.30-06 Load--Howa 1500

[Wayfarin'Stranger]

I have a Howa 1500 chambered in .30-06, does anyone have a favorite load that works well in this rifle? (also, Weatherby Vanguard...Savage had these actions too I think)

I loaded, and got crummy results at 200y with:

-55g of IMR 4350
-150g Speer Spitz. BT
-CCI 200 primer
-Fed once fired brass

I've had great results with Federal 150g Power Shocks...I'd like to get comparable results with my handloads.

Any suggestions?

[Unclenick]

I assume you have the 24" barrel? IMR 4350 is really a bit slow for best results with a 150 grain bullet. Your load is a bit on the low pressure and long barrel time side for best results. That powder is better with heavier bullets than the 150 grainers in the '06. With a 150 grain bullet, something like IMR 4895 will do better. With IMR 4350 you will probably need to get up nearer to 60-61 grains before it will start to shine. 60.8 grains is one load I have for it in my notes as doing OK with a 150 grain Sierra. It is slightly compressed. I was using Federal GM210M primers and Remington brass. 54.6 grains of IMR 4895 beat it pretty handily and with slightly lower pressure and only 20 fps difference in velocity. Both these loads are getting up into the maximum range, so you want to knock 5 grains off of them and work up, watching for pressure signs.

50.2 grains is another IMR 4895 load that did well with Sierra's 150 grain bullets, and is milder. Around 2800 fps instead of 3000. I expect it will be fine with the Speer, though the Sierras are inherently more accurate in my experience. The load's only drawback was the velocity is a little powder position sensitive. Tip the bullet up to get the powder over the flashhole before firing, and that goes away. Accuracy didn't seem to suffer any from the velocity variation, so that may also be a waste of time.

[Wayfarin'Stranger]

It has a 22" barrel. I'll pick up some IMR 4895 this week and try it out. My Speer manual lists a max load of 49.5 though, so I don't think I'll try anywhere near 60 until I see where I'm at with the starting loads.

Thanks for the info Uncle!...Very informative.


--ERIC

[rongk]

I have been using 50 grains of Varget with 150 grain Speer spitzers bullets in my Tikka 30-06 with 22" barrel. Good groups at both 100 and 200 yards.

[Unclenick]

Its the IMR 4350 that would want to get closer to the 60 grain range. It would be a bit warm with a boattail at SAMMI max COL, but with a flat base bullet at 3.34" COL or a boattail seated out to nearer the lands (as mine was) its works out. But, like any load you see recommended, you would have to work up to it in your gun, watching for pressure signs. If you're unsure how to do that or something else sets off your caution alarms, don't do it. What you are willing and equipped to try safely will enlarge as you get more toys and experience.

When you see load manual information that lists pressures, you know they use a SAMMI spec pressure test barrel. These employ a minimum dimension chamber to give the tester a worst case peak pressure condition. My Browning A-bolt that I worked that IMR 4350 load up in does not have a minimum spec chamber. Most production chambers aren't, and a bigger chamber lowers pressure. This is a big part of why guns are individuals and have to be approached as such by reloaders.

You might want to take a look at Dan Newberry's site and consider his round robin method of finding sweet spot loads. I find it a bit easier than the Audette Ladder method, especially if you don't have access to longer ranges.

[armedandsafe]

My favorite 06 load since the late '40s has been 54.5 gr 4350 behind a Sierra 180 boattail.

Pops

[rg1]

With IMR4350 your load at 55 grains is a little light. 57-59 grains would be nearer to where you'd want to be. I've found that flat based 150 grain bullets are easier to find the best accuracy quickly while boat tailed accuracy seems a little more touchier to find the sweet spot especially in certain rifles. Some just prefer flat based bullets and shoot them better. Nothing wrong with CCI primers but you might try RP 9 1/2 or Winchester LR or Fed LR just for comparison as sometimes a load just prefers one over the other. I use IMR4350 in my bolt action 30-06's with Hornady 150gr SP's flat based bullets.

[MADISON]

165 Hornady bullet [Speer doesn't group]
46.5 to 47.5 grains of Winchester 748
I can cover the group with a nickel

[crowbeaner]

Here you go; 150 gr. RP corelokt, Fed. case, RP 9 1/2 primer, seat to the cannelure and light crimp. CB.
48.0 of WW 748
54.0 of WW 760
50.0 of IMR 4064 (max)
52.5 of H380
These will keep you happy.

[Wayfarin'Stranger]

Madison & crowbeaner, do you use these loads through a Howa 1500?

I just wanted to see what others are using in the same platform as me...maybe save some time.

[thallub]

My favorite deer and hog hunting load for the .30-06 is a Winchester case, a Winchester LR primer, a 150 grain Sierra Game King bullet and 50 grains of IMR 3031. WARNING: This load exceeds most recommended maximums. The load shows no signs of high pressure in my guns. In my Remington 700 the load makes <1 inch, 3 shot groups at 100 yards.

IMR 3031 is a very good powder for loading the .30-06 with bullets up to 150 grains. Been using it exclusively for this purpose for over 40 years. 3031 burns too fast for use with bullets over 150 grains in the .30-06.

Last Sunday evening i bang flopped a deer at a lasered 412 yards with this load.

[ZeroJunk]

I have had good luck with 53 or 54 grains of IMR 4064 and Sierra or Hornady 150 gr BTSP. The 53 grains is out of the Lyman manual. I think the 54 grains came out of an older Hornady manual that I have mis-placed. The manuals have backed off over the years for liability concerns, I expect. At any rate you need to creep up to them until you see how they behave in your rifle. They are fast and accurate.

[crowbeaner]

I used to shoot those loads in my M700; now they get used in my M742. All will group under 1.5 inches with a couple making shamrocks. The older manuals recommended 52 grains of IMR 4064 as max.,but the new powder I have shows signs of pressure at 51.0. All rifles have different appetites, so work up. The 748,760, and H380 loads can be increased by a grain or so but those are what I'm shooting and all 3 will shoot under an inch from my gun.

[highbrow]

I'm using 57gr IMR 4350 and 165gr Rem Corelokts in my Howa 1500 30-06. Very accurate. I would consider this a max load, but it has never given any high pressure signs.

[mrawesome22]

I have a Dickson-Howa Golden Bear (Sako action) in 30-06Springfield.

57gr IMR 4350
150 Nosler SPBT .030" off the rifling.
Win Brass
WLR Primer
2875fps out of a 24" barrel.

MOA or less every time I shoot it. Too bad I only have 200 of these bullets and they are no longer made.