels vary, powders vary (and vary still more in storage), primers matter, brass lot varies.

Feel free to try pet loads but nobody has the same wheel - so you’re not reinventing anything.

 

[K22]

The Frankfort Arsenal tool (mine is homemade version of their concept) is cheap, easy to use with good repeatability for measuring base to ogive fit in your rifle chamber.

Keep in mind, hunting bullet ogives can vary quite a bit so you will not necessarily obtain consistent measurements even within a lot. For a hunting application, I would seat the bullets at least .020" off the lands plus take into consideration cartridge fit in the magazine.

While more tedious to measure several bullets in a lot to obtain a useable average, the old manual method of a split neck and bullet seated long then pushed into the chamber will work.

As far as "pet-loads", what works in someone else's rifle will not necessarily work best in yours. A good starting point is the "accuracy" loads published in reputable reloading manuals such as Lyman, Sierra, Nosler as a starting point.

While I do not have any experience with the 6mm CM, I have loaded both the 223 and 30 06 extensively. There are well established powder and bullet combinations for these calibers which are published in the aforementioned manuals.

Bottom line on "pet loads" is that you should start with published data and do your own load development for your rifle if you want optimum results. There just isn't any short cut to this approach for the best combo in your rifle.

 

[nmkid]

Check out the "Wheeler Method" for finding and determining your O.A.L. YouTube.

 

[357Mag]

So... I came across this site while looking for load data and liked it enough to join because there seem to be a lot of very good information being shared. I use three guns in the pursuit of my hobby.
1. Howa 1500 Mini action .223 w/ 22" 1/8 twist barrel. 100 - 400 yd groundhog rifle
2. Ruger Precision Rifle 6mm CM w/ 24" 1/7.5 twist. 400 - 800 yd groundhog, coyote rifle
3. Steyr professional 30-06 w/ 22" 1/10 Deer rifle
The powders on hand that I use:
Varget
H4350
IMR 4064
IMR 4895
BLC-2

Bullets for the .223:
50g V-max
53 HP match
55g V-max
60g V-max
69g BTHP

Bullets for the 6mm:
55g Nosler balistic tip
58g Z-max
87g Hornady BTHP
87g V-max
95g Nosler BT
100g Hornady BTSP
105 Hornady BTHP match

'06 bullets:
125g Nosler BT
125g Sierra SP spitzer
150g Hornady BTSP
150g Serria SPBT
165g Hornady BTSP interlock
180g Nosler BT
208g Hornady ELD match

Rather that reinvent the wheel and minimize waste I would like to know if anyone has a pet load that uses a combination of any of the above.
I would also like to know if there is a way to determine how far off the lands a bullet is without using a bullet comparator if that is possible. If it isn't can you recommend a good one that doesn't break the bank. Is it really necessary to know?

Thanks in advance, I look forward to your input.

Str8 -
Howdy !
You can apply a small amount of neck tension to an inert case... sufficient enough to lightly hold a trial bullet in-place.

You can use a black marker to darken the bullet exposed outside of the case neck.

Starting w/ the bullet seated in an inert case, try closing the bolt / action s-l-o-w-l-y, feeling for resistance of the inert cartridge to go into "battery" ( bolt or action closes with normal forces ).

When the action won't close,adjust the seating die to seat the bullet deeper into the case ; and retry. You can coarsely gage how excessively far off your lands you are, by how far the bolt ( example bolt action ) is positioned back in the load/eject port the bolt is sitting..... while resistance to bolt closing ( example bolt action ) is felt.

You can also use the bolt recess in the stock ( example bolt action ) to help gage bolt advancement fwd, as you continue seating the bullet deeper; incrementally.

And of course... The closer you get to going into battery... the slower/more deliberate you proceed. At some point....the gun will go into battery.

*** What you will be looking for, are marks on the bullet put there by contact w/ the lands.*
The black marker ( while not absolutely required ) can help to make bullet lands engraving marks more easy to see. If your barrel has 5 lands say, and the lands aren't eroded...
you should be able to see 5 engraved lands marks on the bullet. Repeat the process
until those marks on the bullet are no longer seen.

You can then adjust the seating die to seat the sample bullet in deeper, to ultimately position the bullet clear of the lands. Record that dimension, taken from your seated bullet "comparator" ( or from whatever device you use ). I myself use a Sinclair bullet comparator, along w/ a vernier caliper. Works for me. YRMV.

You can from THAT point.... seat the bullet deeper in the case or, out closer or even into the lands; as desired.

All this is not as tedious or time consuming as it might sound. You're basically only performing the process once... for each different bullet chosen. You can also use the recorded measurement as a bench mark, to help watch for throat erosion.

And hey....if the trial bullet becomes too highly marked up w/ lands engraving marks,
measure the test inert cartridge as mentioned above, put a new bullet in-place; and continue the process starting from the same seated depth you were using w/ the first bullet.


With regards,
357Mag

 

[bozo699]

Check out the "Wheeler Method" for finding and determining your O.A.L. YouTube.

^^^^^^^This
Wayne

 

[Zero333]

223rem - 69 gr - 25 gr Varget

6mm CM - 105 BTHP - 43 gr H-4831sc

30'06 - 150 -165 gr with ???? others will chime in but can't go wrong with Varget or H-4895 with 150 gr bullets and H-4350 works good with 165 gr bullets.

 

[joshb]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[grovey]

Reload Data Search

Alot of loads here, but it's probably a good idea to cross reference the data and work up to the load if it seems warm.

 

[cmysix]

WIN 760 for the .30-06, you can shoot any bullet with it.

 

[std7mag]

@str8tshootr ,

Greetings from Altoona!!

The only cartridge that I share with you on a regular basis is the 223 Rem.
Mine ( rather my wife's) is a Savage 110 FP with a 24 inch 1:9 barrel.
I've been using Alliant PP2000MR with 69-70gr bullets.
69gr SMK
69gr TMK
70gr RDF

 

[C.O. Shooter]

Welcome from Centre County.

 

[Edo]

So... I came across this site while looking for load data and liked it enough to join because there seem to be a lot of very good information being shared. I use three guns in the pursuit of my hobby.
1. Howa 1500 Mini action .223 w/ 22" 1/8 twist barrel. 100 - 400 yd groundhog rifle
2. Ruger Precision Rifle 6mm CM w/ 24" 1/7.5 twist. 400 - 800 yd groundhog, coyote rifle
3. Steyr professional 30-06 w/ 22" 1/10 Deer rifle
The powders on hand that I use:
Varget
H4350
IMR 4064
IMR 4895
BLC-2

Bullets for the .223:
50g V-max
53 HP match
55g V-max
60g V-max
69g BTHP

Bullets for the 6mm:
55g Nosler balistic tip
58g Z-max
87g Hornady BTHP
87g V-max
95g Nosler BT
100g Hornady BTSP
105 Hornady BTHP match

'06 bullets:
125g Nosler BT
125g Sierra SP spitzer
150g Hornady BTSP
150g Serria SPBT
165g Hornady BTSP interlock
180g Nosler BT
208g Hornady ELD match

Rather that reinvent the wheel and minimize waste I would like to know if anyone has a pet load that uses a combination of any of the above.
I would also like to know if there is a way to determine how far off the lands a bullet is without using a bullet comparator if that is possible. If it isn't can you recommend a good one that doesn't break the bank. Is it really necessary to know?

Thanks in advance, I look forward to your input.

223

50 vmax with 27.2 grns Varget has shot very well in any 223. Friends have also said the same thing.