• Watch Out for Scammers!

    We've now added a color code for all accounts. Orange accounts are new members, Blue are full members, and Green are Supporters. If you get a message about a sale from an orange account, make sure you pay attention before sending any money!

.30-06

That's a stout load to get 2900+ with a 186gr bullet. I'm getting just under 2700fps with a Berger 185 and 58.1 of Ramshot Hunter.
 
Agreed. Reloader 17 has given me some impressive velocities in 30-06 in other loads I have worked up. It is not the most accurate powder I have ever tested , actually it is kinda meh in that department, but it is second to none when it comes to delivering max velocity. I'm hoping to tickle 2000 yards with this rifle so I need every FPS I can get.

But this powder also requires you to know what you are doing and be extremely smart when working up loads, it is also a temp sensitive powder, so a safe load in winter may be over max on a hot summer day.

This is the first time I've used Peregrine bullets but there site does claim that loads using their bullets will have similar pressure and performance to cup and core bullets. However they are very long, much like a typical solid copper bullet bullets and I seated mine long at 3.575" so I'm guessing that extra case capacity helped the performance a little. I'm pretty sure if I had tried to seat that bullet at a more "normal" 3.340" this load would probably have been a bomb.
 
Last edited:
Manners T-4 adj.comb and butt. Serrengetti chamber, 30" Pac-Nor straight taper, 3 groove barrel. Leupold 7-42 x 56. I 1/2# trigger. Sierra 210 MK bullets @.015 off. Lapua brass neck turned with .37" chamber. Newest "06" is in a XLR Element chassis with a 28" Bartlien Heavy Varmit barrel with 10-9.5 twist. Serrengetti National Match chamber with 109 lead instead of 86 for longer bullets or M1 30-06 rifles. Same trigger at 1 12 #. Both actions are made by Defiance. The longer chamber is made for 215 Berger Hybrids at the same .015 off. Nightforce NX8 4-32X56 F1. Great scope! Brass is neck turned Peterson or Lapua but lighter brass like Hornady does not have to be turned because the chamber is .38 instead of .37. I turn them except the 155.5 bergers in Hornady brass because they shoot good no matter what. In fact, both rifles will shoot just about any thing I load better than any other 30-06 I've owned. At 500 yards and in, the 155 bullets shoot really good. The 200-20X bergers shoot as good as any also. all the way out to 1000 yards. All of these heavy bullets are loaded with 52.3 grs of IMR 4350. It's a wide window. Any thing from 51.8 to 53grs of IMR 4350 will shoot. You can fine tune it but I go by outside temp.. Winter when It's cold, 53grs is safe. If it's Arizona hot, 51.8 grs is better. So i just stick with 52.3 grs and not worry about it. It's the wind for me at 1000 that brings out the heavy weights. 1000 yards is a lot further out than 800 for me. When Silver State brass was bought out by Nosler I bought 1000 pieces of brass for. 25 cents a piece. 500 most weighed 193-196 grs. and the other 500 most were at 172- 175grs. It has proven to be good brass. All with CCI BR-2 primers. When the Pac-Nor barrel wears out, I will get another one just like it. I hope the new factory is making them just as good with their new machines they have after losing every thing in the fire they had. Semper Fi to them for rebuilding from scratch.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: GhostFace
Has anyone loaded the new 208 or 220 LRHT Bergers? I have a few boxes of the 215 hybrid and 208 A Max I’ve been planning to use. My rifle is a 700 M40 Long Range with the 26” barrel.
 
Anyone using RL17 in 30-06 with 178/180s? What kind of velocity difference do you see with temp change?

With H4350 I’m getting pressure signs at 2700fps. 52.5gr RL17 gets me 2700 no problem at 60 degrees. 1x LC match brass.

Need to back down the H4350 and see what I can safely get. Hit pressure at my starting load.
 
I also have IMR 4350, 4064, 4895, and some varget that I can probably trade for anything else worth trying. Bullets I’m considering are 180 accubonds and 178 ELD-X. Maybe 175 TMK.

I can’t even load at mag length with this gun though although accuracy with most factory stuff has been pretty good so far at least. I’m not compressed up to 53.5gr of RL17 but think 53gr of H4350 was compressed.

Gonna shoot 10 shot groups with the 178 ELD-x and 180 accubonds sometime in the next week or so. Also have a few extras loaded up to get a few velocities based off 5 round strings at different temps.
 
I got higher velocities with IMR 4350 vs H4350. I currently use Ramshot Hunter or Superformance for my 175-185 gr loads. I've only tried IMR 4064 and the 4895 powders with 165-168gr bullets.
 
I’ve used IMR 4350 for 175SMK, 178AMAX and 185 Berger Juggernaut target and OTM.
I’ve also used IMR 4895 for 155 Lapua Scenars and Sierra Palma bullets; these are screamers that shoot really flat out to 1K.
I’ve found that RL17 works best with 208 ELDM and 208 Berger Hybrids.
For 210SMK I use RL22.
Most of this is covered on the first page of this thread.
 
I’m getting my reloading situation sorted out again. I just ordered 250 cases from Starline. I have a few hundred 208 A Maxs left, 100 215 Hybrids and am considering 208 LRHTs, 208 and 225 ELDMs. For powder, I have a pound of Re22 and I think one of Re23. I’m looking to grab some Re26. Seems like people are having a lot of success with Re26.
 
Bringing out my rifle from a decade hibernation. I hope the barrel has been fine in my humidity controlled safe.

208 amax - 2.813 ogive / 3.549 oal

Powder - Hodgon H4350 (50 grain)

I dont remember the speeds but it was a 1/4 moa rifle. Blueprinted r700 w 26" barrel

Speed was maybe 2500
 
  • Like
Reactions: Eddystone
Does anyone have more Berger 185 juggernaut info? That combo is really intriguing
 
I load 185 Berger VLD hunting with 58gr of Ramshot Hunter and a Lapua case.
Is this a pretty hot load that requires a Lapua case? Getting some premium .30-06 brass is in my list but I can get it sooner rather than later if needed
 
Work up. It's pretty hot and they are loaded long for a Remington throat.

Not real hot though. I think I'm just over book max.
Right on, I wasn’t going to just shovel that much powder in anyway. It’s being shot from a Rem factory barrel right now. I have some Nosler 165’s that are loaded long and there’s room to spare so these should still fit fine
 
German Salazar Serengeti chamber, Rock 10 twist 23”:

185 Juggernaut
LC M72 Match brass
210M
55.5 IMR 4350
COAL 3.372
2775FPS AV
28.25 MOA 1K

WIN brass
210M
55.7 IMR 4350
COAL 3.372
2765 AV
28.50 MOA 1K

I also found an RL17/185 load I tried @ 1K on 7/18
LAPUA brass
210M
57.3 RL17
COAL 3.372
AV 2953!
25.75 MOA 1K

Your mileage will vary; work up carefully.

6B330FC9-EE8B-4FB0-8721-61DBFCA08513.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Right on, I wasn’t going to just shovel that much powder in anyway. It’s being shot from a Rem factory barrel right now. I have some Nosler 165’s that are loaded long and there’s room to spare so these should still fit fine
It's a ball powder so it meters really well and fills the case nicely. The weight might seem like a lot but I think it has to do with it being a ball powder. I also found it to be fairly clean burning. That is my go to hunting load.
 
  • Like
Reactions: The D
It's a ball powder so it meters really well and fills the case nicely. The weight might seem like a lot but I think it has to do with it being a ball powder. I also found it to be fairly clean burning. That is my go to hunting load.
I’ve also noticed that it’s fairly available too. That’s nice
 
What’s different about the “Serengeti” chamber? Is it just a long freebore?
 
OK gentleman, I'm a very new reloader and am working up my first load to take elk hunting with me this fall.

30-06 browning xbolt, Accurate 2700, Berger Classic Hunter 168 grain. My results so far are as follows. Which one would you guys focus in on? From what I've read it should be load 5 or 6, but load 9 group came in well under an inch.

Also if you look at 56.0 column, I had a round that chrono'd at 2738 and I remember it specifically because there was a split second delay between primer strike and gunshot. Kinda weird


30 06 screen capture.PNG
 
I would omit the outlier in 56.0. As you mentioned something strange happened. A weak primer, a light charge, etc. Those things happen.

Looking at the info provided... I think there is a low powder node around 55.5gr, then a higher one around 56.1.

For powder nodes I'm looking for a few consecutive charges that produce close to the same velocity. The highest velocity of 55.8 and the next two charges, along with the lowest of 56.4 all hover around the 2825 fps mark. The POI of groups 55.8 through 56.4 also look very similar (hard to tell with the small pictures) which would confirm the node.

Load to the middle of that (56.1) and test seating depths to fine tune the groups.
 

Attachments

  • 30 06 screen capture.PNG.png
    30 06 screen capture.PNG.png
    104.9 KB · Views: 70
Last edited:
931B4529-2BCF-4638-8A78-1BC5F37344AC.jpeg



Finally was able to get out and get a load thrown together.

Full custom 3006 build, defiance/bartlein/manners. Call me crazy and for a while I thought I was but this thing is a hammer, and is going to do all I need it to.

First load, hammers, no fuss.

Chambered and assembled by the wonderful folks at LRI
Serengeti reamer
Hornady brass
55.5 of H4350
CCI 200s
Berger 185 VLD H .010 off jam
2770 from a 24” supressed barrel
 
View attachment 7959491


Finally was able to get out and get a load thrown together.

Full custom 3006 build, defiance/bartlein/manners. Call me crazy and for a while I thought I was but this thing is a hammer, and is going to do all I need it to.

First load, hammers, no fuss.

Chambered and assembled by the wonderful folks at LRI
Serengeti reamer
Hornady brass
55.5 of H4350
CCI 200s
Berger 185 VLD H .010 off jam
2770 from a 24” supressed barrel
Beautiful build. How much more speed do you think you could get from that combo?
 
Beautiful build. How much more speed do you think you could get from that combo?
I worked up to 58 grains with only some primer flow and a slightly stiff bolt. I’m not one to push it, and wanted a load that was safe all year, in rain, sun and ice, as this is first and foremost a hunting gun for me.

Hottest load was 2850. This barrel only has 100 rounds on it now so I’m expecting a slight speed up. That and I have some Lapua to load after I get another hundred rounds on the barrel for break in.

I’m really hoping to find some 180 elite hunters after burning up the 500 185vld-h I have.
 
  • Like
Reactions: The D
I worked up to 58 grains with only some primer flow and a slightly stiff bolt. I’m not one to push it, and wanted a load that was safe all year, in rain, sun and ice, as this is first and foremost a hunting gun for me.

Hottest load was 2850. This barrel only has 100 rounds on it now so I’m expecting a slight speed up. That and I have some Lapua to load after I get another hundred rounds on the barrel for break in.

I’m really hoping to find some 180 elite hunters after burning up the 500 185vld-h I have.
Good to know, thanks for the info
 
View attachment 7885382

Yes, it’s got some free bore or lede or whatever we’re calling it this week.
Originally developed for M1 Garrand Service Rifle matches but it works in bolt guns, too

It was originally designed by Serengeti Rifles in Montana for use in bolt action rifles, today they are now Kilimanjaro Rifles. German saw the print looking for a reamer for use with heavy bullets, he liked the numbers and it was faster getting this reamer because it was already made ready too ship, then having PTG make a custom reamer and waiting 6 weeks too 6 mos.

Use in M1’s for the Garand Games is news too me, why it’s fired at 200yds. I do know of a few Gents that use it in M1941‘s for the Vintage Sniper Matches where they can take advantage of it using heavy bullets that don’t blow around.
 
What dies are recommended for loading .30-06? I have brass and a pound of Re22. For bullets, I have 208, 215 and 230 Bergers, 208 A Maxes, 208 and 225 ELDMs. I want to pick up some of the 220 Bergers but I couldn’t back order them.

Should I bother with Re23 or go for Re26?
 
I use a Redding bushing die for sizing and a Forster micrometer seating die. Accuracy has bee superb….I used RL 22&23 for a while but 4350&4451 gave better accuracy for me.
 
Has anyone got any reloading data for the following components.

Somchem S365 propellant
Speer Hot-Cor 180 grain soft point bullets
CIC 200 primers
Federal Cases

I would like to develop a new hunting load.

Help would really be appreciated

Thanx
 
Anyone using Staball 65 with 3006? Looking at using Staball to develop hunting loads.
 
Anyone using Staball 65 with 3006? Looking at using Staball to develop hunting loads.
Here’s a quick search string that returns a bunch of information on that subject:

staball 6.5 load data for 30-06

Copy and paste that into your search box and you’ll get a pile of results, including videos if that’s your thing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cornhusker86
Loaded some Lapua brass for the Serengeti chamber today and worked up a pressure test ladder, shot over a lab radar in the back yard.

24” 3006, Serengeti reamer
Ultra 7
Berger 185vldh
Lapua virgin brass
CCI 200
H4350
Seated .010 off

54 2681
54.5 2720
55 2734
55.5 2781
56 2800
56.5 2807 crunch while seating
57 2831 more compressed powder than I’d prefer

Saw no pressure signs. 28* today ammo was at 68* in the house temp when shot.

Loading another 10 at 55.5 to check accuracy. Not looking to hot rod this thing, we will see what it does when the barrel is broken in.

On a side note Lapua is a few thou bigger down by the case head. I was getting some bump on the Hornady brass that would make a guy think the chamber was a bit large. The Hornady brass was just on the small side. No bump with the Lapua.

I have a few hundred 180 elite hunters to play with now as well. Great BC for a 180, a little less bearing surface should make for a great combo in this rifle.

Hopefully swapping the swfa 10x for a shv f1 come winter, after that I’ll see what the rifle really does.
 
Last edited:
I have a question for the guys running the Serengeti reamer, I need to know what kind of COAL you guys are getting preferably with heavier bullets like the 208eld, but anything would be helpful.

I’m planning on picking up a SSG3000 and I’d like to have a 30-06 barrel made up with the Serengeti reamer, which I’ve already bought. The magazine can handle the 30-06 and loaded rounds up to 3.45” COAL. I’m curious how limiting the mag will be with heavies.
 
I have a question for the guys running the Serengeti reamer, I need to know what kind of COAL you guys are getting preferably with heavier bullets like the 208eld, but anything would be helpful.

I’m planning on picking up a SSG3000 and I’d like to have a 30-06 barrel made up with the Serengeti reamer, which I’ve already bought. The magazine can handle the 30-06 and loaded rounds up to 3.45” COAL. I’m curious how limiting the mag will be with heavies.
My coal for the above load is 3.282”. Iv got 3.6” to work with so I could have probably used a bit more throat. That was .010 off jam on a fresh chamber
 
  • Like
Reactions: lash
My coal for the above load is 3.282”. Iv got 3.6” to work with so I could have probably used a bit more throat. That was .010 off jam on a fresh chamber
Thanks!
My thoughts are that 3.45” should be plenty for most loads and if I have some real long ones I can always single feed.
 
Winchester is releasing new StaBall powders. An H4350 equivalent, Varget equivalent and Retumbo equivalent. I wonder if any of these could work for .30-06 with heavier bullets.
 
Winchester is releasing new StaBall powders. An H4350 equivalent, Varget equivalent and Retumbo equivalent. I wonder if any of these could work for .30-06 with heavier bullets.
Well the list .30-06 right on the package of one of them. I can’t remember which one now. Probably around the H4350 range.
 
The StaBall 6.5 has been out for a while now and is around the 4350 range. I haven’t tested it yet, but it’s supposed to give great speeds in the 30-06. I only have 2 pounds and I’m waiting for my custom -06 to get finished before I test it with 208’s to see if it’s worth buying a bunch more.
 
See labels. I’d guess that which one works better will depend upon what weight bullet you use.

1674582398279.png


1674582504491.png