30-06 Accuracy Loads???

[Outdoorsman12b]

Have been reloading for a few tikka 30-06 for a few years and have been shooting the cartridge for a lot longer. I cannot say I have found a load that has really impressed me in a 5-10 shot group range with a variety of powders and bullets. Is this cartridge just not that accurate? The best I can muster is 2 inch groups.

Are there any standard powder charge/bullet combos that tend to shoot well in the 30-06? Or is what I have been seeing kind of what one can expect from the old warhorse?

 

[RockAndSage]

As far as powder goes, it's pretty hard to beat H4350 with 165gr bullets in 30-06. I don't handload anything heavier or lighter than that, but it's an extremely forgiving powder with 30-06, until you start getting up into 180gr, or really light bullets.

One thing to be perfectly honest about, is that between personal skill, limitations of a given hunting rifle, and the recoil of 30-06, there are very, very few honest shooters who will get less than 1.5 MOA with 5-10rd groups. You'll get the occasional 1MOA 3 round group, but not 5-10. Extremely few people are 1MOA shooters to begin with, but when you're talking hunting-weight guns, with production components, and the recoil of 30-06, it all conspires to make 10 round groups open up. Genuine sub-MOA guns capable of achieving that with 10rd groups are also extremely rare. But without having spent time on a gun capable of that...nobody really knows whether or not they're a genuine MOA shooter.

So with all this said...you might be maxing out your personal capabilities with that particular gun. It's definitely not the inherent design of the cartridge.

 

[Sadie]

In my experience H or imr 4350 .010 off the lands soirra bullets. Some rifles do best with 150 gr bullets. For hunting I use sierras 150s and 165s .the 165 bthp game king will usually get you to the lands if it has a long throat.

 

[Outdoorsman12b]

As far as powder goes, it's pretty hard to beat H4350 with 165gr bullets in 30-06. I don't handload anything heavier or lighter than that, but it's an extremely forgiving powder with 30-06, until you start getting up into 180gr, or really light bullets.

One thing to be perfectly honest about, is that between personal skill, limitations of a given hunting rifle, and the recoil of 30-06, there are very, very few honest shooters who will get less than 1.5 MOA with 5-10rd groups. You'll get the occasional 1MOA 3 round group, but not 5-10. Extremely few people are 1MOA shooters to begin with, but when you're talking hunting-weight guns, with production components, and the recoil of 30-06, it all conspires to make 10 round groups open up. Genuine sub-MOA guns capable of achieving that with 10rd groups are also extremely rare. But without having spent time on a gun capable of that...nobody really knows whether or not they're a genuine MOA shooter.

So with all this said...you might be maxing out your personal capabilities with that particular gun. It's definitely not the inherent design of the cartridge.

Thanks for that! Yes agree in all accounts but I can get 1-1.5 or less with other cartridges from 223 - 7 rem mag in 5-10 rounds.

What bullets are you shooting in 165? I have a good stock of H4350.

 

[Outdoorsman12b]

In my experience H or imr 4350 .010 off the lands soirra bullets. Some rifles do best with 150 gr bullets. For hunting I use sierras 150s and 165s .the 165 bthp game king will usually get you to the lands if it has a long throat.

Thanks will try loading closer to lands I am usually about 30-50 thou off.

 

[Backcast88]

It's been a while since I loaded 30-06 but when I did, H4350 was the go to and was kind of the standard all other powders were measured to. I was near published max in the Hornady manual and seated them as long as I could get into the Tikka mag which was 3.30 or 3.32 COAL.

For bullets, I used 168g Nosler Ballistic Tips for whitetail. Like stated above, a light gun and 30-06 recoil don't tend to lead to be best groups for most people so I was content when I found the load that gave just under 2900fps and .75" groups at 100yds for a 3 shot group. For a hunting rifle with a thin barrel, it was way more accurate than it needed to be and dropped deer without problems.

 

[A382DWDZQ]

4064 under 168gr TTSX is consistently 1/2moa for me on my factory T3x. ~2800 mv.

 

[A382DWDZQ]

This is my 3 shot check in after the prior season.

 

[RockAndSage]

Thanks for that! Yes agree in all accounts but I can get 1-1.5 or less with other cartridges from 223 - 7 rem mag in 5-10 rounds.

What bullets are you shooting in 165? I have a good stock of H4350.

Swift Sciroccos have been one of my top choices for awhile, and had decent luck with a stash of 165gr TTSX, but found out not too long ago that those are actually designed for .300WM, and that they recommend 168s for 30-06. I'm not a long-distance shooter so I don't think that makes much of a difference. Next time I need to buy a round of reloading components I actually think I'll be trying out some of the 168gr offerings, but the Sciroccos are great.

 

[RockAndSage]

This is my 3 shot check in after the prior season.

That's a great group. Will it do that for 10rds?

 

[6mm Remington]

As far as powder goes, it's pretty hard to beat H4350 with 165gr bullets in 30-06. I don't handload anything heavier or lighter than that, but it's an extremely forgiving powder with 30-06, until you start getting up into 180gr, or really light bullets.

H4350 or IMR4350 with 165 gr. bullets I agree.
In 3 - 30-06 rifles a load of IMR4350 with 165 gr. Partitions or Accubonds has produced great groups. That load being 57.4 grs. of IMR4350.

This is from a Ruger 1B with a 4x fixed Leupold scope on it. It will shoot groups like this all day.

 

[SloppyJ]

Absolutely the best load and maybe the best "group" ever out of my 30-06. Moving at the speed of smell. This is H4350 and 165gr Accubonds. I have about zero faith I could repeat this. I still haven't found a full power load it likes. This is a newer Model 70 Supergrade.

 

[Pn8hall]

Most accurate load in my Tikka 30-06 is with 165 grn Accubonds and IMR 4350 loaded right at book max for Nosler load data. Shoots the 168 TTSX pretty well also but Accubonds are better for sure.

 

[Harvey_NW]

I had a buddy ask for advice setting up a new quality rifle, so I had him buy the Tikka he wanted, then a Trijicon in some UM rings, vert grip, limbsaver pad, and 165gr tipped Core-Lokt which he picked. New to trying to shoot precision groups I put him on my bags on the bench and told him what to do, sub 1.5" 10 shot group right out of the gate. We were ecstatic.

 

[A382DWDZQ]

That's a great group. Will it do that for 10rds?

I think so, I have only done a five shot group to confirm my load, and then put a harvest on it, then shot that group the next season. I’ve shot 190 ABLR out of it which I forget what the load was, but they were hitting sub-moa out of the gate.

 

[49ereric]

Some 06 rifles won’t shoot great some will shoot one bullet well and nothing else.
My brothers Savage 110 shoots 150 Sierra spitzer extremely well but 180’s so so.
My M1917 shoots Sierra 180 RN well but nothing else.
Learn long ago that Sierra bullets almost always shot better but never tried every .308 bullet made cuz I hunt the wood where most shots are close in heavy cover.
IMR 4350 is all I use and usually a max load cuz that shot best for me when worked loads decades ago.
With todays powder prices I would look to Winchester 760 simply for best bang for the buck.

 

[ArcherAdam]

Though I do not reload (my uncle does for me), I get almost same-hole accuracy at 100 yards when i do my part with 180 grain accubonds, max charge of imr4350 from noslers recommendation, cci large rifle primer in peterson brass. This is at 100 yards using a lead sled. I shot 165's and 150's for years and the best accuracy I could get was around .75" The 180 was definitely eye opening for me.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

 

[CMP70306]

I loaded up the 178gr ELDX with H4350 and was getting well under 1 MOA though I didn’t measure it. My barrel is an 8 twist rather than an 11 twist which may have been helping.

 

[Outdoorsman12b]

4064 under 168gr TTSX is consistently 1/2moa for me on my factory T3x. ~2800

I loaded up the 178gr ELDX with H4350 and was getting well under 1 MOA though I didn’t measure it. My barrel is an 8 twist rather than an 11 twist which may have been helping.

Custom barrel?

 

[CMP70306]

Custom barrel?

X-Caliber Savage Prefit, I wanted the option to shoot subs which are hilariously quiet.