Mine always liked 3031.
Mine always liked 3031.
13 grs. of Red Dot has always worked very well for me giving pretty decent accuracy even in a bone stock 1903A3.
AL2400 too-
But the real "sleeper" for me has been AA#7. I picked up an 8 lb. jug at a gun show several years ago. I had no idea its application, but at $85 I couldn't pass it up, and I'm glad I didn't.
It's been great in my 7.5x55's too.
35W
The biggest waste of time is arguing with the fool and fanatic who doesn't care about truth or reality, but only the victory of his beliefs and illusions.
There are people who, for all the evidence presented to them, do not have the ability to understand.
NRA Life Member
Well I guess the only way to find out what is going to work is to see what fits in my particular rifle. I'll split the neck on a 30-06 case so that it holds the bullet, but will allow it to get pushed back into the case with some pressure. I'll seat the RCBS 30-180-FN out pretty long, then chamber this "dummy" round. When I extract the dummy I'll be able to see if the chamber will allow me to seat the bullet with the gas check at, or ahead of, the case neck.
I'm interested in seeing how the 30-180-FN will preform in the 30-06 because it has a long bearing surface with a short & fat nose. Though it's more widely known as a good 30 caliber hunting bullet, these attributes should contribute to it being an accurate cast bullet. The goal here is to try and shoot a 1" group at 100 yards. I've been using IMR-3031 with a dacron filler and the Lyman 311299, and have been getting close, but haven't quite cracked that elusive 5 shot, 1" barrier yet. The Military Rifle sub-forum probably isn't the right place to be asking these questions, but cwlongshot mentioned using that bullet in that caliber, so I thought I'd ask about the seating length.
I like the following 30-06 loads in my 1903-A3 Springfield
(2 groove barrel ) with the 31141 w/ GC
Red Dot : start - 10.5 grains ... Max. - 13.5 grains
My Pet load is 13.0 grs. Red Dot - no filler is required . " The Load"
Unique : start - 12.0 grains ... Max. - 16.5 grains
My Pet load is 15.0 grs. Unique . No filler required .
My Pet loads are accuracy loads not high velocity loads .
Gary
Certified Cajun
Proud Member of The Basket of Deplorables
" Let's Go Brandon !"
I’ve got two...
200gr Lee .309 (.311”) over 34.5gr of H4895 or SW-PrecisionRifle. Gets 2,050fps and cycles my M1 Garands. Quite accurate. Roughly duplicates the original.30-40Krag ballistics.
160gr Lee .310” .(311”) over same powder charge. 2,100fps. Cycles an M1.
16.0gr of Unique under a Lee 150gr .309” FNGC. Duplicates the 13.0RedDot load. My first cast bullet efforts circa 1975!
Cheap fun! Primers are the weak link. With Powder coated bullets, bullets AND powder, cost less than just the primer...
(WW alloy and SPG lube unless powder coated).
Last edited by GooseGestapo; 01-09-2023 at 11:23 AM.
In my 03/A3, I use a derivation of the old Jim Carmichael 300 Win. Mag. practice load for match rifle shooting. I use 20 Gr. of Reloader 7, magnum primer, no filler, L.C. Match '06 brass, under the RCBS 200 gr. sil. bullet. I have used this load for years and it shoots tighter than I can hold. Tough part is finding Reloader 7, let alone, primers, unfortunately.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |