I've recently acquired a 30-06 built on a WWII Mauser bring-back action. Initial shooting, I kept 3 rounds of factory Remington 180gr rounds in 1.94" ctc at 100 yards, with an approximately 60 year old 4x scope.
Two weeks later, yesterday, I loaded up 5 groups of five rounds each. IMR-4895 powder that was at least 25 years old (but still in perfect condition). 46.4 to 48.4 grains, in .5 grain increments.
I'm no marksman, so I'll just give the best 3 shot groupings out of each 5 (the 5-shot groups were still deer-kill-zone sized):
46.4 - 1.950" ctc
46.9 - 0.966" ctc (all 5 was 2.825" ctc)
47.4 - 1.400" ctc
47.9 - 1.555" ctc
48.4 - 0.862" ctc (all 5 was 1.671" ctc)
The last three sets were all fired back to back, starting with the 48.4 group. No cool-down time between, as I was running out of light.
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All that to get to these, my questions:
My 1971 Sierra manual has flat base loads ranging from 44.4 grains (2600 fps) to 50.4 (2900 fps).
Hodgdon has a starting load at 49.0 grains with a max load of 53.0 grains for a 150 gr Nosler boat-tail bullet.
I'm using 150 grain Hornady flat-base bullets. Spire points on both.
I know that when not using the exact same components as the recipes, start low and work up. However, it seems odd that Hodgdon would have a starting load for a longer bullet (BT vs FB and thus seated deeper) that is at almost the max load in the Sierra book.
Has the formulation for IMR-4895 changed that much since my powder was new? If not - I'm confused. I can see them dropping upper limit recommendations due to lawyers et al, but not raising them.
Or am I missing something else?
Two weeks later, yesterday, I loaded up 5 groups of five rounds each. IMR-4895 powder that was at least 25 years old (but still in perfect condition). 46.4 to 48.4 grains, in .5 grain increments.
I'm no marksman, so I'll just give the best 3 shot groupings out of each 5 (the 5-shot groups were still deer-kill-zone sized):
46.4 - 1.950" ctc
46.9 - 0.966" ctc (all 5 was 2.825" ctc)
47.4 - 1.400" ctc
47.9 - 1.555" ctc
48.4 - 0.862" ctc (all 5 was 1.671" ctc)
The last three sets were all fired back to back, starting with the 48.4 group. No cool-down time between, as I was running out of light.
__________________________
All that to get to these, my questions:
My 1971 Sierra manual has flat base loads ranging from 44.4 grains (2600 fps) to 50.4 (2900 fps).
Hodgdon has a starting load at 49.0 grains with a max load of 53.0 grains for a 150 gr Nosler boat-tail bullet.
I'm using 150 grain Hornady flat-base bullets. Spire points on both.
I know that when not using the exact same components as the recipes, start low and work up. However, it seems odd that Hodgdon would have a starting load for a longer bullet (BT vs FB and thus seated deeper) that is at almost the max load in the Sierra book.
Has the formulation for IMR-4895 changed that much since my powder was new? If not - I'm confused. I can see them dropping upper limit recommendations due to lawyers et al, but not raising them.
Or am I missing something else?
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