30-06 loads for 2700fps/180gr

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xcaribooer

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Hey just getting started in reloading, I am wondering why the standard for factory 180gr ammo is 2700fps yet when I look at reloading recipes most start out at 2500 something and many of the max loads are just 2600 something with only the odd one breaking 2700
.Is there a recipe that will safely give me 2700 with 180's?

I guess my confusion is why can I throw a factory round into my gun that shoots 2700fps and not worry about it but if I hand load I am supposed to "work up" to a load with this same mv.
 
I'd be really surprised if very many factory loaded 180 gr 30-06 loads actually got 2700 fps if you actually used a chronograph. Just because you buy ammo that is rated for 2700 fps, doesn't mean that you're actually getting 2700 fps.
 
Nosler lists a couple that exceed 2800 from a 24" barrel. Sierra list 5 from a 26" barrel.
No two rifles are the same so where one may exceed 2800 another will not.
Published in the Outdoor Edge was the test of a Sako Model 85 Black Bear. The Hornady Superperformance 180 SST and Interbond are advertised at 2820 and produced 2756 and 2728 respectively.
The barrel length is 20 inches.
 
xcaribooer said:
Hey just getting started in reloading, I am wondering why the standard for factory 180gr ammo is 2700fps yet when I look at reloading recipes most start out at 2500 something and many of the max loads are just 2600 something with only the odd one breaking 2700
.Is there a recipe that will safely give me 2700 with 180's?

I guess my confusion is why can I throw a factory round into my gun that shoots 2700fps and not worry about it but if I hand load I am supposed to "work up" to a load with this same mv.
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Most reloading manuals favour one brand of powders over another and many are very low compared to where they could be (Hornady for one). Check out the Hodgdons site. they have several loads that show over 2700 with a 180 gr bullet. Best to look at many sources. Many time I have found loads for the same bullet where one max is below the others start load. Hodgdons is always on the higher side and has become my favourite. My Hornady 8th edition on the other hand is good for looking at pretty pictures of bullets for the most part.

Example: Hodgdon shows 57.5gr (max) of H4350 behind a Sierra 180gr BTSP at 2798 fps
Hornady shows 55.3gr Max of H4350 behind a 180gr bullet at 2700

http://hodgdon.com/basic-manual-inquiry.html

George
 
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I think it could be obtainable with RL 17 or Superformance powders. I get 2820 fps with 165gr Nosler Accubonds in a rem 700 22" barrel and its not quite a max load
 
"...Most reloading manuals favour..." That's why you need more than one or just buy a Lyman book.
"...that shoots 2700fps..." Seriously doubt you're using 180 grain ammo at 2700 FPS. 2700 FPS is the velocity of U.S. military ball ammo, Both 150 grain ball and 168 AP ammo. And factory velocities tend to be optimistic. In any case, accuracy, out of your rifle, is far more important than the velocity.
 
Scott_N said:
I'd be really surprised if very many factory loaded 180 gr 30-06 loads actually got 2700 fps if you actually used a chronograph. Just because you buy ammo that is rated for 2700 fps, doesn't mean that you're actually getting 2700 fps.
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Ya they inflate the sh*t out of the packaging for advertisement purposes ... same with the BC's of most bullets
 
IMR4064, cci250 primers and 180 nosler ballistic tip will get you very close to 2700 fps
always start from minimum and be very attentive to high pressure signs when getting close to max load
that load had take down many nice bull moose at distances past 300 yards for the last years out of a 700BDL
speer manual says start at 46gr and max to 50gr
I found 49.5 is the most acurate load and gave 2690 average on the chrony
 
If you're the kind of guy that puts velocity at the top of the list (lots of people do) of attributes in a rifle decision, then don't buy a 30-06 with a barrel shorter than 24". From my experience a 30-06 will lose more fps per inch of barrel than a 308. In a hunting rifle accuracy and velocity are a comprimise....if I can gain 100 or so fps and the groups go from say less than one inch to slightly over one inch, I'll take the velocity gain over the smaller groups in a hunting rifle.
To the OP question about always starting at minium loads and not at max (although the factory loaded ammo is max), the truth is, it is a disclaimer to protect the manufactures of reloading supplies. In my many years of reloading I have never found a max listed load in any manual that is dangerous in any of my guns (it may be different in old antique or modified guns). And to add to that, the load I end up with after "working the load up" is usually at the max listed or slightly above.
I will add that as a safety precaution it is still recommended to start low and work that load up...if nothing else is accomplished, you at least get some extra trigger time.
 
The reason why 30-06 load data is soft is because there are lots of 50-100 year old guns out there and nearly as many liability layers.
Plus pressure levels for the 06 are lower than many of the cartriges that are made out of 06 brass.
If the 30-06 was loaded to the same pressures as the .270 or 25-06 reloading manuals would be full of 2800 fps+ loads.
 
keith mokry said:
Imr 4350 56g gets 2625fps with 20"brl ruger #1 and 2730fps with 23.5" baikal and 2475fps witha 15" encore brl
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And in my Husqvarna with 24 inch barrel, it took 58 grains of IMR 4350 to obtain 2642.
This Husqvarna shoots every load about 75, of so, fps slower than does a P17 with a custom barrel.
Thus, the P17 shot the same load with 2731 average.
I have said many times on these threads that I have never seen a US loading chart that didn't lie about their velocities. I have often said that the only accurate loading chart I have ever seen, including Hodgdon on line, are the old charts put out by Norma.
Many years ago I started out reloading and the rifle I had was this same old Husqvarna 30-06, which I later found out shot a bit slower than most rifles. I started out using Norma componets exclusively; Norma cases, powder and bullets, along with the German RWS primers. My first, and actually the only loading book I own, was Norma's, "Gunbugs Guide." It had only 25 pages, including the loading charts, but it got me efficiently and safely reloading rifle and revolver ammunition over a period of nearly fifty years. The Norma chart showed 50 grains of their 203 powder in th 30-06 with 180 grain bullets for 2700 fps.
I used that load exclusively for years and won some rifle competitions with it. I often wondered what velocity it gave and years later when I had a chronograph, I managed to get a pound of Norma 203. I chronographed if and with same load of 50 grains and the same old Norma 180 grain bullet, it gave 2642, in the same rifle that I had found out, always shot a bit slower than other 30-06 rifles. So, it really was giving 2700 fps, just like it said.
I later checked other velocity figures in the Norma book and every one was either dead on, or a bit more than it showed.
 
I've done it with IMR4350 and IMR4064.

Hodgdon reloading center has several 30-06 180 gr loads that break 2700 fps - probably out of a 26" barrel. Not every rifle will do it.
 
thanks for all the comments, the gun I am using is a 700 bdl with 24" barrel. being a modern rifle I imagine it could take the maximum pressures listed but I will follow the rules and work up to max loads.
what signs should I look for in regards to too much pressure?
 
xcaribooer said:
what signs should I look for in regards to too much pressure?
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flat or flanged primers
ejector pin hole mark on your brass
hard bolt lift
hard extraction
you can also mesure the base of the brass with a 0,0001 micrometer to see if you have excessive expansion

all theses signs can also be caused by other factors

if you gat an accurate load at lower pressure, your brass will also live longer

if after 2 or 3 shots, primer pocket gets loosse, it is another sign of high pressure
 
If you get an accurate load and find it isn't quite 2700 fps - don't worry about it. It won't make any practical difference ballistically in the field.
 
2700 should be attainable from most any handloaded 30-06, in my experience.

I've reloaded for a handful of 30-06's and I've not yet had one that could not do 2800 or better, even from 22" bbls.

Personally I've found IMR 4831, which lots of guys seem to like, to be pretty dissapointing in terms of velocity. IMR 4895 and IMR 4350 are both solid performers, and RL-17 seems to be a magic ticket to 75 - 100 fps more velocity in most any 30-06 sized case I try it in.

I have a pet load consisting of a 180 grain Win PP over RL-17 that gives me a chronied 2880 fps from a 22' bbl.
 
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