Hunting load for Savage m#110 in 30-06

[Mr. Tettnanger]

I am working on a hunting load for my Savage m#110 in 30-06. I currently shoot factory Winchester "CXP2" 165 gr. pointed soft tip with very good results. My accuracy is very good and performance has been great. My only rifle powder in house is H380. I have a pack of Speer Grand Slam 165 gr. and Hornady SST (Super Shock Tip) 165 gr. in house. Any suggested loads to save time and $$ on working up a load? My Speer book list loads of H380 51 to 55 grains for the Grand Slam. My Lee and Lyman books lists 48.5 to 53(Lyman 165 Jacketed Ballistic point) and 51 to 56.5 (Lee). The Lyman book suggests that IMR-4064 w/ the 165 gr. may give the best accuracy? Anybody use that powder. So any suggestions, ideas, experiences.
Thanks all for helping.


Mr. Tettnanger

 

[Sunray]

"...Anybody use..." Yep, but with 168 grain HPBT's. Close enough. 165 grain hunting bullets do indeed give the best accuracy in both the .30-06 and .308. It's likely the absolute best all round bullet weight. They'll take any game in North America with no fuss.
You will have to work up a load for your rifle though. No two rifles will shoot the same ammo the same way. A load that works in my rifle, won't necessarily shoot well out of yours.
IMR4064 gives more consistent accuracy than IMR4895 in .30-06. My '03A4 loves it.

 

[Mr. Tettnanger]

Thanks Sunray.

Next time out, I will pick up a pound or two of the IMR4064.


Mr. T

 

[Grumulkin]

I agree on the 165 - 168 grain bullets (I use Barnes, Hornady, Nosler and Sierra). For hunting, I think Barnes is the best but they're also quite expensive and admitedly not needed for the likes of deer. Barnes also has a bad habit of changing their bullets frequently so the load you work up today may not be quite right with the bullets you can get in a year or two.

The powder I like for the 30/06 is Varget.

 

[Vitamin G]

Slightly off topic...

But i found that my rifle shoots the best with 130gr HP's from the speer bulk pack. Is this way too light to hunt deer with? I would think that the extra speed would counterbalance the loss of weight.

Will 30gr make for a huge difference?

 

[Idano]

Is this way too light to hunt deer with? I would think that the extra speed would counterbalance the loss of weight.

In my opinion absolutely not. My pet load for 06 on mule deer is a Sierra 125gr. SPITZER using a CCI 250 primer with 50 gr. of IMR3031. Nice flat trajectory eliminating the need for hold over and very potent out to 300 yards.

 

[Doug b]

If you can't find IMR 4064,Hodgdon's Varget is a good substitute with the added advantages of being an extreme powder and cleaner burning.
The Speer 130gr. hp is my go to bullet in 30-06 for everything from varmit to white tail deer.

 

[Smokey Joe]

'06 loads

Mr. Tettnanger--(There's GOTTA be an interesting story behind that name!)--IMHO, 165/168 grain bullets are the ideal for the .30-'06. I like the 165 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips for deer. My go-to powder for the '06 is IMR 4350. Your H380 will work, in the '06, though. Consult any good loading manual for amounts to use behind whichever bullet.

Personally I have had disappointing results with Speer Grand Slams, in the accuracy department. I'm not crazy about most Hornady bullets, either. But these are personal preferences.

However (there is always that darn "however!") Sunray has it absolutely right:

You will have to work up a load for your rifle though. No two rifles will shoot the same ammo the same way. A load that works in my rifle, won't necessarily shoot well out of yours.

 

[R-Tex12]

Another vote for 4350!

 

[BsChoy]

I use either Varget or IMR 4064...they burn close to the same and are nice and accurate

 

[The Bushmaster]

Hodgdon 4831SC and 165 gr HPBT or 180 gr SPBT

 

[dodge]

I agree with "the bushmaster" but use Sierra's 165 spitzer boattail with Hodgon's 4831 SC.