Help! 30-06 problems

[MtGun44]

I think you have unrealistic expectations of cast boolits in rifles.

Flat trajectory to 300 yds sounds like something that you could get with jbullets, but
esp with a very heavy boolit, you are unlikely to get the kind of velocities that are
normally associated with 300 yd 'flat trajectories'.

Bigger diam, lighter boolit, start much slower and learn. You have embarked on
a master's degree level project as a newbie. I recommend you start at the
beginner difficulty level and work your way up. Like 16.0 Gr of 2400 at about
1600-1700 fps with a .310 or .311 150-160 gr boolit.

Bill

Bill

[Blackhawk45hunter]

Actually I think 1800 fps will be flat enough for 300 yard shooting. Zeroed dead on at 175 I'll need a 28 inch holdover at 300 yards, plenty flat for shooting goats.

[Recluse]

I'll heartily second the Lee 185RN boolit--that is my primary "go to" boolit for 30-06.

I use the Lee push through sizers to seat ALL gas-checked boolits, then lube them in the lubesizer with a die that is .0001 larger than the mic'd diameter of the boolit.

If you do not have a lubesizer and are not interested in getting one, you might try this: I take the 45/45/10 tumble-lube and add (randyrat's) beeswax to it to make a stick lube. While I do this for use in my lubesizers, I have given several "cakes" of this to fellow cast boolit shooters for testing with pan-lubing and they all reported back with very favorable remarks and success.

[gnoahhh]

28" trajectory at 300 yds.? Well, it's certainly doable if one uses a rangefinder to determine exact distance, and have done one's homework and know exactly the amount of holdover required in 10 yd. increments between 150 and 300, and can eyeball that much holdover through the scope. The reason I say that is retained velocity way out there will yield piss-poor expansion and necessitate surgically precise bullet placement for a humane kill. To do less is totally unfair the animal. Use a suitable bullet and keep the range short and you'll kill animals all day long. Cast bullets are wonderful killers right up to the point where one exceeds the bullet's ability to perform. After that the animal falls victim to the shooter's hubris and suffers accordingly.

[xr650]

You mentioned Wyoming prairies. Apparently you hunt here.
Good luck w/ the 06.

[Blackhawk45hunter]

Ok I just checked lee's site and they only have .309 and .311 sizers, should I get the .309 or would it be a waste of time?
I would look at other brands of dies but I'm doing this as a small side project on a budget and I can only spare a few bucks.

So far my plan is this:
#1 changing my bullet sizer up in diameter
#2 switching powders to something in the lower pressure range
#3 aiming for a lower velocity around 1800-1900 and plan on shots under 250 yards.
#4 either lube twice after sizing or change lube


I have a bunch of Herco laying around so I might try that first. I've had good luck in the past with it.
Will it get me close to the velocity I want?

[Blackhawk45hunter]

And yes, that's where I hunt antelope in the late summer every year.
I can get a lot closer than 300 yards. I just would like to be able to have that long reach in case that buck of a lifetime steps out at 350 yards...

Last year I was hunting with jacketed 150 grain bullets at 2700 fps and a huge buck walked out at 517 yards but due to wind I wasn't confident enough to take the shot.

[Smoke-um if you got-um]

RanchDog makes a great 160-170 gr wide meplat bullet for 30's. it drops at .311+ with Lyman #2 from my mold. Lee Prec. makes a .311 sizer/check seater for about 20.00 bucks shipped. I've found any more than two coats of Alox on the Tumble lube grooves is a waste of time as it pushes off when seating. Don't size your 30-06 cases, just debur the mouth lightly and bell mouth enough to hide the check. Seat to tickle the rifling if possible and use 4350 or similar burning rate. Roughly 40 grains should be a good starting point. H414 has worked well for me as does 4350. I personally use Rem. 9 1/2 M primers for almost everything cast, mostly because I had quite a few thousand on hand but they they seem to do extremely well. Last is a good firm crimp, careful if you roll crimp. Lee Factory Crimp die is superior, im my opinion. Makes a really neat,professional looking crimp and WORKS. If I got to 1900-2000 w/o leading and the accuarcy was acceptable, believe I would grin real big and take it. It's just a fact each rifle has it's own limitations, we just have to find them. Good Luck and remember to HAVE FUN, that's what this all about......at least until somebody gets an eye poked out, remember that one ?

[Blackhawk45hunter]

I have a bunch of H414 laying around, it's my go-to powder for jacketed rounds.

Isn't there a danger of secondary pressure spikes when down-loading slower powders?

It WOULD give me lower pressures though...

[felix]

Yes. ... felix

[Blackhawk45hunter]

Ok, so I'll switch to a slower powder,
Is a .309 die even worth my time?

[kir_kenix]

I'm not going to say that .309 is a waste of time, but if I had to choose between a .309 or .310/.311...The bigger one would get my vote every single time. I have 3 different .30 rifles that like .309, and over a dozen that like .310, .312, or .313.

I would go ahead with the .311, but that just a guess. Good luck man.

[Blackhawk45hunter]

Alright, thanks guys! I'll let you all know how it works out.

[Blackhawk45hunter]

I upped the dia to .309 and changed my lube to Lithi-Bee applied via pan lubing. I also switched to the Lee C309-170-RF.

So far, no leading and hunting grade accuracy:

The load is 25 gr 5744 @ 1950fps

[Blammer]

good deal!

I was going to recommend IMR3031 as that's what I use with my 225gr cast 311284 in my 30-06. Mine fly at 1850fps.

I got a deer this year with it at approx 150yds.

Here is a typical 100yd target for me and this load.
oh yea I size to .309

[scrapcan]

Well it looks like you are on your way to getting the rifle to shoot.

That is only part of the issue when choosing to hunt with the cb. Being able to make groups off the bench does not always equate to being able to do that off your belly or off your two feet when in the field, practice as you will have to shoot in the field also.

And thank you for not taking a shot that you were not confident in. We have lots of speedgoats, but even they deserve a clean kill.

[Blackhawk45hunter]

Practice is no issue for me, I shoot thousands of rounds a year and can hit a 3" target at 150 yards in almost every field shooting position. The beauty of shooting CB's is I can shoot even more now, at half the cost.

[USSR]

I was going to recommend IMR3031 as that's what I use with my 225gr cast 311284 in my 30-06. Mine fly at 1850fps.

Charge weight?

Don

[Blammer]

31gr's forgot to put it on the post but it's on the target pic yes the 4475 is the military equal to IMR3031