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First 30-06 Rounds - Feedback

Rathmatik

Sergeant of the Hide
Full Member
Minuteman
Jan 6, 2020
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Howdy,

This is my first post on these forums. I started reloading a few months ago, and have done 9mm and .223 so far. Today I reloaded my first 20 30-06 rounds. These are for my Remington 700.

I bought a bag of new Winchester cases. I also bought a box of Nosler 165gr Ballistic Tip bullets.

First, I resized and chamfered/deburred each case. I'm seating at a COL of 3.320", which was the suggested length per Nosler for this particular bullet and cartridge. I still need to get a case gauge to check headspace, which I plan to before firing these.

I'm using H4895, and started with a reduced load to see how that goes with less recoil. I loaded groups of 5 rounds at 34.0, 37.0, 40.0, and 43.0 grains.

I did see a variance between 3.316" and 3.3205" (I am using the RCBS FL die set). Is that normal? There were some small differences between the case lengths too, and I didn't trim since they were all within the trim/max case length range. The shortest and longest rounds chamber in my rifle fine.

I also did a light roll crimp, about 1/4 turn past touching the case mouth. Please let me know how these look!

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If you’re going to measure oal you’re gonna have to deal with varying measurements. The points of the bullet vary a lot, if you get a bullet comparator you can measure down on the I’ll er nose closer to where the bearing surface of the bullet is and that’s where the bullet actually interfaces with the barrels rifling so it’s also the more relevant measurements point than the over all length.

New brass with varying neck tension can also effect the seated bullet length by allowing a bullet to be pressed in further than the next which may not meet as much resistance.

I wouldn’t bother crimping, uneven brass (which Winchester is) will result in an uneven crimp which can amplify the differences between rounds.

I dont know about 4895 in a 3006 but I’d press the accelerator a bit more and get some speed out of it, what’s the point of a 3006 if you’re just gonna shoot it like a 30 carbine.
 
If you’re going to measure oal you’re gonna have to deal with varying measurements. The points of the bullet vary a lot, if you get a bullet comparator you can measure down on the I’ll er nose closer to where the bearing surface of the bullet is and that’s where the bullet actually interfaces with the barrels rifling so it’s also the more relevant measurements point than the over all length.

New brass with varying neck tension can also effect the seated bullet length by allowing a bullet to be pressed in further than the next which may not meet as much resistance.

I wouldn’t bother crimping, uneven brass (which Winchester is) will result in an uneven crimp which can amplify the differences between rounds.

I dont know about 4895 in a 3006 but I’d press the accelerator a bit more and get some speed out of it, what’s the point of a 3006 if you’re just gonna shoot it like a 30 carbine.

Okay cool, yeah I was thinking measuring by the ogive would give more accurate and consistent readings. I'll probably get the Hornady comparator pretty soon.

Ah, good to know all of that about new brass. I did notice there are some small shavings from the bullet, could that be due to the brass being uneven? I did chamfer as I mentioned, but wonder if the mouth was not totally square. Or, perhaps the crimping caused that if it did it too soon while the bullet seated?

Haha, the main reason I'm trying some reduced loads is just to see how low the recoil gets. H4895 is capable of working with 60% reduced loads under max in order to limit recoil. Mostly just so I can enjoy shooting more rounds in one sitting, but I also got a Limb Saver recently so that should help too. After these first rounds, I plan to start working up past the 43.0gr starting load and see what works best. The end goal for these particular bullets is hunting deer and hogs.

Thanks!
 
H4350,( 57-59grns), with a 165-168 NBT and seated .020"-.030" off lands works well in the 06. As usual, start low and work up slowly to find your sweet spot.

Recoil shouldn't be too much of an issue with that Limbsaver pad.

TM6
 
H4350,( 57-59grns), with a 165-168 NBT and seated .020"-.030" off lands works well in the 06. As usual, start low and work up slowly to find your sweet spot.

Recoil shouldn't be too much of an issue with that Limbsaver pad.

TM6

Thanks for the tips! Good to know, hoping to try it out in the next couple of weeks or so.
 
H4350,( 57-59grns), with a 165-168 NBT and seated .020"-.030" off lands works well in the 06. As usual, start low and work up slowly to find your sweet spot.

Recoil shouldn't be too much of an issue with that Limbsaver pad.

TM6

^
this and do not crimp as also stated above.

Good Luck

Jerry
 
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