? On powders

[Norton]

Really trying to get a handle on some 30'06 recipes.

The Hodgdon site has two loads for the 30'06 using 175gr SIEHPBT which was a recommended bullet for all around target shooting.

The two powders that the print Hodgdon manual recommends for 30'06, specifically, are H414 and Varget.

The H414 is a spherical powder and Varget (which I've seen recommended several places) is extruded. As jpk1md pointed out, the extruded powders may be a bit harder to measure accurately.

OTOH, the difference in grains per load is pretty wide between the two.

Varget loads range from 45-48 grains
H414 loads range from 52-56 grains.

That means that every 7th cartridge of Varget is essentially free as far as powder goes. Not a primary consideration, to be sure, just another factor overall.

Thoughts?

 

[jpk1md]

Really trying to get a handle on some 30'06 recipes.

The Hodgdon site has two loads for the 30'06 using 175gr SIEHPBT which was a recommended bullet for all around target shooting.

The two powders that the print Hodgdon manual recommends for 30'06, specifically, are H414 and Varget.

The H414 is a spherical powder and Varget (which I've seen recommended several places) is extruded. As jpk1md pointed out, the extruded powders may be a bit harder to measure accurately.

OTOH, the difference in grains per load is pretty wide between the two.

Varget loads range from 45-48 grains
H414 loads range from 52-56 grains.

That means that every 7th cartridge of Varget is essentially free as far as powder goes. Not a primary consideration, to be sure, just another factor overall.

Thoughts?

Accuracy and Safety are priceless from where I sit.

I've read/heard of some horror stories of overly hot/inconsistent load due to metering issues....the problem only gets worse with progressive loaders due to focus/attention.

 

[BlackBart]

Dunno it's been years since I was an avid reloader. IMR 4350 was my powder of choice back then.

 

[gibby]

30-06

Remember 30-06 was originally developed by the military using IMR 4895, which is also good for .308 and othe mid range .30 cals.

 

[K31]

Yes, extruded powders are "cut" by most volumetric rotary powder measures (I say most because the Lee "Perfect" powder measure claims not to. I have not tried it.)

I loaded some .30-06 with a Redding BR rotary volumetric measure a few weeks ago. Since these were target loads I like to stay to within .1 grains (which is the precision limit of most reloading scales). The charges I dropped were sometimes off by .2 and .3, maybe more so I weighed almost all of them and threw back any that were off by more than .2 grains. I did not have any that went so far as a full grain off.

Extruded powders may bridge more, that is, they may fall in such a way that they stay in the hole in the bottom of a funnel. I had this occur with other forms of powder also. Usually if this is not caught when it happens you catch it when you either overfill the next case or when you inspect all your cases in a loading block under a strong light at the end.

I believe Hodgdon also says that Varget is a "small" extruded powder that is made for easier metering.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[E.Shell]

While some powders meter better than others, I personally cannot drop charges uniformly enough to get happy. Even ball powders do not ALWAYS throw the same weight, or at least as closely as I'd like to see it. I set my measure up to a few tenths low, drop the charge in a scale pan, and trickle it up to the exact charge weight as needed. Even if I don't have to add powder, I still get to see the exact charge weight for every cartridge.

 

[learjet]

i chuck varget through a lee measure. it will hold to .1g when i drop them on my rcbs scale. but, if it gets lower than 1/3, or if i fill it, i have to toss a few through it to get it settled down again.

lear

 

[Lambo]

Really trying to get a handle on some 30'06 recipes.

Are these Loads for the Garand?

 

[Norton]

Are these Loads for the Garand?

Not yet....Savage 110 bolt gun.

Garand loads will be in the near future....stay tuned

 

[Lambo]

Not yet....Savage 110 bolt gun.

Garand loads will be in the near future....stay tuned

I use IMR 4895 for the Garand!
I've loaded the 150, 155 & 168 grain Bullets backed by 46.5 grs. I've been told this charge provides the correct pressure. One must be careful concerning those Op-rods!

 

[Norton]

I use IMR 4895 for the Garand!

I'd heard that was the way to go for the M1 rifle. Glad to hear it confirmed.

150gr FMJ bullet would be the correct loading for that, no?

 

[Lambo]

I'd heard that was the way to go for the M1 rifle. Glad to hear it confirmed.

150gr FMJ bullet would be the correct loading for that, no?

Military Loads are a 152gr, AKA M2 Ball. If your like me & compete it's all about accuracy!
I generally shoot for a distance of 100yds.. The 150s, 152s or 155s are very good at this range. For 200 or better the 168s should be used. The BTHP gives great stability!

 

[Norton]

I generally shoot for a distance of 100yds.. The 150s, 152s or 155s are very good at this range.

So the 155 scenars that E.Shell should be pretty good?

 

[Lambo]

So the 155 scenars that E.Shell should be pretty good?

Shell knows what he's talking about! He's been a HP Competitor longer then I have.

 

[U.S.SFC_RET]

Norton go with 4064, it is a bit faster burning powder but good for the M1 Garand with 165 gr bullets.
IMR 4831 is a very good and somewhat forgiving powder if you want to experiment with bullet weights.
IMR 4350 is even slower if you want to slug it out with Moose and somewhat heavier loads.
Those three powders are the workhorses of the industry and been around for a long, long time. Tried and true.
4350 sings it's purest note when it reaches near max pressure with the right bullet weight with the majority of 30-06sout there and is very accurate but people on the forums are not clamoring over each other to tell you that.
4831 is still one of the Popular for accuracy and is forgiving because it isn't as sensitive to temperature or minute and I mean minute changes in bullet seating depth or trickeling to the super nth degree, fine line on the measuring scale.
4064 has been used for years and still is a gold standard. I am experimenting with a 7mm mag to work that caliber down to 30-30 level for practice sessions with a 175 gr bullet. Proven to be extremely accurate load and great for moose.
As far as cutting powder? Don't let any of the product reviews fool you. To them they are getting a bit picky. Online probably the same. Accuracy should never be trusted when you throw from a powder measure anyway, Adjust for slightly short and trickle up to where you want.
If you are reloading one of those super duper production models that produce hundreds of rounds an hour than find the kind of powder thats called SSC Super Short Cut I believe that kind of powder will help you out in refining your accuracy without trickling too much.
Any way about it you have to check your throws whether periodically or every time. I prefer each and every time.

 

[K31]

IMHO if you are going to weight every charge you may as well invest in a electronic combined powder measure/scale. They don't cost more than a good volumetric powder measure and digital scale, are not effected by powder shape and unlike trickling by hand, they won't (normally) go over the target weight forcing you to re-throw a charge.

 

[SamW]

You can't go wrong with a balance beam type scale.

IMR 4350, 53gr, 150gr HP works for me.