What Are Popular Loads For 30-06 SPRNG Bolt Action

[bryce01]

RE: Ruger77 MRK II, 30-06, LA, STNLSS
Vortex 6-36x50, Mil-Dot
Harris Bipod BRM-S, Timney Trigger, Hogue Overmolded Stock

I will be confined to a range with targets from 100 to 200 yards through September. October, will have access to a range on a lease where one can shoot in excess of 1,000 yards.

1. What size target(s) should I use.
2. For a start, number of pounds for trigger.
3. Think that I will shoot in the vicinity of 500 yards. What kind of bullet, brass, primers and powder would be good for target shooting (non-game). I will be reloading October and thinking about using Redding dies.

Would appreciate some recommendations. Thnx, ba

 

[bohem]

Re: What Are Popular Loads For 30-06 SPRNG Bolt Action

1) Start with a big piece of paper so that if you're off by a bit you can figure out what's going on. A piece of Kraft brown paper with an orange sticker in the middle works nicely for this.

2) This is not your priority concern. If you haven't already adjusted it, leave it alone. The Timney's come set around the max point of the model, at worst case it's 4lb. Until you're shooting comfortably with the rifle just leave it.

3) Try this thread for loads. For 500yd in a 30-06 just about anything you try will get you there.

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1111823#Post1111823

Redding dies are good but there are a lot of choices. Do some more reading in here and things will start to make more sense before you drop money on anything.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: What Are Popular Loads For 30-06 SPRNG Bolt Action

Your post does not specify barrel length, twist, or weight profile. I would consider such info essential if I were to consider offering load data.

I reviewed the above link and think the loads given there are very reasonable.

For distances to 500yd, I would suggest Sierra 150gr and 155gr MatchKings for paper, and 150gr GameKings for moderately (deer size) big game. I see little advantage to using heavier bullets at such distances, and from a lightweight rifle, heavier bullets can be somewhat and unnecessarily punishing under sustained fire conditions.

For distances to 1000yd, the 175 will definitely work, the 168 might. Best SR/MR load I ever used was Fed Gold Medal 168gr. Used it with my Featherweight M70, a Tasco scope, and a Harris bipod to place 4th in the 1997 NJ State Sniper Championship match.

As my post within the link suggests, I make the effort to come up with something of a common load for my Garand and bolt guns, both of which are lightweight, an M70 and a Ruger 77 MK1.

To save time digesting the above link, my loads use Win or Rem brass, Win WLR primers, and 50.0gr of IMR-4064 with 150, 155gr bullets, 49.0gr with 165, 168gr bullets, and 48.0gr with 175, 180gr bullets. They are directly out of the NRA's <span style="font-style: italic">Garand Reprint</span>. For hunting I also like Nosler Partition and Ballistic Tips, and Hornady SSTs. For .308 and .30-'06, I mainly like IMR-4064 as a regular goto propellent. Varget's pretty good too, I hear.

For the most part, my dies are usually regular 2-die RCBS F/L and neck ball sets.

Greg

 

[bryce01]

Re: What Are Popular Loads For 30-06 SPRNG Bolt Action

<span style="font-weight: bold">Thanks For The Hands Down</span>

Will do as recommended. What is best, a two or three die kit (I'm confused in this area).

thnks, ba

 

[jet_lagged]

Re: What Are Popular Loads For 30-06 SPRNG Bolt Action

2 die set is normally a full-length sizing die and seating die. 3 die set adds a neck sizing die for bottleneck rifle cases.

For some/most pistol cartridges, you will also see a powder drop through die, which flares/bells the case mouth a bit to help in bullet seating.

For a bolt gun, you'll be able to get away with using the neck sizing die for for several reloads, until the brass won't chamber easily, then you will need to bump the shoulder back a bit using the full length sizing die. You could just get the 2 die set and full length size every time, but that works the brass more, so will shorten the life a bit or force you to anneal more often. But you can do this (get the 2 die set initially) and then get a neck die of your choice later on.

I tried the Lee collet-type neck die and did not like it, but recently went with the Redding bushing neck die(changable bushing size for different brass thicknesses).

Group buy page has good price on Redding dies.

 

[jet_lagged]

Re: What Are Popular Loads For 30-06 SPRNG Bolt Action

For starting out, I would get some used .30-06 brass on gunbroker. 15-20 cents each. Any batch of commercial brass with the same headstamp will do. Avoid mil-surp (Lake City and, the Greek military HXP) as the primer is swaged/crimped into place, so you cannot insert the new primer without first removing the crimp, which will take yet another tool.

Any large rifle primer. I use CCI, but it doesn't matter at this stage.

Get the basics of reloading figured out before you go spend big money on new Lapua or other brand name expensive brass.

Once you have some experience, then it may be worth looking at benchrest primers and expensive brass (though mil-surp LC is good and fairly cheap), but not worth the cost early on in the learning cycle, when you start trashing brass at nearly $1 each.