First handloads down the tube

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regulate34

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Hi guys.

Like the title says. I jumped into the reloading world.
got out today and let some rounds fly.

not too sure how to analyze the data. so if you want to chime in please do.

first loads were:
30-06 Hornady case
H4350
CCI 250
165g AccuBond

I loaded from 52g-55g in 1grain increments 3-shots each

Here is my best group at 52g. odd thing is all other groups were 2-2.5". shot at 100yrds


second set was
30-06 Hornady case
H4350
CCI 250
190g Berger VLD Hunting

same loads as above. and the same thing best group at 52g and the rest around 2-2.5"


so what dose it all mean.
the AccuBonds are wicked in the accuracy department.
Don't have access to a cronoy.
any guess at velocity in a 24"bbl
 
52gr of 4350 will be mighty slow. I would bump up a lot. Most of the best results for 165gr are 56.5-59gr of h4350. Im shooting 57gr at 2830fps from a 22" barrel. Hodgdon data says start at 53gr and max is 59gr for 165's and h4350. Accuracy is good but you steel need some speed to go with it.
 
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regulate34 said:
that's what I was thinking. so you think I should go progressively higher.
Click to expand...

I would yes. I would go until I see pressure and then work with the most accurate load
To give some perspective I started at 55.5gr of h4350 and 165gr hornady set's. Velocity was 2686 fps. Groups were right around .5" though. Went all the way up to 59 and was seeing pressure signs. Groups at 57gr for me are still in the .5-.75" range. Depending on the gun and load not every powder charge will shoot tight. It will open up and then close again.
 
When load testing a 30-06, using a 1 grain increment might be a bit too big of a jump. I've used .5 grain increments when doing the initial tests, then narrowed it down .2 grains at a time.

Stan


regulate34 said:
that's what I was thinking. so you think I should go progressively higher.
Click to expand...
 
+1 on having fun with interbonds. I've never tried them in my rifle but I load them for my father, nothing we could would get anything better than 2ish moa.
 
Ok so I see hodgson data says 59g of H4350 under a 165g. But my hornady manual says 56.7 is max.
That's why I started low. This go around I think I will search for "my" rifles max.
 
The first question I have is it a bolt gun or a gas gun?
If it's a gas gun is it a Garand since you don't load Garand loads to bolt action specs.
 
I would suggest you pick one bullet and stick with it. When I started loading I was doing the same as you and I never really got a good load because I was always testing something different. If you decide on a bullet and stick with it then after 2 or three batches of testers you will know if it will perform, then you will always have a load to fall back to when hunting season comes around. I always hated switching back to factory ammo for hunting season because I was still trying to figure out a good load.

With my 308 I start loads 0.5gr apart then once you see where the upper and lower node is I do 0.2gr increments two loads above and below the high node. Then take the best of those loads and start fiddling with seating depth. Once you finish that then you can try different primers or start working on a different bullet and/or powder.

Good luck
 
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