Heavy Bullets for .30-06 Springfield

[257Roberts]

I am getting ready to start loading for a vintage 1939 Model 70 Bull Gun, and plan to shoot it mostly at 600 and 1000 yards prone slung. My initial start with be the good ole 175gr SMK. These things are absolute hammers from my old 1903 Springfields, and I have had decent showings with them at 600 yards. However, we all know the .30cals fall short of the 6mm, 6.5mm and 7mm in terms of ballistic coefficent. To get into the same realm, 30cals need to get quite heavy.

I haven't run the ballistic comparison yet, so my question is, with the limited capacity of the '06 case, is there much value in going beyond the 175gr weight? Sacaraficing case capacity, speed and lighter recoil for BC. I am consdeirng bullets like, 190gr SMK, 195gr ELDM, 208gr ELDM.

My rifle has a 28" barrel. What velocities are realistic from a 190 class and 208 class bullet in .30-06?

 

[mac86951]

At ~20fps per inch, hodgdon online is your friend for checking combinations. Max velocity won't be most accurate, however.

190, you're looking ~2650 from a 24". So 2700+ from 28, but I'm betting your rifle would prefer ~2600-2650 (~54gr H4350)

-Mac

 

[darkangel_r2]

I am getting ready to start loading for a vintage 1939 Model 70 Bull Gun, and plan to shoot it mostly at 600 and 1000 yards prone slung. My initial start with be the good ole 175gr SMK. These things are absolute hammers from my old 1903 Springfields, and I have had decent showings with them at 600 yards. However, we all know the .30cals fall short of the 6mm, 6.5mm and 7mm in terms of ballistic coefficent. To get into the same realm, 30cals need to get quite heavy.

I haven't run the ballistic comparison yet, so my question is, with the limited capacity of the '06 case, is there much value in going beyond the 175gr weight? Sacaraficing case capacity, speed and lighter recoil for BC. I am consdeirng bullets like, 190gr SMK, 195gr ELDM, 208gr ELDM.

My rifle has a 28" barrel. What velocities are realistic from a 190 class and 208 class bullet in .30-06?

It depends on the length of your throat and twist rate. If you can seat them long 3.4-3.5 ish h4831sc and staball 6.5 can power a 208 out of a 28" to about 2750-2850fps. Staball might be able to do it at shorter lengths.

If you have a 10 twist go with the 200-208 (maybe 215) bergers or the hornady 208 eldm. If you have a 12 twist stick with 175ish weights and lower with h4350, rl16, and staball 6.5.

 

[perazziguy]

Do a search on the main AccurateShooter site. German Salazar had an article in which he tested heavy bullets in a 30-06 I believe. The heavier bullets when loaded to equal pressures performed better.

 

[3Sigma]

If your throat is long enough, 190 can go 2800 to 2850 from 26" bbl. Maybe close to 2900 with a 28"+ with slow power. 3.45 to 3.5" oal.

This is with 3 to 5 grains more powder than you see as a max in most manuals (which typically limit oal to 3.3"). Quickload and GRT both keep it under 60ksi.

No experience with the real heavies, but I would not be surprised if you could get close to WSM velocities with the right powders and chamber.

 

[dthomas]

You could have the throat lengthened and run the Berger 20x a little faster than the FTR guys run them.

 

[Ned Ludd]

You can readily compare predicted wind deflection between the well-documented lighter/faster loads and and bullets in the 200+ gr range using a ballistic calculator, then decide whether the difference is enough that you are willing to accept the extra recoil.

A couple years ago, I purchased a refurbished 03-A3 that had been turned into an 03-A4 during the process (i.e. an A-forgery ). My plan was to use this setup in our local Vintage Sniper Rifle match. I decided to go a different reloading route than most. Specifically, I wanted to use heavier bullets and a much slower-burning powder than is often used for such loads in this type of match. To that end, I went with H4831sc under Berger 168 Hybrids, 185 Juggernauts, and 200.20Xs. With the 24" barrel, I was able to achieve velocities with those bullets of ~2725 fps, 2685 fps, and 2540 fps, respectively. The predicted pressures for these loads (QuickLoad) were 48.5K psi, 53.7K psi, and 50.4K psi, respectively.

In terms of the predicted wind deflection, the 168 and 185 loads were about the same, whereas the 200.20X load was predicted to have about 0.5 MOA less wind deflection at 600 yd, and 1.0+ MOA less deflection at 1000 yd. That is a significant improvement in wind deflection with the 200.20X bullet. Is it worth the extra recoil? Only the shooter can answer that for themselves. You definitely get thumped [a lot] more with the 200s. Because of the steel buttplate, I used a shoulder pad, so it wasn't an issue of pain or anything like that. I had no difficulty in terms of maintaining precision with the 200s, either. So by my thinking, the 200s would be the way to go. I haven't ever got around to shooting one of the Vintage Sniper Rifle matches as yet, so I can't tell you how the 200.20X load actually performs at 600 yd. However, I am fairly certain the 2.5X scope is going to be much more of a limitation for me than the precision of the 200.20X bullet. I personally think its use would be a significant advantage over the [much] lighter bullets and faster-burning powders often used in such matches, but can't say for sure without having done it. It might not be the best way to go for someone that is recoil-sensitive, or that has difficulty with gun handling even when using lighter bullets and faster powders in the 30-06.

 

[Zero333]

30'06 with 28" bbl is gonna spit 200 gr bullets around 2,700 fps. +/-
Berger's 200.20x is one of the best LR 200 gr 30cal bullet.

Following powders will give you best velocities with 200 gr bullets.

RL-17
RL-16
Ramshot Hunter
N-550
Norma UPR
Accurate 4350
Norma 204
Ramshot Big Game
IMR-4350
CFE-223
H-414 / w-760
Hybrid 100V
H-4350
=========================

If your COAL is longer than 3.340" you can use the following powders...

RL-22
RL-23
RL-26
Norma MRP
H-4831 / H-4831sc
IMR-4831
IMR-4955
N-560
Accurate Magpro
Ramshot Magnum

 

[Capt. Oblivious]

200.20x or 208gr and the 215gr Hybrids with N550 / N560 or Norma MRP