Light bullet, lower recoil .30-06?

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brewer12345

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I am wondering if this is worth the trouble, but I will ask anyway. Has anyone fooled with this type of load? I don't find full house .30-06 to be much fun to shoot and only do so with full weight bullets for elk. I do enjoy shooting the rifle and find the Hornady custom lite factory stuff to be a lot less painful to shoot. This stuff is around 2800 FPS with a 125 grain bullet. I have seen the Hodgdon youth load data that starts out at 2600 fps with a 125 grain bullet based on H4895, but I wonder if loads that light would be accurate.

Any words of wisdom? Anyone tried this before? Good results? I already load cast bullets in significantly lighter loads, but they are 100 to 125 yard propositions. I am wondering if a jacketed 125 grainer would offer good accuracy and modest recoil to 200+ yards.
 
Welcome to the wonderful world of cast bullet shooting! Cast bullets over moderate loads of relatively fast powder can be accurate enough to be fun, but at much lower recoil levels. Another option is very light for caliber bullets (the .308 110 gr RN, for example) over Trail Boss. I have found TB loads in bottleneck cases to be somewhat erratic and inaccurate, but others may have different experiences.

Food for thought in shooting reduced power cast loads in the 30-06, Ed Harris article: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?13425-Cast-Bullet-Loads-for-Military-Rifles-Article

Sixteen Grains of #2400 is the Universal Load

The same 16 grain charge of #2400 is universal for all calibers as a starting load. It is mild and accurate in any larger military case from a 30-40 Krag or .303 British up through a 30-06 or 7.9x57, with standard weight bullets of suitable diameter for the caliber. This is my recommendation for anybody trying cast bullets loads for the first time in a military rifle without prior load development. I say this because #2400 is not "position sensitive", requires no fiber fillers to ensure uniform ignition, and actually groups better when you stripper-clip load the rifle and bang them off, rather than tipping the muzzle up to position the powder charge.

Similar ballistics can be obtained with other powders in any case from 7.62x39 to 30-06 size. If you don't have Hercules #2400, you can freely substitute 17 grains of IMR or H4227, 18 grains of 4198, 21 grains of Reloder 7, 24 grains of IMR 3031, or 25.5 grains of 4895 for comparable results.


That will get you going in the right direction. A .310" sized, gas checked bullet in the 150 - 160 grs range will be a joy to shoot. I prefer IMR4227 for cast loads. Good luck.
 
Uh, as I stated, I already load lighter cast bullet loads in this caliber. I am asking about low recoil jacketed loads.
 
"Mattern's "deer and 600 yard target load" can be assembled in cases of 30-40 Krag capacity or larger up to 30-06 using 18-21 grains of #2400 or 4227, 22-25 grains of 4198, 25-28 grains of RL-7 or 27-30 grains of 4895, which give from 1700-1800 f.p.s., depending on the case size. These charges must not be used in cases smaller than the 303 British without cross checking against published data! The minimum charge should always be used initially, and the charge adjusted within the specified range only as necessary to get best grouping. "

Jacketed bullets are going to require higher density loads of slower powders, generally speaking. So a 125 grs 308 bullet may offer diminished recoil vs a 168 gr jacketed bullet, but a 155 gr cast bullet at 1650 - 1700 fps will still be less and will easily get you to 250 yards.
 
I've been loading 150/155 gr, bullets with 35 grs. of IMR4198. The recoil is noticeably less than full power loads and is reasonably accurate. It chronoes 2396 fps from a 26" barreled M1907.

BTW that load was advocated by Ed Matunas in an article about low velocity loads in the American Rifleman sometime in the 1970's.
 
I have had good results with 125g Sierra Pro hunter over H4895. I am a bit above the Hodgdon minimum for youth loads. (Developed these for my son to use this summer...i’m pretty sure he considers the 30-06 to be his now). I don't have a chronograph, but am getting 2” groups at 100 yards, and he had a DRT for the youth deer hunt this fall.

I started him on 110g round nose over TrailBoss...those were a lot of fun to shoot! I didn’t measure accuracy on those...we used them for short range practice / working on form, but they certainly seemed accurate enough for that.

I developed these based on a lot of reading here on THR...thanks to all...
 
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I tried to duplicate the factory reduced recoil loads of Remington. I landed with H4895 and 125 gr Sierra Pro Hunters. I can get 1" groups at 100 yards which is acceptable for my hunting needs. It's a fair bit lighter recoiling than a factory 150gr full power load. IMHO it is worth experimenting. You'll be able to find something that works with H4895.

Jeff
 
Bartojc said:
I tried to duplicate the factory reduced recoil loads of Remington. I landed with H4895 and 125 gr Sierra Pro Hunters. I can get 1" groups at 100 yards which is acceptable for my hunting needs. It's a fair bit lighter recoiling than a factory 150gr full power load. IMHO it is worth experimenting. You'll be able to find something that works with H4895.

Jeff
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Remington called them "Managed Recoil" and they were wonderful for easygoing range sessions or having fun with old Milsurps. I used to have a goodly supply of them, but though they are still listed on many websites, they are never in stock. I don't think they have actually been produced since the great ammo scare of '12.:(
 
CAUTION: The following post includes loading data beyond currently published maximums for this cartridge. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The High Road, nor the staff of THR assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information.

Accuracy was ok at 100 yds as far is i remember. But my Rem 760 never was or is better then 1 1/2 average gun. Some are very accurate, my old one, not so much.


The older powder company manuals found here have interesting data. http://castpics.net/dpl/ The old Alliant 1995 data has 2400 maximum loads for 110 and 125 gr bullets.

I did load 110 Hornady jacketed with 2400 in 30-06 at 24 grs for the kids years ago. Not sure that was a good idea then or now?? Have used the Hodgdon youth loads also.

Old IMR data lists all powders for the 30-06 but only with the 180 gr bullet. 3006 180 gr.JPG Note: Fast burn rate powders (2400) or pistol powders will spike pressure fast, with as little as 1/2 gr increase.

Hodgdon has a 150 gr Trail Boss loading on there website. 1400 fps.
 
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As my father has gotten older, his tolerance for recoil has gone down. His .30-06 beats him up too bad these days, so we loaded him some ammo using the Hodgdon youth data and 125 grain Nolser ballistic tips.
They are very accurate and he has killed several deer with them. None have ran very far.
 
I have loaded a 150 gr Sierra FN over 52.5 gr of H4350 or IMR4350 and find it very soft shooting and accurate.

Velocity of 2390 out of an 18" barrel which basically duplicates a 30-30. According to JBM this load should have just under 1000fpe at 200 yards.

*Note this load is 1.5 grains below suggested starting load in my Nosler or Hodgdon online manual. It has worked well for me, but ymmv.
 
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I've had great success - and accuracy - with 125g Sierras. Not only in bolt guns, but also in my M1 Garand. (using 4895 powder).
 
H4895 is great for slightly reduced 30-06.
I've switched to shotgun powders for reduced loads. It works very well, but is very risky if you don't follow every precaution.
 
I don't think the light charge of pistol powder idea is really worth it in rifle cartridges. Too easy to make a mistake. You can get e-z shooting loads with moderate rifle powder charges and good performance from light bullets.
 
I use H4895 loads in 308 and 25-06 with good results.

I've mentioned it here before but Sierra stated their 110gr and 125gr bullets are more than adequate for deer as long as the velocities are below 3k. He did say the 125 is better for obvious reasons.

I have found accuracy to range from great to okay with lower or reduced loads but every rifle is different.

A lot of guys love the .308 speer 110 gr bullet for accuracy and I plan on trying it next myself.
 
I couldn't get 110gr to group well at 100yrds but could get a group with 125gr bullets, 200yrds was less than desert paper plate, we never tried them at 300yrds. My SIL has my load box with the #s but it is a soft shooting load.
I found the load on the CMP site and it was very close to my optimal load
 
A long time ago, when the only rifle I owned was a .308, I used it out West on prairie dogs. 110g's - probably Speer spire points at the time - and could hit them pretty good at a distance.
 
I used to load the Sierra 135 grain Single Shot Pistol bullet (now discontinued) out of the '06 or .308 at @ 2500 fps. Low recoil and DRT kills on deer or hogs out to 150 yards or so. Never tried 'em past that.
 
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