The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - You most accurate powder loads for .30 cal rifles

HankB · March 19, 2008, 07:28 PM

My .30/06 is a post-64 (push feed) Winchester Model 70. It's still wearing the original 22" barrel, but I've glass bedded it into a Bell & Carlson stock. It's wearing a Leupold 3x9 Vari-X II. I normally use Winchester brass and a Winchester large rifle primer.

My "standard" hunting load is a 180 grain Nosler Partition on top of 61.0 grains of ReLoder 22; typical group size is about 1 3/8" . . . never have gotten Partitions to do better.

Substitute the 180 Sierra Spitzer flat base, and groups shrink to about 7/8" or so.

Substitute the 180 Nosler Ballistic Tip and groups are around 3/4", maybe a bit less on a good day.

Barnes X-bullets will normally put 3 or 4 in one lopsided hole, but 1 or 2 flyers invariably open the group up to as much as 3" or even 4" . . . I don't use them any more. :barf:

I found Hornady 165s on top of 51.0 grains of IMR4320 was a good load, but every once in a while I'd get an uncalled flyer . . . though not nearly as bad or as often as with the Barnes. Under a 180 Sierra spitzer flat base, it would group under an inch. (Caution: this is over max in some of today's manuals with a 180.)

March 19, 2008, 07:28 PM	#9
HankB Senior Member Join Date: March 30, 2000 Location: Central Texas, outside of Austin Posts: 1,698	My .30/06 is a post-64 (push feed) Winchester Model 70. It's still wearing the original 22" barrel, but I've glass bedded it into a Bell & Carlson stock. It's wearing a Leupold 3x9 Vari-X II. I normally use Winchester brass and a Winchester large rifle primer. My "standard" hunting load is a 180 grain Nosler Partition on top of 61.0 grains of ReLoder 22; typical group size is about 1 3/8" . . . never have gotten Partitions to do better. Substitute the 180 Sierra Spitzer flat base, and groups shrink to about 7/8" or so. Substitute the 180 Nosler Ballistic Tip and groups are around 3/4", maybe a bit less on a good day. Barnes X-bullets will normally put 3 or 4 in one lopsided hole, but 1 or 2 flyers invariably open the group up to as much as 3" or even 4" . . . I don't use them any more. :barf: I found Hornady 165s on top of 51.0 grains of IMR4320 was a good load, but every once in a while I'd get an uncalled flyer . . . though not nearly as bad or as often as with the Barnes. Under a 180 Sierra spitzer flat base, it would group under an inch. (Caution: this is over max in some of today's manuals with a 180.)