30-06 brass

[_shawn_]

i've been doing alot of searches trying to get more info on 30-06 brass. so far the only thing i've found out is winchester has more capacity then lapua and lapua tends to show pressure signs earlier.

the reason i'm researching brass is because i'm thinking about shooting some heavier bullets so a higher case capacity will come in handy.

so does anybody know off hand what the case capacity is in relation to each manafacturer for norma, hornady, winchester, remington, federal, nosler, and lapua. i'm looking for a high quality brass that still has a large capacity and if you know of another brand that fits by all means mention it

 

[EMorr]

Re: 30-06 brass

This is not a direct answer to your question but I still felt the need to say it.

I think 68cc of H2O is considered the norm for unfired 30-06 brass some brands run less and others may run more. It’s always a good idea to measure the case capacity if trying a new brand of brass so you will know if you need to lower your starting charge but I would not recommend raising a starting charge just because a certain brand of brass shows a higher capacity. Start at the recommended starting charge of your chosen powder and work your way up if you reach the book max charge and aren’t seeing pressure signs then you can cautiously continue to increase your charge but you had better know what you are doing. Buying a specific type of brass because it can hold more powder sounds like a bad idea to me. If you are at book max and seeing pressure signs but are not getting the performance you want then it’s time to look for a different powder.

Lapua, Nosler and Norma make some of the best brass out there, that is not to say that Winchester, Remington or Federal brass is not up to the task but buying it because of increased case capacity and hoping for a larger powder charge or more performance out of heavier bullets is not the way to go IMHO.

edit: Lower case capacity does not always mean less performance; in fact the lower case capacity will increase pressure and in some cases may increase performance.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: 30-06 brass

I would suggest that brand/volume case capacity variations are pretty far down on the list of priorities for load development.

It may appear possible to anticipate a need for greater case volume, but this is by no means assured.

For reasons of economy and availablity, I typically use Winchester (or Remington, but Winchester is usually the more available off the shelf where I buy), and because my regimen always includes the same phases of case prep, regardless of source, there is less value to me in seeking out higher quality/price brass.

In my load developement, I accept my case capacity as a given, then choose powder burn rate speeds based on pressure testing with various powders and the chosen bullet. Often one will find that individual case capacity varition within a brand lot are as great or more than variations between brands. I cull the really wildly incosistent individual cases, reserving them for foulers, etc. BTW, I measure with powder, not water, using a drop tube.

When pressure indicators get high and velocity increase slows down or goes away, i'm usually at or past max. When that's also happening with 10% or more excess space in the case, it's a clear indicator that my chosen powder burn rate speed is faster than optimal.

I stop pressure testing at the first signs of bolt drag on opening, or if two or more of the other pressure indicators suggest peaky pressures.

I have concluded that high presures do not gain as much in performance as they cost in bore longevity; and do my load development downward from an arbitrary and conservative max load.

On the other hand, if I cannot get enough powder into the case to generate moderately high working pressure signs and/or velocities are significantly below what published load data indicates a bullet/case combination is capable of, this generally indicates my chosen powder burn rate speed is slower than optimal.

Generally, a good load will be at or above 90% case capacity (with bullet seated, i.e., shaking the case will still move the powder around).

This percentage is sometimes referred to as load density percentage. Ideally, it will 100%, and and a small degree of compression is OK as long as you're not really well into the max pressure region.

By reducing powder charge mobility within the case, ignition consistency is improved, and this is one of the keys to developing a more accurate load.

Greg

 

[jwoolf]

Re: 30-06 brass

I've just put some brass up for sale. It's great brass and hard, if not impossible to come by these days. There's also some M72 match loaded available but, shipping may be prohibitive.

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2988769#Post2988769

 

[_shawn_]

Re: 30-06 brass

i probably should have started at the beginning that i fully intend on starting low and working on up on the powder charges.

right now i'm shooting remington brass with fed 210 primers,150gr nosler ballsitic tip, and 58.3gr imr 4350 with no pressure signs. i went as high as 58.7 in .1gr increments with no pressure signs but backed off for 2 reasons, 1 the higher i got the worse it shot and 2 i got nervous shooting that high over book max. pretty sure the bullets started coming apart or destabilizing the higher i got because the target got mangled. i'm also loading the bullets long so even with being over book max at 58.3 it's not a compressed load but it is very close to 100% filled.

i'm actually considering dropping down to the next node which was at 57.1 now that all the 58.3 stuff i rolled is gone....if i continue shooting the 150gr noslers but i'm considering moving to a less expensive bullet so i can shoot more. amax's and smk's are close to $15 per 100 cheaper then what i'm shooting now and the vlds are around $10 cheaper i just can't decide what grain to shoot. originally i was just going to step up to 208/210gr but since there is no place to shoot past 200y regularly i didn't see the point in going that heavy. a friend of mine has a place we can stretch out to 500y but that's the farthest i know of down here and i won't get to shoot that very often. so thinking about maybe doing 168gr or 175gr bullets but like i said i haven't decided yet.

 

[armorpl8chikn]

Re: 30-06 brass

What EMorr and Greg said I simply cannot expound upon, they told it like it is...or at least like it ought to be.
200yds and you might go to 500yds max? You don't need anything like even a 190SMK. 175SMK is what I would shoot unless you are hunting. If you are hunting go with the 165 Balistic Tip. Here is some good info on the 30-06: http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek098.html

If you are hunting you can substitute a good hunting bullet of like weight but be sure and drop your charge if you change much.

 

[Falar]

Re: 30-06 brass

I use Winchester since it has more case capacity then anything other than Norma (which is crazy expensive and hard to find). Like you I shoot heavy bullets and am looking for as much capacity as possible.