question, method for selecting powder/charge

[bmortell]

so I have roughly 6-8 powders that could possibly work for a 30-06 hunting load. I been trying some charges with hunting soft alloy and my results are fairly average and inconclusive between them. if anything data I collect just seems to show velocity difference creating group size. would it be a better idea to test for most accurate charge with hard bullets first. or is what works with hard likely to be different? trying to minimize the testing needed.

[Ozark mike]

The Lyman cast handbook should have most accurate loads in bold still going to be trial and error. the only difference between hard and soft is going to be weight obviously not by much and you can drive the hard faster

[trapper9260]

What works for me is ,I cast for how I will use them the boolits, then look at the data and look to see what powders they have listed and then I see if any is what I have on hand and if I do I will go up to try 4 powders if that is how many I have on hand if not and less go with that then load up 5 of each and see what one group the best then after I work on that one powder to adjust to shoot the way I want .I go with 5 shot of each group to see what the gun tells me. You can go with what is in bold .Look at what the test was from of the gun used. Because not all guns will shoot the same . Also need to see what size boolit is right to use for that gun so need to slug the gun is best. Also do a search on here on the right hand of this page for google search. like Ozark mike stated about Lyman Cast Handbook will be the best to go with for data.

[centershot]

bmortell,

You should test with the boolit alloy you are going to hunt with. In the '06 you have many options regarding powders. The link below was very helpful to me:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?13425-Cast-Bullet-Loads-for-Military-Rifles-Article

[dverna]

My own attempts were with the .308. A slower powder should help. Sizing diameter that works for a hard bullet may not be the best for a softer alloy. Lube and temperature can also play into it. I could not get acceptable (to me) velocity and accuracy with a soft enough bullet. I spent weeks at it.

In the end I gave up. I had neither the talent or patience to get’r done. I saved myself a lot of aggravation and time...possibly even money...and purchased a lifetime supply (500) Sierra GameKings for $135. I do not worry about accuracy, range, bullet expansion, lube performance in cold temperatures, first shot out of group....etc.

If I was going to try again, I would PM Larry Gibson.

Good luck!!

[white eagle]

that is the beauty of casting we can make all the boolits we
need to get the results we are searching for
if you use jacketed bullets you will not get the same results as you do
from cast boolits so you testing would be a waste of time in relation to
cast but it finds the jacketed results only

[Wolfer]

I’ll probably catch some flak here but oh well. For me and my soft alloy ( bhn 10 ) the loads in the Lyman book are generally a little hot. I believe most of these were tested with Mikes huge supply of Linotype. The bold load will be above my velocity limit.

In the 30-06 with Lyman 311041 I started with Ed Harris’s load of 16 gr of 2400. Quite accurate, moving up a gr at a time accuracy held to 20 gr and 1800 fps. 21 gr started opening groups. Ive killed several deer and coyotes with this 20 gr load and see no reason to change it.

However if I hunted more open country I would look at a slightly slower powder. Say reloader7.
4759 would be my first choice but is almost impossible to find. I can’t get 5744 to burn right without passing my velocity limit.
4895 would probably work good with a Dacron filler. It doesn’t work for me without the filler.
This is what works for me. YMMV.

[country gent]

When selecting powders to tet I sit down with all my manuals and find the data in each. make note of the powders that are in the most of them and its starting max charges for each. It stands to reason the powders listed in all the manuals ( not just 2 or 3) is better suited. then the average of starting max gives a good idea of where to begin and also shows any big discrepancies in data. THe one caliber books are good for this since they have data from all sources in them.

[quilbilly]

Every rifle barrel seems to have a different personality for me but the Lyman book is a good place to start. My experience with my 308's has been a good example. One likes 160 gr boolits and a faster powder (2400) giving 1900 fps velocities while the other with the same twist likes slower powders (3031), heavier boolits (180-190), and 200 -300 fps faster velocities. Training your rifle to shoot cast can be an educational journey in the scientific method (testing a hypothesis). Sometimes you get lucky and find the sweet spot right out of the gate and other times it takes months of trial and error. Either way, the experience is addictive as those on this board can attest.

[trapper9260]

Every rifle barrel seems to have a different personality for me but the Lyman book is a good place to start. My experience with my 308's has been a good example. One likes 160 gr boolits and a faster powder (2400) giving 1900 fps velocities while the other with the same twist likes slower powders (3031), heavier boolits (180-190), and 200 -300 fps faster velocities. Training your rifle to shoot cast can be an educational journey in the scientific method (testing a hypothesis). Sometimes you get lucky and find the sweet spot right out of the gate and other times it takes months of trial and error. Either way, the experience is addictive as those on this board can attest.

You are so right that the experience is addictive .You looking more into load development then the shooting it self.Because once you get it where you want then it is just regular shooting.That is what I found.

[Blammer]

try WW alloy air cooled 200 gr bullet with IMR 3031 powder, aim for around 1800 fps, should be a good load around that.

[Conditor22]

One thing to keep in mind when using data out of Lyman cast boolits, most of their data is based on linotype or 15-16 BHN alloy

[bmortell]

Last year I did 1800mv and didn't really expand at 100yds with roughly aircoww, I recovered cause it was pretty lengthwise and I hit thigh bone at the end, I switched to accurate 220lg 'from lee170' which is a strengthened 311284 I think based on Larry Gibson's design changes from old thread I found. So I want 1900fps next season, my current groups are close to 2moa, I guess I'm just being picky I can only see 100yds and deer are bigger than 2 inches :p

[robg]

Powder manufacturs have free on line loading guides .check your powders for suitability .then load 5 up at starting load increasing load half a grain at a time till best group ,try the load again the next week just to make sure it wasn't a freak maybe try finer loads around that one .

[Norske]

Which powder will work best in your rifle? I don't know, I don't own your rifle. My 358W BLR shoots well with any bullet as long as the powder is IMR3031. My 45-70 Marlin likes Ramshot Exterminator or Alliant Reloader 7, but nothing else.
Learning what your rifle likes is called fun at the range. Have fun!