Reloading 30-06

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Kazman1960

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Hi all . Looking for some info .
I have a Benelli R1 in 30-06 . Trying to use reloads , it will no eject spent shells .

It also seems to struggle feeding a new round . ?

Does it need a higher gas content to force out the spent shell ?

If so , what would be he best powder to use for hand loads .
 
if it wont eject the rounds you can try adding more powder. BUT make sure to NOT go over the max amount. the min charge might not be enough to eject the round. start at the min and slowly increase the amount of powder u use till it ejects. but again, DO NOT go over the max amount. as for the feeding issue, does it have issues with feeding the first round. or just after ejection?
 
"...Trying to use reloads..." Sounds like you're very new to reloading. Did you read your manual?
For any semi-auto, you must full length resize every time, check the case lengths and watch the OAL. You must work up the load for your rifle. You cannot just pick a load and hope for the best.
What load are you using now? Just using more powder is not how you develope a load. It has to be the right, safe powder for the cartridge. I'd suggest IMR4064 with a 150 to 180 grain bullet. The best all round bullet weight for the .30-06 is a 165 grain hunting bullet though.
 
sunray said:
"...Trying to use reloads..." Sounds like you're very new to reloading. Did you read your manual?
For any semi-auto, you must full length resize every time, check the case lengths and watch the OAL. You must work up the load for your rifle. You cannot just pick a load and hope for the best.
What load are you using now? Just using more powder is not how you develope a load. It has to be the right, safe powder for the cartridge. I'd suggest IMR4064 with a 150 to 180 grain bullet. The best all round bullet weight for the .30-06 is a 165 grain hunting bullet though.
Click to expand...

Yes i am new to reloading . Thats why i ask questions .
I feel some what bashed every time i ask though .
I do not just " add " powder to make something work. I have been working with explosives all my life and i know what damage wrongful use and applications can do .
When you say you can not just pick a load and hope it works , why not if the manual has the specs there .
How else other than asking these questions do you " pick " a load ?
 
Kazman1960 said:
I have been called worse , but , i do have a manual with specs ......i was just asking if anyone has " preference" of powder for use in Semi's .
Click to expand...

I apologize, if you wanted to know what people use for powders, than you should of made it clear, your first post was very vague, Im not the only one who saw it that way. We are hard on some people, because we don't want folks killing themselves over something stupid, as using your own reloads, that weren't prepared properly!

Does it need a higher gas content to force out the spent shell ?
If so , what would be he best powder to use for hand loads .

It was the first sentence that got me :confused:
 
Kazman1960 said:
Hi all . Looking for some info .
I have a Benelli R1 in 30-06 . Trying to use reloads , it will no eject spent shells .

It also seems to struggle feeding a new round . ?

Does it need a higher gas content to force out the spent shell ?

If so , what would be he best powder to use for hand loads .
Click to expand...

Not ejecting spent cases could be a light load, exractor issue, ejector, i don't know... Not chambering a new round is something I am familiar with on the MR1. There are 3 guys at my range, all with MR1s, a 270 WSM, and 2 with .223s. All three of these gents had to buy small base shell holders to get a little more sizing at the head of the cases, all three were using standard Lee die sets to begin with.
 
I had the same problem with my R1. I was using 1 fired Lake City brass and had full length resized. At least I thought I full length resized. Almost every shot was a failure to eject and the spent case was very difficult to extract. That small cocking handle on the bolt really cuts up your hand! When I measured the unfired cases ALL were over the max web size of 0.470". I resized the spent casings several times but could not get under the max web size. I bot some Federal loaded ammo and shot and reloaded those cases with no problem.
 
OP, I knew what you were asking and I see no reason for your being trashed.
There's a real good chance it does need more gas/power/powder to properly cycle the rifle. There are so many suitable powders for the 30-06 that it shouldn't be too critical which powder you use, in the medium to slow, burning rate. Just picking a load from the book is certainly OK.
The problem is, there is such a difference in loads between the various loading books. The starting loads of some loads in some books are so light of a load that they almost go woof, instead of bang, when fired! I would start at least half way between what they call the starting load and what they claim is maximum.
See if that is an improvement, and if it is an improvement, but not perfect, load a bit heavier, going up a half grain at a time.
Another way to look for a suitable powder, is looking at the loads in the book. Let's say you are using the common 180 grain bullet. Any maximum load in the book for a 30-06 with 180 grain bullet should have 50, or more grains of powder. If they show a full power load of less than 50 grains, it basically means that powder is too fast burning, to be ideal.
4350, of either brand, is probably the most used powder, with a 30-06 and 180, or heavier, bullets.
Now, having said all that, some auto loading rifles require the smaller sized dies, referred to as under sized, to be used in order for the rifle to properly cycle!
 
The newbie mistake I first did was not screwing the resizing die low enough. For the 30-06, you should feel a good "bounce" as the die bottoms out against the shell holder with no cartridge.

Other than that, what components are you using? I've had good luck with IMR 4064 (49 grains) under 150 or (48 grains) under 165 grain bullets
 
If you use " small base dies" they seem to get the web of
The casings back in spec, some brass does take more to resize
Than others, I have small base dies for my rem 742 semi
In 308, they are rcbs dies, they were recommended to me
By a fellow shooter and have stopped ejection problems
 
H4831 said:
OP, I knew what you were asking and I see no reason for your being trashed.
There's a real good chance it does need more gas/power/powder to properly cycle the rifle. There are so many suitable powders for the 30-06 that it shouldn't be too critical which powder you use, in the medium to slow, burning rate. Just picking a load from the book is certainly OK.
The problem is, there is such a difference in loads between the various loading books. The starting loads of some loads in some books are so light of a load that they almost go woof, instead of bang, when fired! I would start at least half way between what they call the starting load and what they claim is maximum.
See if that is an improvement, and if it is an improvement, but not perfect, load a bit heavier, going up a half grain at a time.
Another way to look for a suitable powder, is looking at the loads in the book. Let's say you are using the common 180 grain bullet. Any maximum load in the book for a 30-06 with 180 grain bullet should have 50, or more grains of powder. If they show a full power load of less than 50 grains, it basically means that powder is too fast burning, to be ideal.
4350, of either brand, is probably the most used powder, with a 30-06 and 180, or heavier, bullets.
Now, having said all that, some auto loading rifles require the smaller sized dies, referred to as under sized, to be used in order for the rifle to properly cycle!
Click to expand...

Great , thank you for posting this info . That's all I was asking for . I am at the moment using lighter ( 150 grain bullets ) as these were the only ones I could find at the time . There are so many variants out there for bullets and powder , I thought I would ask the experts on this forum . All I wanted to do was try , now I know I failed in my first attempt . I will try the recommendations you mention next time I get a batch of bullets and powder . Thanks for your advise .
 
ace said:
I had the same problem with my R1. I was using 1 fired Lake City brass and had full length resized. At least I thought I full length resized. Almost every shot was a failure to eject and the spent case was very difficult to extract. That small cocking handle on the bolt really cuts up your hand! When I measured the unfired cases ALL were over the max web size of 0.470". I resized the spent casings several times but could not get under the max web size. I bot some Federal loaded ammo and shot and reloaded those cases with no problem.
Click to expand...

Thanks . I'm going to buy and try some of that ammo to see if that works .
 
I've a fair amount of experience reloading for semi's, and some in 30-06.

Your issue is most likely going to be solved with a combination of more powder and/or small base dies.

Every rifle is a bit different. Some semi's only need neck sizing with a medium powder charge to work fine, and on from there to full sizing with small base dies and a heavy powder charge.

The good news is that your accuracy will likely also pick up once your reliability does. Ammunition that just barely cycles (or cycles sporadically) in a semi rarely gives good accuracy.
 
Kazman1960 said:
Great , thank you for posting this info . That's all I was asking for . I am at the moment using lighter ( 150 grain bullets ) as these were the only ones I could find at the time . There are so many variants out there for bullets and powder , I thought I would ask the experts on this forum . All I wanted to do was try , now I know I failed in my first attempt . I will try the recommendations you mention next time I get a batch of bullets and powder . Thanks for your advise .
Click to expand...
I wouldn't say you failed in the true sense of things and don't beat yourself up over this.We have all been there at some point in the reloading journey and if anyone says they haven't been they are probably stretching the truth a bit.This is how we learn and at some point in time you will be able to help out someone else looking for advice and asking the same questions.Stick with it.
 
Kazman1960 said:
Great , thank you for posting this info . That's all I was asking for . I am at the moment using lighter ( 150 grain bullets ) as these were the only ones I could find at the time . There are so many variants out there for bullets and powder , I thought I would ask the experts on this forum . All I wanted to do was try , now I know I failed in my first attempt . I will try the recommendations you mention next time I get a batch of bullets and powder . Thanks for your advise .
Click to expand...

Unless you ruined your rifle, are missing body parts or are pushing up daiseys, the experience wasn't a failure: It was an exercise in eliminating one way how not to reload for your semi-auto rifle.

I haven't reloaded for a semi-auto rifle yet, so I have nothing else to offer in this thread that isn't repeated from reloading manuals.
 
New Camper said:
Unless you ruined your rifle, are missing body parts or are pushing up daiseys, the experience wasn't a failure: It was an exercise in eliminating one way how not to reload for your semi-auto rifle.

I haven't reloaded for a semi-auto rifle yet, so I have nothing else to offer in this thread that isn't repeated from reloading manuals.
Click to expand...

That my friend , is the way I look at it . Trial and a little bit of error . You can't get better than the advise of others as they are the ones who have already come up with the formula .
 
H4831 said:
OP, I knew what you were asking and I see no reason for your being trashed.
There's a real good chance it does need more gas/power/powder to properly cycle the rifle. There are so many suitable powders for the 30-06 that it shouldn't be too critical which powder you use, in the medium to slow, burning rate. Just picking a load from the book is certainly OK.
The problem is, there is such a difference in loads between the various loading books. The starting loads of some loads in some books are so light of a load that they almost go woof, instead of bang, when fired! I would start at least half way between what they call the starting load and what they claim is maximum.
See if that is an improvement, and if it is an improvement, but not perfect, load a bit heavier, going up a half grain at a time.
Another way to look for a suitable powder, is looking at the loads in the book. Let's say you are using the common 180 grain bullet. Any maximum load in the book for a 30-06 with 180 grain bullet should have 50, or more grains of powder. If they show a full power load of less than 50 grains, it basically means that powder is too fast burning, to be ideal.
4350, of either brand, is probably the most used powder, with a 30-06 and 180, or heavier, bullets.
Now, having said all that, some auto loading rifles require the smaller sized dies, referred to as under sized, to be used in order for the rifle to properly cycle!
Click to expand...

Well , I went and bought some store-bought Federal 180 grain Ammo , still no luck . Rifle will not cycle . I think its pooched .
 
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