Loading three different 30-06 rounds for a trio of rifles

[odonata]

As a right-handed person who shoots left because of a defective right eye, finding bolt actions I like chambered in 30-06 is never a problem. It's one of the common calibers that lefties (and involuntary southpaws like myself) have as a popular choice from multiple manufacturers. That's why I own three of them:

Remington 700 BDL, Timney trigger, Nikon 1.5-6x42

Sako 85 Hunter, Schmidt & Bender 1.5-8x42 Stratos

Steyr CL II w/ fixed sights & a Swarovski Z6 1.7-10x42

The goal I was looking for feedback on is setting each one of them up differently to maximize the potential of this one particular cartridge across a trio of rifles. I had thought about getting one of my 30-06's rebored into something larger like a 35 Whelen / 9.3x62 or rebarreled to a smaller classic like the 257 Roberts. But I decided to see what kind of performance could be had off the reloading bench first. Since the majority of my hunting is in the southestern woods in the USA, most of my shots are less than 200m & the longest I've ever had an opportunity at is 325m. My main goal is terminal peformance with minimal tracking so I'm focusing on effective hunting rounds at moderate distances.

I'd like the Remington 700 to be setup to shoot a lightweight bullet like the 125gr Accubond or the 130gr Barnes. Something fast, flat & light. This could be a load with a mild recoil that's pleasant to shoot but still effective at the ranges I usually hunt at. Or it could be a screamer that shoots as fast as possible for this caliber. Something that would give results similar to a 257 Roberts or a 25-06 for example.

My Sako 85 Hunter shoots 165gr bullets really well. Its the only rifle that I've managed to shoot a single ragged hole using three bullets at 100 meters with so it would be my medium-weight rifle. Setting it up with 165gr ~ 180gr bullets would cover everything I'm currently hunting & I would get a lot of use out of it. I specifically jumped over the 140gr ~ 150gr bullets because my primary deer rifles (a trio of Ruger #1's in 6.5x55, 275 Rigby & 303 British) all shoot bullets in this weight range so I was opting for something a bit heavier in one of my 30-06's.

The Steyr CL II I'd love to setup for a heavier bullet. Something in the 200gr ~ 220gr range. With its iron sights, it might be used at closer ranges or in brushy areas. This is an option I haven't explored yet but I was hoping a group of experienced African hunters might have some good suggestions for this one. With retirement approaching next year, it'll be interesting to see if I can expand the type of hunting I do (maybe to other continents ).

So if you have a single favorite round you'd like to suggest or even give me an opinion on two or all three, then I'd love to hear what has worked best for you. I enjoy testing different options at the gun range but hearing from some experienced hunters might narrow my choices considerably & save me a lot of time & money. I always appreciate advice from other hunters who have had successful hunts. If you don't like my idea for this particular experiment, then feel free to give me your opinion of how you would set them up. I'm just mulling the possibilities so I'm open to other ideas. All of these rifles have 22" / 560mm barrels, so it seemed kind of redundant to set them up with the similar loads. My biggest problem is that I like to buy rifles but I never sell them so I do wind up with duplicates.

 

[Rubberhead]

So, I have a similar issue. I have an O/U in .30-06 that shoots a 150 grain bullet at 2930 fps from the Under barrel in the same hole as a 180 grain bullet at 2750 fps from the Over barrel. Rather than re-regulate the gun, I just go with it. In Africa, I shot Accubonds in both barrels. I started with the 150 grain bullets for the impala and warthog and the 180 grain bullets for the zebra and wildebeest.

In the US, I put a 150 grain accubond in the Under and a 180 grain ballistic tip in the Upper for whitetail. In most situations, I shoot the ballistic tip for a heart shot. If it's raining or on one particular stand, surrounded by thick brush in a 5-year-old cutover, I start with the Accubond and go for a neck shot so I don't have to look for a blood trail in the rain or drag its dead body out of 50 yards of brambles.

 

[Firebird]

My all time favorite’06 load is 165 gr trophy bonded bear claw. The Speer grand slam in 165 is a tie or close second and the Remington core lokt a solid third. Want more reach. The Sierra gameking in 165 is another favorite.
These are all outstanding deer killers but they have done fine for elk in the past.
I do really like Barnes in ttsx for deer but no where near the experience with them-

 

[cmk]

I really like the 200gn Norma Oryx bullet in my 30-06. It is a solid performer for the types of hunt I usually do. Basically mixed forest/farm land where shots are usually less than 100 meters. I load it fairly mild at 2450-2500 f/s. This in a Sako AV with a 23 in barrel, topped with a Kahles 1.6-8x42. Have taken moose, red stag, fallows, roes and a couple of badgers as well with that setup.

 

[Vinootz]

As a right-handed person who shoots left because of a defective right eye, finding bolt actions I like chambered in 30-06 is never a problem. It's one of the common calibers that lefties (and involuntary southpaws like myself) have as a popular choice from multiple manufacturers. That's why I own three of them:

View attachment 721983
Remington 700 BDL, Timney trigger, Nikon 1.5-6x42

View attachment 721984
Sako 85 Hunter, Schmidt & Bender 1.5-8x42 Stratos
View attachment 721985
Steyr CL II w/ fixed sights & a Swarovski Z6 1.7-10x42

The goal I was looking for feedback on is setting each one of them up differently to maximize the potential of this one particular cartridge across a trio of rifles. I had thought about getting one of my 30-06's rebored into something larger like a 35 Whelen / 9.3x62 or rebarreled to a smaller classic like the 257 Roberts. But I decided to see what kind of performance could be had off the reloading bench first. Since the majority of my hunting is in the southestern woods in the USA, most of my shots are less than 200m & the longest I've ever had an opportunity at is 325m. My main goal is terminal peformance with minimal tracking so I'm focusing on effective hunting rounds at moderate distances.

I'd like the Remington 700 to be setup to shoot a lightweight bullet like the 125gr Accubond or the 130gr Barnes. Something fast, flat & light. This could be a load with a mild recoil that's pleasant to shoot but still effective at the ranges I usually hunt at. Or it could be a screamer that shoots as fast as possible for this caliber. Something that would give results similar to a 257 Roberts or a 25-06 for example.

My Sako 85 Hunter shoots 165gr bullets really well. Its the only rifle that I've managed to shoot a single ragged hole using three bullets at 100 meters with so it would be my medium-weight rifle. Setting it up with 165gr ~ 180gr bullets would cover everything I'm currently hunting & I would get a lot of use out of it. I specifically jumped over the 140gr ~ 150gr bullets because my primary deer rifles (a trio of Ruger #1's in 6.5x55, 275 Rigby & 303 British) all shoot bullets in this weight range so I was opting for something a bit heavier in one of my 30-06's.

The Steyr CL II I'd love to setup for a heavier bullet. Something in the 200gr ~ 220gr range. With its iron sights, it might be used at closer ranges or in brushy areas. This is an option I haven't explored yet but I was hoping a group of experienced African hunters might have some good suggestions for this one. With retirement approaching next year, it'll be interesting to see if I can expand the type of hunting I do (maybe to other continents ).

So if you have a single favorite round you'd like to suggest or even give me an opinion on two or all three, then I'd love to hear what has worked best for you. I enjoy testing different options at the gun range but hearing from some experienced hunters might narrow my choices considerably & save me a lot of time & money. I always appreciate advice from other hunters who have had successful hunts. If you don't like my idea for this particular experiment, then feel free to give me your opinion of how you would set them up. I'm just mulling the possibilities so I'm open to other ideas. All of these rifles have 22" / 560mm barrels, so it seemed kind of redundant to set them up with the similar loads. My biggest problem is that I like to buy rifles but I never sell them so I do wind up with duplicates.

Nice set of rifles. I got the same ones. I love my Steyrs. Find more than one load for each.

 

[coreydb]

You wouldn't need the 9.3 with a 30-06 if you want range. 257 Roberts would be excellent too. I definitely would consider converting the third to a 25-06 because of its power and range. Last year, my PH in South Africa let me use his Sako 25-06 to hunt for meat; I tagged out early and didn't want to go back so soon. I shot a Blesbok at 400 yds-one shot, DRT. I also dropped a Golden Wildebeest at 370+ yds and a Hartebeest at 300+yds with that kit. The PH's son (9 yrs old) dropped a Nyala, and a frickin giraffe with that rifle. You'll have more fun with that kit than the other two. I swear, that caliber for me anyway, is like the adult plinker.

 

[Ridge Runner]

I have four 30-06s: 2 bolt, 1 semi, 1 single shot, that use 3 different reload recipes.

M1 Garand: (my plinker rifle):
has an adjustable gas screw I keep my loads down around 2700 to 2800 fps to prevent damage to the gas tube. Lower velocity than military spec factory ammo but a lot more accurate using 150 grain Hornady boat tail soft point bullets.

T/C Pro Hunter and Mossberg Patriot:
both are scoped and both are most accurate using 165 and 168 grain Hornady SST bullets at 2800 to 2900 fps.

Custom rifle: (my other plinker rifle) with ghost ring rear sight; is most accurate with 180 grain bullets at 2500 to 2600 fps.

My intentions were to develop a single load recipe that would be safe and accurate in each rifle in that regardless of which rifle I chose to go to the range or field with I wouldn't have to fret over having the right ammunition. That didn’t work out so well adding the M1: keeping the gas pressure to within tolerances. The Custom rifle, my guess is the rifling, doesn't preform as accurately with light, higher speed bullets. The T/C and Mossberg are adequately accurate with the 150 and 180 grain bullet loads, but are more accurate with higher velocity. I chose the 165 and 168 grain bullets as a medium between the 150 and 180 grain bullets.

Having a light, medium, and heavy bullet rifle in the same caliber is a fair concept......until.....you (ie in my case) pick up the medium bullet rifle and grab a box of heavy bullet ammo to go hunting.

 

[Hififile324]

One suggestion - Get 3 large Coffee cans. Label each can with wide tape and bright marker for each rifle. When you return from shooting put your fired cases in the appropriate can mated to that rifle. This way you do not co-mingle your empties from 3 different chambers. This way you can neck size for accuracy for each rifle.

Otherwise you will need to Full Length resize your fired cases if you wish to use the round in all 3 rifles.

If you will be shooting only factory ammo you can disregard the above.

 

[steve white]

You have found which one shoots the 165gr loads already. It may shoot other weights well, in addition. Even if you would LIKE the Steyr to shoot the heavies, IT AND THE REMINGTON are going to tell you what THEY like to shoot well! I would test them out with all the different weights and choose the winners on that basis. You have a lot of work ahead of you, if you explore different powders and bullet brands.
220 gr round nose Nosler Partitions like IMR4350 in my Mannlicher Schoenauer, for example. In fact, that gun likes 4350 for several weights.
The mono bullet designs are where you can really get a light bullet screaming fast and still have enough bullet length due to reduced weight in order to stabilize and give good accuracy. Monos are the only bullet type I really trust to hold together with boat tail bullets, too. YMMV
Never seen a thread like this one. Good luck. It's definitely going to keep you from "running the streets." lol

 

[steve white]

One suggestion - Get 3 large Coffee cans. Label each can with wide tape and bright marker for each rifle. When you return from shooting put your fired cases in the appropriate can mated to that rifle. This way you do not co-mingle your empties from 3 different chambers. This way you can neck size for accuracy for each rifle.

Otherwise you will need to Full Length resize your fired cases if you wish to use the round in all 3 rifles.

If you will be shooting only factory ammo you can disregard the above.

Great idea, but I would want to separate them before getting home by placing them in dedicated rows in a plastic MTM box as I fired them.
Heck, he'll probably have to color the bases with magic markers to keep up with which ones are loaded which way before he shoots them. And I'd want a good notebook to keep track.

 

[steve white]

So, I have a similar issue. I have an O/U in .30-06 that shoots a 150 grain bullet at 2930 fps from the Under barrel in the same hole as a 180 grain bullet at 2750 fps from the Over barrel. Rather than re-regulate the gun, I just go with it. In Africa, I shot Accubonds in both barrels. I started with the 150 grain bullets for the impala and warthog and the 180 grain bullets for the zebra and wildebeest.

In the US, I put a 150 grain accubond in the Under and a 180 grain ballistic tip in the Upper for whitetail. In most situations, I shoot the ballistic tip for a heart shot. If it's raining or on one particular stand, surrounded by thick brush in a 5-year-old cutover, I start with the Accubond and go for a neck shot so I don't have to look for a blood trail in the rain or drag its dead body out of 50 yards of brambles.

You're a lucky duck--don't try to change it, it's great just like it is.

 

[odonata]

Thanks for all of the feedback & solid advice. I’m someone who always likes to have an involved & time-consuming project to focus on. I often make them bigger & more difficult than they need to be just to make them last longer & keep me busy. This seemed like it would be an interesting endeavor & as good an excuse as any to spend more time at the range.