Good powder for the 30.06
 

I plan on reloading for my Semi Auto 30.06... I ordered some 220gr Hornady RN bullets... Can someone recomend a powder...

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

I have never loaded anything that heavy for a 06. 180gr max. But I use IMR4350 for all my 06, or 270 loads. for a round that heavy, I wouldn't consider anything faster burning.

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

I have a can of RL22... I may give that a try

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

RL22 is going to be way too slow. I wouldn't even use it on my 7400, and as devil dog said, I am taking risks.

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

H414 is what I use for 6mm-06 and 270. Same case and easy powder to work with. I also like IMR4831, but it is little slow in '06. It is usually a very accurate powder in '06 cases though.

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

Like bigcountry said...I too have never shot anything that heavy out of any of my '06's, but find it quite adequate for my other '06 loads, as well as my .270's and .280's. I have a .308 that likes it well, also.
Well, I guess after all that, I forgot to mention that the powder is IMR 4350.

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

Ok my nosler manuel has the following powders listed for the 220gr bullet

RL15
W760
IMR4350
RL19
RL22
AA3100
Viht N160
H4831
IMR7828
Viht N165

In that order

Which one would you guys recomend??

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

I use IMR4350 in both 270 n 06. Newver had any problems.
Dan

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

Dont most manuals list the powders/loads in order of their preference? (that is a question, not a statement...)

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

Normally in case capacity order.

I like 4831. 4350 is also a good one. Tom.

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

Try H-4831 SC /55gr-Win case @ 2478 fps for the 220 gr. bullet [load density 89%] and relaxes everything it comes in contact with.......................Harold [oh yes and get some small based dies]

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

I've had quite a few people recomend H-4831sc... So I think I'll be giving it a try in my semi auto:)

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

My vote would go to Vhita Vouri. I don't know exactly which powder for your rifle since I don't one one.
I use Vhita Vouri for my .223, .308 and .338 Lapua. I have found it to be exceptionally consistant from pound to pound. It is a little more expensive than most though.

Best of luck to you.

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

I would go with R 22 or IMR 4350 keep your loads at starting because auto donot function well with max loads you may nneed to use a small base die. I make up a few dummy rounds and cycle them through the gun to see that the function than make a few live rounds and fire them. If they work with standard dies ok but don't expect more than 3 loads w/o problem after

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

Having owned and loaded for a Rem 742 and 7400 in 30-06 ,I found 4064 and 4895 both worked well in that action . I also found out the hard way that fast burning powders won't work. you might want to do a bit of research before loading .

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

Well yes... But I'm shooting a Semi auto and I'm pretty sure that all those powders are worked up for bolt actions;)

So for my semiautoburn time is a concern

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

It definitely was in the ones I have loaded for . Had one action freeze shut and it had to be beat open with a rod down the barrel .

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

hey can I get your pet loads for the 742 06. I use IMR 4350 but have a lb of IMR4198. 165 gr and 180s if you don't mine. ;)

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

Well I called Alliant powder and they recomended RL 19 for my semi auto...

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

The problem in a semi-auto is that you want the pressure to drop sufficiently by the time the action starts to openfor the case to be freely removed from the chamber, and the action to open as gently as possible without failure to extract and eject fully. So the quickness of the powder you choose depends on the weight of the bullet, the placement of the gas tap hole in the barrel, and the SIZE of that hole. I personally would begin load development for that bullet weight with RL 15, and if that powder proves unsatisfactory, try IMR 4350, RE 19, or WW760. All the latter are in about the same range of quickness. RL 15 is fastest. I think it possible that you might encounter problems with any powders slower than these four. But maybe not, too. However, I'd try the quicker powders first.

Try for a MV around 2400 FPS. 40 to 44 grains of RL 15 might be just the ticket.

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

I've shot the Remington factory 220gr RN loads in my Rem 750and had no prob... Does anybody know what powder Rem uses in the factory ammo???

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

The powders used in factory ammo are not canister powders and are not available to the public. It is not uncommon to open up factory ammo with the same bullet with different lot numbers and find a completely different powder.

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

Well I called Hogdon today and they recommended H-4895 with a 165gr bullet... The guy I talked to really didn't recommend shooting 220gr bullets out of the Semi auto... So I guess I'll give the 20 rounds I loaded with the 220gr bullets to my bro too shoot out of his bolt action

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

Not always. In fact, I bet only recently in the past 7 yearswas it common to have a non canister powder in shells. And even now,its only the new cartridges like the 204, light magnums, and weatherby'sdo they useblends. Before that,theybought off the rack just like us. According to some remington engineers and some mag writers.

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

Long, its none of my business, but what are you wanting? Are you wanting a deer load, a bear load, an elk load? All everybody can do that you call is give you roundabout guidelines. Its up to you. Shoot your 220's. Maybe they will do well.

I also went thru this worrying about loading for my semis. I tried all the fast powders, and I suggest you start out there too. See if they work, and if they don't cycle, go to little slower.

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

I just worked up a new load for my Encore 30-06. It is a compressed load of RL22 and a 165 grain Nosler BT. I am getting 3000fps with a 24 inch barrel, without pressure signs. That is a bit unusual with an Encore. Pull up your Nosler manual and give this load a try. I bet it would be a dandy in your semi. It is not a typo I did say RL22 and not RL19. I do not want to post thecharge weight-but it is listed in the Nosler book, and on their web site. Tom.

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

I think you got darn good advice there!

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

I concur:D, at least good starting place.

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

Well big I'm loading strickly for deer... Small deer... I know 220gr bullets are WAY over kill for a 90lb spike in Western Md... But I like the idea of shooting a semi auto and RN bulletin the thick cover... I just really never thought much about the 220gr bullet being hard on the action... So after I've been reading it, it made me think... Then I started reading everthing about the powder burn rate and then that got me thinking... I don't want to be a F stick and destroy my rifle shooting the wrong bullet and the wrong powder combo;)So that is the reason forall the???... I'm thinking that I may just get the Hornady 180gr RN bullet and the H4895...

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

imr 4320,4064,4350 or reloader 22, 19

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

I used two work for a gunsmith part time in the 70's.There were always remington 742's and 740's in there that were torn up by IMR 4350 and 4831.Not from pressure to high for a 30/06,but to much pressure at the gas port.The bolt opens too fast too soon.Things tend to bend.Quite often beyond fixing.Those guns are designed to operate with a pressure curve like you get with 4895 and 150 gr. bullets.You can load heavier bullets but I wouldn't use any powder slower than 4064,4320,Varget,RE 15,or 748 somewhere in that range of burning rates.I've delivered stuff to and picked up from the remington ammo plant in Lonoke,AR several times, they get powder by the train car.Reloaders have never been able to get the same stuff they use.A lab tech goes and gets a sample and they figure out how much to put in whatever caliber their loading this week.Of course there are different burn rates they don't use the same stuff in everything but we can't buy it.H4895 or IMR 4895 are hard to beat in a semi auto.

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

I'm getting a can of H4895 tomorrow

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

Not really sure why you would want to shoot the 220's in a .30-06? When my day gave me his .30-06 many years ago, he gave me some leftover rounds that he had, and some were 220 grainers. My father and mother were missionaries in Somalia in their earlier years, and these 220's were purely to be used as close range stopper rounds, not really for normal hunting. I definately think you would be much happier with the 180's. People trying to do what you seem to want to do with your .30-06 end up turning them into .35 Whelens/.338-06's to shoot the heavier bullets slower. Good Luck.

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

Ok, let me get this straight. So you know for a fact first hand, that remington only designed the gun for reloaders only. Not for the general public? Not for people who shoot factory ammo?

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

Yea I'm going to either shot the 180gr RN or the 165gr Nosler partion

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

I said "those guns were designed FOR A PRESSURE CURVE LIKE YOU WOULD GET WITH 4895 AND 150 GR. BULLETS."Where did you get the only for reloaders stuff?The original surplus 4895 powder marketed by Hodgdon after WW2 was what was used to load M-1 Garand and Browning 30 caliber machinegun ammo.When they load 30/06 ammo at the factory it is loaded with a pressure curve that will safely operate semi auto rifles.Because they don't know what it will be fired in.In the seventies winchester loaded factory ammo in 30/06 that worked great in bolt actions but when fired in rem 742 's the extractor tore the rim because the pressure was to high at the gas port,the operating rod opened the bolt before the pressure dropped enough in the case for it to be extracted.Wrong pressure curve. Winchester blamed the Rem.742 Remington blamed the winchester ammo.This was in several magazines at the time.Winchester quietly changed their 30/06 reciepe.I knew people that had this problem,cases stuck in the chamber sometimes,most of the time the case came out but with the case ruined as far reloading it because the rim was damaged. the American Rifleman had an article about bending the operating rod on M-1 Garands using 4350 and 4831.After seeing an operating rod on a Garand and 742 you would wonder how the rod on the M-1 could be bent since it isso much biggerthan the one on a 742.The guy I worked for did Remington warranty work,I think there was a factory service bulleten about slow burning powders in 740's and 742's.Hornady ligt mag ammo says on the box that is for bolt actions only,not semi-auto's.Pressure curve again.Speer reloading books have a section in the step by stepinstructionsand in the troubleshooting sectionon reloading semi auto's.For a 742 to operate like it's suposed too,you need a pressure curve like that produced by 4895 and 150gr. bullets,not nessesaarily with 4895 and 150 gr. bullets but like that.

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

I don't agree. I think thats a whole lot of heresay very little confirmed fact. I have talked before with engineers at the remington plant also, and he told me they use a powder that is compariable to 4350 for an 06 or 270. He wouldn't say what. I used to be concerned greatly with this stuff, and have discussed it with remington customer service, and they assured me, a modern 7400 is designed around modern high performance ammo.

I think most folks believe this because the M1 was loaded around the surplus fast powder. And then that legend kept going and going. No the 742 had some design flaws no doubt and will destroy itself sooner than later. But t

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

OK, here is my take on all this semi-auto pressure curve stuff. I load for 4 semi-automatic rifles, 1 Ruger and 3 Browning BARs. Some time ago I was getting the same conflictingadvice as many of you about burn rates and pressure curves.

I called Browning to get their opionion on this matter. The first thing they asked was, "whatis the serial number ofyour rifle". I was told that because I will be handloading for one of their rifles(any model) they needed the serial number to Cancel my warranty. No help there.
I then called several powder and bullet manufactures to get their opioins. They all pretty much said the same thing, The concerns about burn rates and semi-autos is geared towards the military actions like the M1. Modern rifles like the BAR are designed to handle the slower powders. That doesn't mean that they will handle the slowest powder for cartridge like R-22 in an 06 without ware-n-tare on the rifle. It also doesn't mean that extremely fast powder for cartridge like H4895 in an 06is the only powder one can use either.
There is a host of fine powders out there that will work just fine in your Rem without any problems. Just stay away from the very slow and in my opinion the very fast. If I wanted to load for the Rem semi in 30-06 I would look at Hunter, 4350, 4064 and the new IMR 4007.

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

The model 4 and7400 were designed after the people that designed the 740 and 742 retired.It ain't quite the same. With 4350 your still getting more as pressure at the port than you need to operate the action.With the number of 742's still around the factorycan't load ammo with a pressure curve that will tear it up.I have seen 742's with the reciever bulged out from 60 grs. of 4831,the surplus stuff you could get for $.25 a pound.You had to bring your own can.I had a Remington 740,middle loads of 4350 worked in it but it had a tendency to hang up,the case wasn't getting out of the way fast enough beforethe bolt went forward again because the bolt was moving to fast to sart with,to much pressure at the gas port.Didn't have that problem with 4895 or 4064,it had other problems but the jamming pretty much went away. Had a Belgian Browning too in 30/06,an entirely different,much higher class of semi auto.It was an offshoot of a Belgian military rifle design.Never shot any thing but 4895 and 4064 in it.That old gunsmith I used to work for used to say he made a living from torn up 742's and 740's that were shot with slow burning powder reloads.30-35 years ago 4895 was in the middle of the burn rate chart and thats what was said to work the best in semi auto's,powders in the middle of the burn rate chart.A lot of people have to make the same mistake others have made before them and suffer the results before they believe that they are making a mistake.An M1 Garand is a considerably stouter weapon than any Remington,every piece is heavier than the same piece on a remington,and if you can tear up M1's with slow powders than you can be assured of tearing remingtons with them.

RE: Good powder for the 30.06
 

No, you can't compare the two. There designs are totally differnet.