Loading for the 30-06

Edward A. Matunas

July 1984 American Rifleman Magazine

The 30-06 Springfield cartridge has been proving it's self a masterpiece in cartridge design for nearly 8 decades.

It's accuracy is legendary.

A great many other cartridges have proven equally accurate, 222 Rem. to 375 H&H. Yet, despite their high levels of performance, none of these come close to the popularity of the 30-06. Part of the answer lies in the versatility of application of the '06.

Properly loaded, either factory or handloads, the 30-06 can perform admirably on small varmints (110-125 Gr.) or on heavy big game. (180-220 Gr.) There are a number of bullet weights available to suit the task, small game to big game. Of course the wide range of bullet weights still will not insure success.

The cartridge, which became the 30-06 was originally designed for the 200 gr round-nose bullet. Happily, the 1-10" twist which is the standard for this projectile also provides adequate stability for bullets half this weight. It is possible to obtain minute-of-angle accuracy with a good rifle and well made bullets.

It is no great trick with todays components to drive a 110 to 125 grain bullet to expand reliably on varmints. Equally, 150 grain bullets can be pushed to 3000 fps. giving a flat trajectory and good expansion at 300 yards and further. Even the 180 gr. can be pushed to 2700 fps. or possibly more, insuring plenty of energy, even at long ranges, for heavier game.

For heaviest game, a premium-grade 180 gr. bullet like the Nosler Part. is a better choice than the various round-nose 220 gr. varieties, especially at longer ranges where the 180 gr. leaves the 220 gr. in the dirt.

Because of the poor ballistic coefficient, the heavy round-nose bullet sheds velocity and energy very rapidly as range increases. Consequently, these 220 gr. designs may fail to expand.

Therefor the 220 gr. projectile was left out of the following tables. For those who need the 220 gr. for Grizzly bear and such, I recommend factory loads from Remington and Winchester. You can expect accuracy in the 1" to 1 1/4" category.

Perhaps no other rifle cartridge has been reloaded as often as the 30-06. As a result a great many satisfactory recipes have developed for this cartridge. So many in fact, it is difficult to arrive at a consensus as to what load performs the best or at least gives a high degree of accuracy in the majority of rifles.

Through the years I have had the opportunity to prepare text and data for more than half a dozen reloading manuals using a wide variety of bullet weights, powder, case and primer combinations.

In the late 60's I began to keep track of mail, phone calls and personal contacts with shooters who had experienced fine results with a specific load combination. By the 70's I had a good profile of a few outstanding 30-06 loads. I decided to put then to the test. I have put them to test in more than a couple dozen rifles, and have been recommending them exclusively whenever someone asks me what loads are best in the 30-06. Satisfaction has been universal.

Bullet choice is not critical because of the high level of projectile development that the .30 cal. has undergone. A favorite brand will probably shoot as well as , and expand similarly to, the bullets I favor. Again this list is not based on bullets I favor, but upon the input received from thousands of shooters 125 gr. seem to be preferred over the lighter 110 gr. hollow point for varmints, the Sierra 125 gr. seems to have the largest following.

There has been no complaint from the numbers of deer, antelope, sheep, or caribou hunters who use the Speer 150 gr. spitzer. Again other bullets perform as well but it was personal preference which established velocity and accuracy for this report.

The Nosler 165 gr. bullet has been selected for the data as it has been outstanding in the reports I have received. As for the 180 gr., it is not easy to pick one as there are more than just a few good ones. Based on availability, I used the Winchester Silvertip to obtain data on the 180 gr. bullet for the accompanying table.

Two universally acclaimed powders for the 30-06 are Dupont 4350 and IMR 4064. IMR 4895 and as well as Winchester 760 have almost an equally large group of supporters. Yes there are some who favor other powers to the exclusion of the ones I have included. My suggestions are based on the loads that have performed in just a dozen rifles but rather in the rifles of thousands of shooters.

There are no less than 19 powders have shown good levels of performance in a fair number of rifles. The four listed seem to have the smallest number of detractors.

Most target shooters, who overwhelmingly favor 165 to 168 gr. bullet weights prefer IMR 4895 or IMR 4064. It is interesting to note that while my records show the 165 to 168 gr. bullets to be the most popular for target shooting, at least one bullet manufacture has indicated that 180 to 190 gr. weights to be the better sellers in 30 cal. target bullets. My only response is that possibly shooters using the heavier bullet are less prone to write about their success, taking excellent performance as the norm. My personal favorite is the 168 gr. Speer Gold Medal target bullet.

Primer selection seems to matter little, except the magnum styles often produce notably larger groups than the standard primers. I tend to favor Remington 9 1/2 and Winchester 120's. There are a large number shooters who, with good reason prefer CCI and Federal primers.

Twice I have made an effort to establish a best primer selection for the 30-06. Both efforts were failures as no real evidence of superiority could be established. For the purpose of the following table I used Remington's 9 1/2 primers.

Please keep in mind that the loads in this table are at or near maximum charge weights in the test rifle. It is possible that with your components and/or procedures that one or more of the listed loads may be excessive of your firearm. I suggest you start 10% under the listed load and work up in 1 grain increments, after establishing the safety of each charge weight. Never exceed the listed charge weights. Many of the Dupont 4350 charges are compressed powder loads and care must be taken when charging cases.

The test rifle for the table was a Remington 700 Classic with a 22" barrel. All accuracy results were obtained with 5 shot groups, fired from a bench. While I do have several 30 cal. target-grade rifles available, the Remington was chosen to represent the rifle of choice used by the average shooter. Of course if you are to realize the highest potential accuracy from the suggested loads you must follow the best possible reloading practices to insure the maximum possible uniformity.

-Ed A Matunas

** This is a "condensed" version of the original. I have interpreted it as I saw fit trying to keep the original thoughts of Mr. Matunas. - C.E.Evans **

The loading suggestions below are verified with the original article and identical.....

As always the disclaimer....

As there are so many variables in the practice of handloading ammunition for firearms which are beyond the control of the author, this will serve as notice that the original author nor myself take any responsibility for injury or damage resulting from use of these tables