Has anyone loaded 30-06 with light bullets for short range?

[stifffingers]

Trying to get a good result at 100yds for a friend. His only rifle is a Rem 700, 30-06, with 10twist. The bullets I have on hand are 168gr.bt SMK, and 115gr. Berger target FB. Using Bergers twist rate calculator they both will stabilize very well. Getting close with the 168, two touching, third half inch away but on the same plane. He's learning but doesn't have wind flags yet and it's not a target rifle. Would a load worked up with the 115gr bullet do any better? He has a Sinclair Competition front rest and a forearm adaptor and a rear bag and a Sightron 42x scope. He's a retired welder which left his eyes a little wore out. He'll be getting a proper bench rest rifle in the spring. Just want to get him to have fun learning Anybody have any experience with light bullets?

 

[pacificman]

I just recently played around with some 110 grain v-max in my 30-06. With 54.8 grains of Varget I'm
getting good groups at 100 yards...5 rounds in a 3/4 inch groups was just fine for goofing around I thought
anyways. Getting just over 3000fps....(can't remember exact average velocity)....but was having some
fun with my old ot'6.

 

[Doug Beach]

125gr Speer TNT’s.

 

[dstoenner]

I use SMK 125’s for my 1903 and Garands. For the Garand I have to run 50 gn of h4895 for it to cycle reliably. For my 1903 I go down to 46 gn.

David

 

[Nature Boy]

I have an accurate load using Hornady 125 SSTs in my 03A3 and it’s original 2 groove 1:10 twist barrel

Tried some 110 VMAXs and none of them made it to the 100 yard target before blowing up in a puff of lead and copper dust

 

[Laurie]

Read Ken Waters' 'Pet Loads' and it seems that when the 30-06 ruled US competitive rifle shooting and 200 yards competitions or stages were common, one favoured formula as an alternative to the ubiquitous 168gn SMK and 4895 or 4064 was a relatively heavy number with a far-from-filling-the-case amount of medium-quick powder. Back in 1977, Water's large piece in Handloader magazine had match loads such as the 185gn Speer-Lapua (now sold as the Lapua D46 rebated boat-tail FMJBT) with IMR-4064, likewise the 200gn SMK with the same powder.

The 'most accurate' load though (in a Winchester 70 target rifle) still used the old 30-06 favourite - IMR-4350 - again behind the 200gn SMK.

THE source for more up to date 30-06 match loads, German Salazar's 'A Rifleman's Blogspot' has sadly disappeared. German used the D46 a lot IIRC despite it being a very dated design now as well as more modern designs such as the Berger Juggernaut and he regarded the old and largely overlooked IMR-4320 as an excellent choice for such bullets.

(Interestingly, when Ken Waters moved onto the 308 as a replacement for the aught-six, he used what would now be regarded as very fast burners in some of his match loads - eg H322 in loads with the 180gn SMK and 190gn Winchester Match alongside the more usual medium to medium-slow numbers. MVs were ludicrously low for these H322 loads by today's standards - 2,279 fps from 37gn H322 and the 180gn SMK; 2,290 fps from 36gn with the 190 W-W BT Match - but these were mainly for shorter distance shooting. July 1979 'Handloader' 24-inch 1:12 twist heavy barrel Winchester 70 Match.)

The 1:10 inch twist works well with a wide range of mid to heavyweight bullets, so there is no reason to discount models like the 185gn Juggernaut, 190gn SMK, 210gn Berger BT. I'd suggest looking at these rather than lighter bullets in the 115-125gn bracket. Sierra has a trio of outstanding bullets for this cartridge, now elderly and therefore often overlooked, but very useful and easy to 'tune' for shorter distances - the 168gn, 175gn and 190gn MatchKings.

 

[wboggs]

Trying to get a good result at 100yds for a friend. His only rifle is a Rem 300, 30-06, with 10twist. The bullets I have on hand are 168gr.bt SMK, and 115gr. Berger target FB. Using Bergers twist rate calculator they both will stabilize very well. Getting close with the 168, two touching, third half inch away but on the same plane. He's learning but doesn't have wind flags yet and it's not a target rifle. Would a load worked up with the 115gr bullet do any better? He has a Sinclair Competition front rest and a forearm adaptor and a rear bag and a Sightron 42x scope. He's a retired welder which left his eyes a little wore out. He'll be getting a proper bench rest rifle in the spring. Just want to get him to have fun learning Anybody have any experience with light bullets?

I have used the nosler 125 bt with a reduced load of h4895 to get 1/2 moa. See hodgdon for reduced h4895 load data. Little recoil and very accurate. A great practice load.
Bill
.

 

[Twoboxer]

Before I rebarreled and reworked my then 50 year-old Rem 700 BDL, I developed loads for 123gr Lapua FMJ Spitzers over the range 2850-3150fps. Was trying anything to get consistent groups.

Looking now at that 5 year-old data I can't see any significant difference in the pattern of test results at 100 yds between those targets and those from heavier bullets (150gr and up).

The issues were with the rifle, not the ammo. After removing the front sling swivel to get it off the barrel, replacing the trigger and stock, then rebarreling, bedding, truing . . . IOW leaving only the old reworked action lol . . . well, the results were much better of course.

FWIW, never used 123gr again. After testing 168gr FGMM, my own 168gr SMKs worked very well though I eventually settled on 175gr TMKs for better performance at much longer ranges.

 

[dstoenner]

I have used the nosler 125 bt with a reduced load of h4895 to get 1/2 moa. See hornady for reduced h4895 load data. Little recoil and very accurate. A great practice load.
Bill
.

Actually it is Hodgdon you go for the reduced load H4895 not Hornady. And it does work and saves the shoulder

David

 

[K22]

Not for the 06 but for the 308. My Tikka T3 is a light weight rifle and I don't handle the recoil well anymore. So I loaded some 125 Nosler BT's and 125 grain Hornady SST's behind 40.0 grains of H4895. The idea was a low recoil but effective deep woods load where shots are rarely if ever over 150 yards.

I was pleasantly surprised at the tight groups, under 1" and the comfortable recoil. The load is fun to shoot. At 2550 to 2600 f/s it has plenty of energy out to 150 yards to cleanly take a deer although I haven't take a deer with this load yet. I did manage a coyote and it crushed him.

 

[wboggs]

Actually it is Hodgdon you go for the reduced load H4895 not Hornady. And it does work and saves the shoulder

David

Thanks for the correction. I have edited my original post. I hope people try it. They will be pleasantly surprised.
Bill

 

[Pwc]

The issues were with the rifle, not the ammo. After removing the front sling swivel to get it off the barrel, replacing the trigger and stock, then rebarreling, bedding, truing . . . IOW leaving only the old reworked action lol . . . well, the results were much better of course.

Sounds like George Washington's hatchet; the handle was replaced twice and the head only once.

 

[#40Fan]

Trying to get a good result at 100yds for a friend. His only rifle is a Rem 700, 30-06, with 10twist. The bullets I have on hand are 168gr.bt SMK, and 115gr. Berger target FB. Using Bergers twist rate calculator they both will stabilize very well. Getting close with the 168, two touching, third half inch away but on the same plane. He's learning but doesn't have wind flags yet and it's not a target rifle. Would a load worked up with the 115gr bullet do any better? He has a Sinclair Competition front rest and a forearm adaptor and a rear bag and a Sightron 42x scope. He's a retired welder which left his eyes a little wore out. He'll be getting a proper bench rest rifle in the spring. Just want to get him to have fun learning Anybody have any experience with light bullets?

I have a bunch of 125 TNTs. Want some to test out? 40 pack do you?

 

[270WinDude]

My 270 shoots 110 vmax well with every powder I've tried. However it's 270, there's like 2 choices basically and they're pretty similar. With 308 you have tons and I feel like the 110vmax of that diameter is best suited for something with less capacity like a 300BO. I'd go with the 125tnts actually for the lowest weight but that's just my arbitrary opinion. Or go through the manuals and load data to find a relatively fast powder that you can get about a 85-95 percent fill on the case. Otherwise if you are serious about getting great accuracy, as mentioned above, the heavier bullets might be best or stick with what you're doing. I do that and feel like an idiot shooting a cannon for 25yd benchrest when I'm shooting 150gr bullets with 60gr of powder at 100 yards but in a strange way it is practical for me. I choose to buy light weight varmint bullets for my 270 thinking it would be my 100 yard benchrest plinking bullets but my opinion has changed and as dumb as I feel, I like the heavies for my short range too. I'm curious what can be pulled out of a rem700 in 30-06 though so if you ever feel like posting updates it'd be appreciated.

 

[Homerange]

Trying to get a good result at 100yds for a friend. His only rifle is a Rem 700, 30-06, with 10twist. The bullets I have on hand are 168gr.bt SMK, and 115gr. Berger target FB. Using Bergers twist rate calculator they both will stabilize very well. Getting close with the 168, two touching, third half inch away but on the same plane. He's learning but doesn't have wind flags yet and it's not a target rifle. Would a load worked up with the 115gr bullet do any better? He has a Sinclair Competition front rest and a forearm adaptor and a rear bag and a Sightron 42x scope. He's a retired welder which left his eyes a little wore out. He'll be getting a proper bench rest rifle in the spring. Just want to get him to have fun learning Anybody have any experience with light bullets?

Yeah, trying to learn to shoot well with a sporter spitting medium weight hunting bullets isn't the easiest and will likely teach your buddy to flinch. Using lightweight pills will definitely grow his skill and confidence and give valuable trigger time for someone that might not have done a lot of shooting.
Decades ago as a youngster 180's out of my pops 308 taught me to flinch, a bad habit that took decades to correct to the point where I can now cloverleaf all the sporters I have however I contribute the greatest influence to shooting well is an ordinary brand 223 with a good trigger.
For the bigger calibers I do use lighter pills in order to keep recoil manageable so to not fall into old flinching habits.
I suggest you use something in the 120-130gr range as they still give a nudge but won't hurt or startle a shooter. Even the cheap 130gr projectiles are capable of sub 1/2 MOA from a sporter when the right formula is found. A 308 load I use for our thin skinned medium deer is Hornady 130's, FB SP, a max load of 50gr AR2208/Varget for a velocity of ~3000.
Some guidance for your buddy will help when at the bench as just the little mistakes in technique will affect results. Watch for all the little things you take for granted, his breathing, trigger pull, rifle hold, what his eyes are doing at release....all the silly little shit ! Get him to sissy pad up if you must to get confidence into his shooting.
Good luck.

 

[drags]

I have a enfield that has been customized with a different barrel the barrel is of a unknown maker, the scope is a vintage Balvar 8. I shoot 125 gr STMK, 125 gr NBT and speer 125 gr TNT using imr3031, imr4064 and R7 all loads are at 3000 FPS and all loads are just under 1 MOA. I like the imr3031 load the best.
Drags

 

[Newtire]

Trying to get a good result at 100yds for a friend. His only rifle is a Rem 700, 30-06, with 10twist. The bullets I have on hand are 168gr.bt SMK, and 115gr. Berger target FB. Using Bergers twist rate calculator they both will stabilize very well. Getting close with the 168, two touching, third half inch away but on the same plane. He's learning but doesn't have wind flags yet and it's not a target rifle. Would a load worked up with the 115gr bullet do any better? He has a Sinclair Competition front rest and a forearm adaptor and a rear bag and a Sightron 42x scope. He's a retired welder which left his eyes a little wore out. He'll be getting a proper bench rest rifle in the spring. Just want to get him to have fun learning Anybody have any experience with light bullets?

Yes, I have. I was influenced by an article written by Jim Carmichael and loaded a bunch of 125 and 130 grain jacketed bullets over from 33 to 38 gr. of Reloader #7 (RX-7). They were very accurate and left the muzzle at between 2300-2500 fps. The 130 gr. bullet was one designed for the TC Contender and wasn’t supposed to just splatter like a varmint bullet. Now, I see that Hornady and others make serious deer bullets for these. They come in .310” diameter but an ordinary Lee sizing die (or NOE Sizing die) will size them down to .308” with no troubles. Put a little case sizing lube on them and they push right thru. Even tho these sizers were made for cast bullets, they will size even a .312” diameter bullet down to .308” with very little effort and no damage to the bullet that I could see. So, have fun and post your results. I have a bad case of spinal stenosis which limits my hunting ability or else I would give them a try on some game.

 

[ebb]

My truck gun is a 30-06 and I knew it would never be shot over 200- 250 yds so i tried 125BTs and 130 SMKs. It seemed to like the BTs better and I thought I could load it down and have a lite recoiling load that was pleasant to shoot. When developing the load, I got up into some hot loads and it shoot the best groups up there. So now after all this I could not give up the best accuracy, so it still kicks the snot out of you.

 

[AMG04]

+1 for Speer 125 TNTs. I got several thousand cheap and run them over H4895.

Haven't tried the reduced load version, but I might give it a shot.

 

[Rickhem]

I'm another firmly on the 125TNT bandwagon. Using those bullets and IMR4895, I shot a sub 1" group at 100 yards with my dad's 700BDL, and that was for 10 shots. I still have that one in my loading binder.
I've loaded those bullets for my Garand, and they work fantastic. And while not specifically 30-06, I also used them for my .308 with excellent results.