.30-06 loads for 28" bull barrel?

[JKH]

Hey guys,

I picked up a 1961 vintage, never shot, FN commercial Mauser 98 action with a 28" bull barrel (1" plus at muzzle, built by Flaigs 10/2/1961 and serialized to match action).

I will be fitting a big honking stock to this puppy and it should tip the scales at a solid 15 to 16 pounds when done :eek:

Now, I waas tinkering with cast loads for my Garands to cycle the action but will be abandoning that idea for a while so that I can play with this toy more, being that the barrel is 28" I am thinking velocities will be a tad higher for standard loads than with a normal length barrel, have any of you guys messed with '06 in a tube this long? if so, where would you reccomend I start using a 180grn LEE boolit using either 2400 or Unique?

Thanks in advance!

Jeff

P.S. I forgot to note, that is just an old sporter stock I stuck on it to get the feel of how muzzle heavy this is (just a TAD!), scope is just an old rubber armored 3-9 I stuck on it. I might try a few loads with it wedged in this stock as is, there certainly wont be any recoil from a cast load with around 16 grains of 2400!
After the stock is reasonably fit I will need someone to glass bed it and put a good finish on the metal, anyone do good work cheap? ;^ )

[Ben]

Load 16.0 grs. - 20 grs. of 2400 with your 06' and your 180 gr. Lee bullet. There is a load in that ' zone ' that will be very accurate in your rifle.

Ben

[JKH]

approximately what kind of velocity might I expect Ben?

[Ben]

A guess on my behalf but I'd think that 16.0 grs.would be in the mid - upper 1,500's................20.0 grs. may bump 1,850 - 1,900 fps.

Others can offer their opinions.

Ben

[JKH]

some day I will have to own a chronograph!

For cast loads I would like to see what this rifle will do to 200 yards but am sure the drop will be fairly significant unless I keep velocity's high.

Should I just work with 100 yards for now to develope an accurate load, then see how it does at longer range?

I have a bunch of these 180grn boolits ready to shoot that have been sized tp .3095, being that this is a commercial bore do you think that size is okay or should I make some up as cast?

I have a 200grn LEE of the same design but the nose casts out at .299 and some times a hair less, the driving bands are fine though at about .310 as cast, is it difficult to Beagle a mold to increase nose diameter only while leaving the driving bands alone?

[zomby woof]

I get 1700 fps out of an 03A3 with 20 grains of old 2400 and the LEE 180.
15 grains of Unique gave me a little over 1600 fps with the same boolit.
I shoot these all at 200 with very good results.
good luck

[smokemjoe]

40 grs. 4064 and 311284, if you got a 1-10 or 1-12 twist.

[Ben]

some day I will have to own a chronograph!

For cast loads I would like to see what this rifle will do to 200 yards but am sure the drop will be fairly significant unless I keep velocity's high.

Should I just work with 100 yards for now to develope an accurate load, then see how it does at longer range?

I have a bunch of these 180grn boolits ready to shoot that have been sized tp .3095, being that this is a commercial bore do you think that size is okay or should I make some up as cast?

I have a 200grn LEE of the same design but the nose casts out at .299 and some times a hair less, the driving bands are fine though at about .310 as cast, is it difficult to Beagle a mold to increase nose diameter only while leaving the driving bands alone?
_____________________________________________

JKH :

If you put the tape near the nose end of the mold , yes you can increase the nose dia. by .002 without changing the gas check and rear bands very much in their current dia.

Ben

[Mk42gunner]

JKH,

I would definately slug the bore, and maybe the throat to find out where to start for sizing diameter.

Bedding a rifle is not hard to do; I like Brownell's Acraglas gel, the kit comes with instructions.



Robert

[JKH]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the input, I need to get off my lazy rear and make some pure lead slugs to check a couple rifle bores, for now I will fall back on my laziness and see how these sized boolits do and hope for the best! ;^ )

The bore is a 1/10, sorr I forgot to mention that.

Mk42gunner, I probably will do it myself, I am just leary of messing up a nice piece of wood but can practice on another stock that came with it, this one looks like TWO angry beavers gnawed on it! I think the previous owner had some form of phsychosis and or a bad case of parkinsons disease!

I am hoping I can try some loads this afternoon or tomorrow out the back door, my lazy range is 50 yards unless I want to expend the energy to walk to the back backyard to get 100 yards.

Thanks again guys.

Jeff

[Mk42gunner]

Remember this if nothing else: "Release agent is my friend".

I have never glued a rifle into a stock...yet.


Robert

[JKH]

I have read in numerous articles that Johnsons Paste Wax is a good release agent, is this true?

[Kraschenbirn]

I have read in numerous articles that Johnsons Paste Wax is a good release agent, is this true?

I've used JPW and it's worked okay for me but, if you're buying the Brownell's kit, it comes with a bottle of release agent included.

Bill

[cast367]

JKH,I use in my 30-06 Parker Hale Match barrel, 1/10 inch. 22 grs ACC no. 9 .
180grs RCBS Cast Bullit. IT gives an exelent result on 100 meter ranch.
Scope 40x. 2 inch groups and sometimes less.

[Throwback]

JKH - Just got back from the range today with my old Springfield sporter. The classic loads continue to work well. 20 grains of 2400 gives me 1,640 fps in my 19" barreled M700 and about 1,700 in the Springfield with the 220 grain (w/ lube & GC) 311284. This consistently delivers less than an 1.75" with a Lyman 48 and Ross King brass bead. Not bad for my eyes and a 97 year-old rifle. With a scope you can expect to cut this considerably.

Another surprising load was the 311413 178 grain bullet lubed with LLA and sized .311 in a Lee push through sizer. I seated it to touch the lands. Powered with 13.0 grains of Unique this load ran 1,484 fps with an 18.2 extreme spread. A week ago I shot this into an inch with my Remington (which incidentally wears a 1-4 Bushnell at the moment). Today the same load placed 10 shots into 2.5" with the Springfield. I had groups of three that were smaller including a best of 0.928.

[NickSS]

I have worn out 3 barrels like you have on a model 70 action during my high power days but never shot a single cast bullet in them. However, I have a 24 inch sako in 30-06 that I shot several thousand cast loads through mostly with 13 to `5 gr of Unique and a 165 gr bullet. This rifle and load shoot very accurately. The bullet is an old lyman pointed gas check design that I forget the number of but it works well in the 06.

[testhop]

I have read in numerous articles that Johnsons Paste Wax is a good release agent, is this true?


yes i have used it for more years than i care to admit to .
never let me down.

[Doc Highwall]

I just came upon this post today as I have been shooting a Remington 40X in 308 Win. with a 27.250" barrel with the SAECO #315 lubed with Bull Shops NASA lube. I have been using 20.5 grains of AA5744 for a muzzle velocity of 1752 FPS. with excellent results and I am getting ready to shoot another 40X in 223 with the same barrel length and the N.O.E. 22-055 bullet. My biggest concern is the amount of lube for a longer barrel and the number of shots without running out of lube in the last few inches of the barrel.

[JDL]

I'm sure by now you have a load worked up but, if your're still looking, 12 grains of Unique with the Lyman 311644 has been very accurate in my M. 70 Target. Chuggs along at around 1350 fps.
JDL

[Thumbcocker]

Frank Marshall swore by a 311284 and 21.0 of 4759 IIRC.

[GabbyM]

If you ever glue an action to a stock:
First of all I'd say just put it together and shoot it. When you do want to remove the action do like the bench rest shooters do their glued in actions. Use a heat gun on the steel and it will pop right out. With crossed fingers of course.

[Ben]

Doc Highwall :

The # 315 can carry a good bit of lube. Using Bullshop's lube, you should be just fine.

Ben

[Doc Highwall]

Ben, the SAECO #315 is great, it is the 22 caliber N.O.E. 22-055 that I just picked up for my Remington 40X in 223 that I have a small concern about. I have two of 40X's in 223, a single shot and a repeater with a stripper clip slot, both have 27.250" barrels with 1-8" twists. I also am going to shoot this in a Browning 1885 Low Wall in 223 Remington with a 1-12" twist and a 24" barrel.

[Newtire]

I would try the RCBS 165 Silhouette and 25 grains RX-7 if you have any of that stuff lying around. Using Felix-Lube or Carnauba Red or Speed Green or even Liquid Alox, no leading.

[JKH]

Hey Guys!

I finally shot this beast last night, real scientific like, I shot off the patio table using a giant Lego/building block like thing as a front rest ;^ )

Currently the rifle is put together with a huge stock the original owner was making, it has a monstrousy big vertical pistol grip along with a thumbhole and a side thumb rest (prepared for all contingencies I guess!), he hogged out so much wood for glass bedding that I had to shim the receiver front & rear with pieces of lin-o-type spacers to get it high enough for everything to clear, not the most stable platform! For now I just threw on a Chinese $50 rubber armored 3-9 scope like Colt used on the Delta Elite rifles. So, as you can see I didnt start out wih the best of situations for obtaining stellar accuracy!

Shooting was done at 50 yards (using my calibrated pace-o-matic!) using the following loads;

1. LEE 180grn round nose, .008" aluminum lith plate checks made on a Freechex II, commercial mixed headstamp brass (for all loads listd here), CCI standard large rifle primers and 19grn's Alliant 2400 (no filler, no crimp, same for all loads). Boolits were tumble lubed with 2 coats White label X-Lox straight from the bottle (needs thinning!) and sized to .309" with a LEE sizer.

2. LEE 160grn TL boolit by Harris for the 7.62X39. Everything else the same as above

2a. LEE160grn TL boolit as above from another board member, lubed wih LLA using the "ranch Dog method", commercial copper gas checks and sized .309" also, all else same as above.

I ripped these groups off in fairly quick succession, if I was at the club I would have had good rests and concrete bench to shoot from, I am sure when the new stock is fit and one of my target scopes mounted this rifle is going to be one heck of a shooter! I am thinking of changing the trigger out though, it has the original SAKO trigger which is great, but I might take the Canjar single set unit off another custom Mauser I have (tack driving .220 Swift varminter).

Hopefully I can manage to attach some pix for critiqueing, they are all the same for the most part, except the group using the 160's with copper checks but the size is basically the same.
All groups by the way are 5 shots.

I was a bit concerned about the lube making it to the end of the barrel since it is 28", after examining the muzzle I notice a very nice lube star! Guess the tumble lube with alox is doing fine, no visual leading either :^ )

All groups hovered at the 1" mark, I will get accurate measuremnts later, smallest group seems to be around 7/8"

Thanks for all the great input guys!

Jeff

Poop! I forgot the images have to be uploaded to a hosting site, will try to work on this later after work.