Bullet choice for 30-06 reduced load

Yes, chose a bullet meant for the 30-30 since they are designed to expand at the lower velocities your reduced load will generate. I tried the 30-06 reduced loads and they were very accurate. I used a 150gr Sierra 30-30 bullet.

125 grain Nosler BT is perfect for this application.
My father is nearly 70 and can't handle recoil like he used to. We load 125 grain NBTs with H4895 in both his .308 and .30-06 rifles. He kills deer just fine with them and they feel like shooting a .243 Win.

He put one behind the shoulder of a decent sized 6 pt. a couple years ago. It kicked its back legs straight up and took off. Only made it 15-20 yds before nose diving into the ground.

125 grain Nosler BT is perfect for this application.

Click to expand...

Good advice there.
The 150 BT would also work for you.
Any of the cup and core bullets should perform well on deer at lower speed. I think you'll be very pleased how well they work for you.
4895 is a good one to load down with also. You're on the right track.

I would not reload a .30-06 case that's been fired with a load more than 15% below max as far as charge weight is concerned. Its shoulder was probably set back too far and when reloaded, that case may have excessive head clearance that'll lead to head separation.

Bart I haven't noticed that yet.
We probably have cases that have been reloaded 4-5 times with the reduced H4895 loads and are yet to see that. I'm not saying it can't happen.

We did get some primers backing out because of the low pressure, so we switched to a magnum primer and upped the load by 1 grain and that stopped.

I loaded some reduced loads for my 12 year old niece a few years ago. I can't recall the exact details, but I used the starting load for 150 gr and 3031 powder. IIRC it was a 300 Savage equivalent load at around 2500 fps. Recoil was very light and accuracy very good.

Most standard soft point bullets work just fine at that speed. I used Hornady Interlocks.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=9710111&postcount=5 Could annealed brass make a difference?

Hornady FTX 140g, should do the trick!

I made some 30-06 with 125 SSTs and H4895 that was easy on the shoulder and pretty dang accurate as well (5 shots under an inch at 100 yards)

Think 300 savage unless you are talking about velocities under 2300fps in which case try some speer 30-30 bullets. Believe it or not many 30-30 bullets aren't actually any softer than their other .308 counterparts.

I use the 150gr Speer btsp (2022) for my reduced 308 loads at about 2600fps.
I did a lot of media testing and it performed very well and was very accurate for me so that's what I stuck with.

However, the 150 game King and ballistic tip would work quite well for boiler room shots on deer.
The 150 SST or interlock would also be very good as an all around bullet for even very large deer. For hard quartering shots the interlock may hold together a little bit better but I can't confirm this.

Basically, any standard cup and core will work but the speer is the softest of the bunch followed by the hornady while the game King and ballistic tip can fragment at higher velocities or shoulder shots but will open up at lower velocities quite well.

SARuger said:

Hornady FTX 140g, should do the trick!

Click to expand...

Also a good choice. I took a look at the Hornady site and it seems they replaced their 150gr and 170gr 30-30 bullets with their newer 140gr and 160gr FTX bullets.

Arkansas Paul,

Those backed out primers are proof that the cases shoulders were set back upon firing pin impact. The peak pressure wasn't enough to push the back half of the case body all the way back so the case head stopped against the bolt face and the fired primer got pushed back into its pocket.

I did tests years ago with both .308 Win and .30-06 proving this to a non-believer who quickly changed his mind. How far the primer's backed out past the case shoulder equals the distance between the case shoulder that's against the chamber shoulder and case head a few thousandths in front of the bolt face.

You'll need a gauge to measure case headspace (case head to shoulder reference) before and after firing a round then the difference is how much the case shoulder gets set back from firing pin impact. Try it on some primed cases without powder and bullet and you'll see the full effect.

Bartojc said:

What type of range could I expect for reduced loads in either 125 or 150 gr ? Guessing I'd say 200 yards would be a limit with 100 being ideal ? Would 30-30 ballistics also be similar ? I do not have a chrono, but just talking about this makes me want one [emoji1]

Jeff

Click to expand...

I remember reading somewhere the reduced 30-06 loads were very capable of taking deer at 200 yards. I see no reason to worry about 100 yard shots. I think it was on the old H4895 reduced load page that had load data on it.

Bart, did you try just neck sizing or just barely bumping the shoulders back?

Check Lee's Modern Reloading

I have not personally done anything with reduced loads, but the current version of Lee's Modern Reloading has an entire chapter on this exact subject, along with special power factors for many powders (including 4895) that allow you to easily calculate expected velocities for different reductions.

Note that all versions of the current Modern Reloading are NOT the same. Even though the manual is still officially the "Second Edition" with a 2003 copyright, I believe this information was only recently added. I also know that the current version has revised the load data and added new calibers/powders since the early second editions. The manual was "revised and reformatted in 2011, and all the data tables show a 2011 copyright. If you are looking for the data on reduced charges, make sure the book as the yellow badge on the front that says "All new data in an easy to read format".

Shoulder set back

I found set back of .006" on 223 Savage Axis from the firing pin strike. The 2nd strike moves the head to datum measurement back/shorter even more. When testing, start with the case head against the bolt face and a crush fit on closing the bolt. Do measure the head to datum before the firing pin strike, as a bolt action may size the brass on closing. The type of extractor is also a factor. https://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=6&f=42&t=369231Confirmed by another

KAZ22 [Member]

4/22/2012 8:54:03 AM EDT

OK, I did the shoulder set back test(cases with fired primer) on three of my RP cases that I annealed. Set back was .006 So, I loaded up three of my once fired/resized LC cases with factory only annealing and the results were the same at .006 Tested on my INNOVATIVE TECH gauge. Now perhaps tommorrow I will test this first lot at the range.

Click to expand...

I used 150 Sierra over 60% H4895, either 30 or 31 grains. Gave incredible accuracy although poi was 12 low at 200 yards for my win 70 sighted at 100 yards. I think it produced sub moa.
I had a thread on it around Sept 2015.

kelbro, I never did neck sizing after I learned how to properly full length size and get much better accuracy. Full length sized bottleneck cases have their necks better centered on the case body and shoulder so they align more precisely to bore center when fired.

My case shoulders were already set back too far for neck only sizing. I was able to get some cases' shoulders moved forward by backing the full length die up several thousandths so when the body was sized down a little, that pushed the shoulder forward enough. Quit loading my reduced loads more than 10% below max charge weights. Got 40 to 50 reloads per .308 Win case with full length sizing dies set to bump fired case shoulders back no more than .002".

You guys are getting the cart in front of the horse.
Excessive sizing is the culprit. I see it frequently with the .30/30 and .35Rem.
The firing pin ignites the primer and forces the case foward ( but lacks energy to move the shoulder... Case in fact head spaces on rim w/.30/30.). The chamber pressure will force the primer out, but not enough to stretch the case head rearward leaving the primer backed out of the case. Normal with factory New ammo. Increase the pressure (more powder), and the case head is forced backwards reseating the primer and stretching the case. Repeated excessive sizing results in case failure. This happens especially with "stretchy" actions such as the Lever actions like the Win. M94 and Marlin M336, and especially, the Lee-Enfield SMLE in .303Brit.
Partially full length sizing "just enough" to allow easy chambering minimizes the stretching, and reduces the "induced headspace" of excessive sizing.
I personally "excuse " BartB. Because his experience has been with strong M1, M1A, M14,03-A3, and M16 actions. The rimless cases and strong extractors suggest it's the firing pin action "pushing" the case into the chamber " shortening" the case, where it was an under length case to begin with that caused the problem. IE: excessive sizing.... Or an under length case, to begin with... NOT the firing pin SHORTENING" the case by forcing it further into the chamber as I have seen others suggest.

Rather, normal pressure stretching an under length, Under "overly" SIZED case, to begin with.

Don't over look the excellent Sierra 125gr Spt over H4895. My brother used it to good effect in NRA high power back in the '80's in his M1 Garand for rapid fire matches. He Won the '88 Montana State championship rapid fire against a NG competitor using a tricked out M16. Accurate and effective on deer at the "reduced" speeds of 2,650-2,800fps.

My test used a Win 70 action with new Federal 308 and 30-06 cases whose head clearance was about .002" to .003" from the closed bolt face. That's a bit less than what most reloads have in such chambers. Powder charges of IMR4895 were 1 to 15 percent below max with 173-gr. bullets.

Do your own tests with empty primed cases.

Hatcher proved Garands often set back new 30-06 Arsenal ammo shoulders back .007". I'd believe M1 and M14 extractors would set case vshoulders back .001" before slipping over the case rim.

ive killed quite a few deer with the 130hp speer out of my Kimber 308. It wasn't my first choice for bulllets in it but its what the gun seemed to like hands down over any other bullet. Surprised me though in how good it actually performed on deer. Good wound cavity and I get an exit wound 90 percent of the time. that's loaded to 3000fps. id be it would be a peach of a bullet on 100 yard deer at 2600-2700 fps muzzle velocity.

My standard reduced load for the 30–06 has been H4895 behind a Sierra 125 grain Pro Hunter, loaded up to about 2600fps. That's just about right for small Texas deer inside of 200 yards - holds together, mushrooms well, penetrates deep.