Deadly lethal moderate recoil 30-06 loads?

[rookhawk]

I just picked up my youngest son a beautiful Ferlach 30-06 and I wanted to develop a modest recoil hunting load for him. (inside of 200 yards)

The load would be used for whitetails or hogs. I know a lighter bullet will help tremendously and I've heard 4895 is a potential powder.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[YancyW]

You thinking something like a 150gr TTSX?

 

[rookhawk]

You thinking something like a 150gr TTSX?

Not a bad idea at all, @Yancy. Or even a copper monometal that is 120gr as it would have the same volume and expansion as a 150gr lead-core and would be moving faster velocity with less recoil.

What do you think?

 

[Commish]

I don’t know anything about loads, but I do know I’d like to see some pictures of the rifle!

 

[rookhawk]

Just found this Barnes load with 130gr TTSX:

H4895 starting 52.5 fps 3071 max 55.5 fps 3276

I believe with H4895 you can start with as low as 60% of max if you desired to do so. Generally, the accuracy at the lowest load is poor but they do seem to get MOA as you ratchet up the powder, but still below the published "minimums".

130gr bullet going say 2600fps would be formidable.

 

[rookhawk]

I don’t know anything about loads, but I do know I’d like to see some pictures of the rifle!

 

[Bert the Turtle]

Barnes bullets are great but make sure you’ll have adequate impact velocity. I made some really light loads for my wife using a bullet intended for a
30-30 at modest velocity. You can contact the company to find the minimum recommended impact velocity and load accordingly.

 

[YancyW]

Not a bad idea at all, @Yancy. Or even a copper monometal that is 120gr as it would have the same volume and expansion as a 150gr lead-core and would be moving faster velocity with less recoil.

What do you think?

I think that would work well, my only thought would be not to reduce the load too much. I really like the mono's, but they do need a bit of speed to get the expansion you want. So maybe if you drop to the 130gr class, I would keep my intended range in mind and make sure you had enough ass behind it to expand the way you want, with that being <200 yards, this already pretty much solved for.

I use the 150gr TTSX in a 308 win and it really does well. Way more than enough for any deer or hog.

 

[Commish]

Beautiful! Every time I see a bolt like that, I just assume the action is smooth as glass.

 

[Joker12]

For many years my favorite load for white tails has been a 165gr Speer hot core or the same weight in a Hornady interlock with enough IMR4064 to give around 2600fps. Easy recoiling, low pressure and always results in quick kills. I think 150gr bullets would also work well but my favorite '06 just doesn't like them.

 

[rookhawk]

I think that would work well, my only thought would be not to reduce the load too much. I really like the mono's, but they do need a bit of speed to get the expansion you want. So maybe if you drop to the 130gr class, I would keep my intended range in mind and make sure you had enough ass behind it to expand the way you want, with that being <200 yards, this already pretty much solved for.

I use the 150gr TTSX in a 308 win and it really does well. Way more than enough for any deer or hog.

Thanks, @YancyW I was perusing the archives of the Internet on this topic and someone posted an idea that was rather genius. Barnes makes a .308" bullet designed for 30-30 winchester. Their thinking was it was designed for lower-velocity expansion. Maybe that bullet in a 30-06 humming along at say 2600-2650fps (110-130gr) would provide ethical 250 yard accuracy and expansion but cut the typical 18lbs-21lbs of felt recoil all the way down to about 10lbs-12lbs.

This may sound plain goofy, but my experience with 30-06 is almost nil. For my other kids they had .243s or 7x64 / 7x65r guns and I knew how to manage the recoil effectively. I don't even have 30-06 dies at this point because its never been the right gun for all our use cases.

But then I saw how nice this "Forever rifle" was and decided to buy it for my youngest that didn't own a rifle whatsoever under the thinking this would be a gun he could carry with him the rest of his life. But in the meantime, it needs to be comfortable for a 9 year old that weighs 85lbs to shoot.

 

[Buffalo1]

Beautiful firearm- that is a "life keeper !"

 

[JimP]

Just as a fyi and I have no idea if it is still true but I tried some Federal 125 grain bullets in my old 06 years ago and accuracy past 200 yards started to fall off quite a bit. But if I switched to the 150 grain bullets the accuracy came back and was fine out to 250 yards.

If it was me I would be looking at the Barnes 130 or 150 grain TTSX bullets.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Fine rifle Rookhawk! IMR 4895 is the classic powder for the 30-06. It is what was used by the government for the M1.
Personally, I would load a 150 soft point at about 2500 whitetail, and a 165 premium at the same speed for big game. Zero 1 inch at 100 yards, and will be able to dead hold 200 easy.
If this proves to be too much recoil. I would load it like a 30-30 a 150 at 2200.
For some reason it seems like adding bullet speed kicks worse than adding weight.
The 30-06 is my favorite cartridge, I think it will grow on you.

 

[YancyW]

Thanks, @YancyW I was perusing the archives of the Internet on this topic and someone posted an idea that was rather genius. Barnes makes a .308" bullet designed for 30-30 winchester. Their thinking was it was designed for lower-velocity expansion. Maybe that bullet in a 30-06 humming along at say 2600-2650fps (110-130gr) would provide ethical 250 yard accuracy and expansion but cut the typical 18lbs-21lbs of felt recoil all the way down to about 10lbs-12lbs.

This may sound plain goofy, but my experience with 30-06 is almost nil. For my other kids they had .243s or 7x64 / 7x65r guns and I knew how to manage the recoil effectively. I don't even have 30-06 dies at this point because its never been the right gun for all our use cases.

But then I saw how nice this "Forever rifle" was and decided to buy it for my youngest that didn't own a rifle whatsoever under the thinking this would be a gun he could carry with him the rest of his life. But in the meantime, it needs to be comfortable for a 9 year old that weighs 85lbs to shoot.

You should try it, accuracy would be something I would be curious about. I'm sure you could find a way to make it work, but you are working within a rather narrow window of velocity. Min safe speed vs too much recoil, I don't now how wide of a range that is, but it may impact the bullet you ultimately use.

I don't know where you live, but the white tail where I am are small and nearly any centerfire round is enough at <200 yards. Hogs are the same way, I shoot them with 5.56 all the time, never an issue.

 

[rookhawk]

Fine rifle Rookhawk! IMR 4895 is the classic powder for the 30-06. It is what was used by the government for the M1.
Personally, I would load a 150 soft point at about 2500 whitetail, and a 165 premium at the same speed for big game. Zero 1 inch at 100 yards, and will be able to dead hold 200 easy.
If this proves to be too much recoil. I would load it like a 30-30 a 150 at 2200.
For some reason it seems like adding bullet speed kicks worse than adding weight.
The 30-06 is my favorite cartridge, I think it will grow on you.

@Wyatt Smith Just curious, why did you gravitate towards the 150gr suggestion rather than a 130gr? 80gr barnes TTSX out of a .243 at 3300fps are devastating on deer. Wouldn't a 130gr barnes of 30 cal going at 2500-2600 be even MORE of a good thing? Yet wouldn't it be flat shooting and give a kid a bit more reach with less recoil than the heavier?

I'm playing devils advocate to learn your thinking on this matter, not trying to be obtuse or argumentative.

 

[rookhawk]

You should try it, accuracy would be something I would be curious about. I'm sure you could find a way to make it work, but you are working within a rather narrow window of velocity. Min safe speed vs too much recoil, I don't now how wide of a range that is, but it may impact the bullet you ultimately use.

I don't know where you live, but the white tail where I am are small and nearly any centerfire round is enough at <200 yards. Hogs are the same way, I shoot them with 5.56 all the time, never an issue.

We hunt Wisconsin whitetails and they are fairly large to gigantic. 160lbs is an average doe but some have tipped 200lbs. 200lbs is an average buck but they do go way over 300lbs, I've shot one that was way over 300lbs myself. It was like trying to lift a cow elk for 4 guys.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

@Wyatt Smith Just curious, why did you gravitate towards the 150gr suggestion rather than a 130gr? 80gr barnes TTSX out of a .243 at 3300fps are devastating on deer. Wouldn't a 130gr barnes of 30 cal going at 2500-2600 be even MORE of a good thing? Yet wouldn't it be flat shooting and give a kid a bit more reach with less recoil than the heavier?

I'm playing devils advocate to learn your thinking on this matter, not trying to be obtuse or argumentative.

I think the 130 or even the 110 tsx would be great, provided the open up inside a whitetail. I am inexperienced with them.
Also one can buy 100 count boxes of Speer, Sierra or Hornandy cup and core bullets for $30-40.
My line of thinking was to make your 30-06 hit at 100 yards, like mine does at 350 yards.
@michael458 really like 100 grain CEB raptors. Something else to think about.
There is more than one way to skin a cat.

 

[rookhawk]

I think the 130 or even the 110 tsx would be great, provided the open up inside a whitetail. I am inexperienced with them.
Also one can buy 100 count boxes of Speer, Sierra or Hornandy cup and core bullets for $30-40.
My line of thinking was to make your 30-06 hit at 100 yards, like mine does at 350 yards.
@michael458 really like 100 grain CEB raptors. Something else to think about.
There is more than one way to skin a cat.

All good points. To mix metaphors a bit, my middle son uses a 7x64 brenneke at "full load" with barnes 140gr ttsx bullets. It worked great on Oryx in NM and it worked fine on wildebeest, impala, and eland, but it didn't work so well on broadside shots on white tail deer. It wouldn't open and it shot like a solid on those lucky shots that hit vitals and miss the ribs and cartilige the whole way through. 150-200 yard recoveries because of that. But I believe those loads were going 2950fps or so.

Thus, my thinking of lighter bullet to keep the velocity up, but the recoil down.

I wonder if Barnes is making a "special" low-velocity bullet in .308" for a gun like a 300AAC that might be designed to work better at those +/- 2500FPS velocities?

 

[ZG47]

Given the reported tendency of standard weight Sierra flat-base bullets to be a bit softer than some equivalent weight Hornady Interlock flat-base bullets, I suggest that you could follow the @Wyatt Smith suggestion with the Sierra 150 grain and the Hornady 165 grain. The Hornady 150 grain is designed for .300 Magnum velocities and the Hornady 165 grain appears to have been designed for .30-40 Krag through to .30-06 velocities.