30-06 reduced load game getter cartridge.

pointandshoot

pointandshoot

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richmond, bc
Hey all, quick question for the pro's. Nothing like being in the middle of the hunting off season to get the wheels turning. I was thinking about all of the times deer/moose hunting seeing so many dumb grouse that you could pretty much bonk with a stick and wondering if I could put together a very dumbed down 30-06 round. I have a surplus of unique on hand and a whole bunch of cast 50gr .311 bullets that I doubt I will have any other use for. I was thinking of starting with 5gr of power. Thoughts, comments, suggestions? Good idea, bad idea? Thanks in advance!
 
it is allowed to shoot upland birds in BC with centrefire, rimfire and shotgun. just double checked the regs.

I have heard guys knocking heads off with high-powered rifles. Not my cup of tea.
 
I have not used Unique, but have heard it is good for reduced loads.

I can tell you that cast bullets in the 150 - 200 grain range, over 6 - 8 grains of Trail Boss in 308, 30-06, 303 Brit, 7.62 x 54R , etc is just fine for grouse and hares at typical small game ranges. Actually, these loads easily will blow through a 5" softwood tree like a spruce or poplar, so you could also dispatch a pesky coyote with them too. :)

You just need a few practice rounds to know where your rifle shoots and you can leave your .22 at home when out hunting big game...

Slingshots sound like a good idea, but I'd bet less than 5% of guys out there can reliably kill small game with them. It CAN be done, but really, a guy has to be pretty serious about it and practice LOTS.
 
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5gr sounds on the light side. I usually use around 10gr in 303B but am using a 90gr cast bullet so almost twice the bullet weight. I haven't chronied them but they shoot 2-3" groups at 50yds with iron sights. Always a couple inches high compared to normal loads too.
I've never used filler to keep the powder against the flash hole but always use magnum primers with reduced loads.
I've been meaning to try fillers but haven't gotten around to it (don't get to the range much in the winter).

For my 300WM I have a chamber adapter that takes 32ACP bullets but I get a lot of pierced primers and really erratic accuracy results. I've been meaning to try using small rifle primers in some reloaded 32ACP cases and see if it helps.
 
Northman999 said:
I have not used Unique, but have heard it is good for reduced loads.

I can tell you that cast bullets in the 150 - 200 grain range, over 6 - 8 grains of Trail Boss in 308, 30-06, 303 Brit, 7.62 x 54R , etc is just fine for grouse and hares at typical small game ranges. Actually, these loads easily will blow through a 5" softwood tree like a spruce or poplar, so you could also dispatch a pesky coyote with them too. :)

You just need a few practice rounds to know where your rifle shoots and you can leave your .22 at home when out hunting big game...

Slingshots sound like a good idea, but I'd bet less than 5% of guys out there can reliably kill small game with them. It CAN be done, but really, a guy has to be pretty serious about it and practice LOTS.
Click to expand...

We have killed a few hundred grouse and hares with slingshots over the past 40 years... that said, we have also used bows, pellet pistols, blowguns... and more recently reduced loads, mostly using TB. Tough to beat a slingshot for stealth.
 
Yes, that bullet will work with 5gr, but I would try up to 12 gr just see what sound and accuracy does.

Also, try putting in two bullets, back to back, and loading for a 100 gr bullet. At 25 yards they will print about 2" apart.
 
Thanks for all of the great replies guys!! At first I was thinking about turning up an adapter on the lathe to allow me to fire 32 colt but then figured why not skip the adapter and just load the bullet in a 30-06 case. I have done the sling shot thing and yes it works well, I just can't be bothered to pack it around with me and in all honesty I am fine watching grouse and bunnies walk away too. For me it's more of a because I can and I have everything avalible to me to squish a few rounds together and give them a go. Was just curious if I was headed in the right direction as far as the loads themselves were concerned. Cheers
 
I d use 7-10gr unique with a 150gr - 180gr bullet no gas check. 50gr seems REALLY light for a .30 cal. I use the 90gr in my .303 as well but I use trail boss
 
Be very careful about loading up a bunch of light hunting loads in a full sized rifle. It's too much fun, and you will waste all of your carefully crafted handloads with kids, grandkids and maybe even the neighbours kids. I've lost a lot of ammunition that way and I don't have any kids!
Load a bunch to see how it shoots, then load a twice as much as you think you will need.
 
I use in all my 30 cal rifles # "00" buck shot for grouse hunting. "00" buck shot is slightly larger than .308" and has to be resized. Lee makes lead bullet sizer for .308" for approx $20. I use magnum primers and depends on rifle 5-7 gr of Clays powder. It makes less noise than 22, shot goes through without expansion and up to 30 yards is quite accurate.
 
I'm actually happy with using my Hammond Game Getter, mostly because its easy. Having that said, there is no reason why you could not load a 50gr ball into a case and work up a chicken load in your 30.06. The Game Getter uses a 50gr ball swagged to .308 diameter and has good or similar ballistics to a .22 of the same weight. I've popped hundreds of chickens successfully with it over the decades.

A 30.06 chicken load? I'm all for it and think its a great idea for playing with new loads in the off season.
 
You might want to try out a "Hammond Gamegetter" a steel cartridge insert that uses a .22 ramset power and a lead pellet (bore size). Google the name.
 
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