Range report on the Winchester 30/06.

[A Guy Out West]

I set up the chrony and ran my load over it, not exactly what I expected. The Norma folks indicated that with a 24" barrel and 55.6 gr of 204, and a Hornady 168 gr . BTHP, I should get 2844 fps. The mean was 2549 fps! SD was 27, extreme spread was 57. I even crimped it with a Lee crimp die that I picked up yesterday for $15.00. Still just neck sized though. The 5 shot group was still tight at .792". The only thing that I did differently was to not use a magnum primer.

I also tried a Nosler 180 gr. partition under 53.4 gr. of 204, Norma said I should expect 2612 fps, my mean was 2545, SD 23, extreme spread 69. Did not use a magnum primer with this load either. This was, however, the tightest group I have ever gotten with a partition, .819".

I am going to retry the above with a WLRM primer and see what happens.

 

[deeangeo]

I think you should remember that manual data is usually obtained under laboratory conditions and not field conditions as we generally do when chrono'ing loads. There are many variables between different barrel manufacturers and all will have a bearing on the produced MV.
Your MV/Es is what it is with that propellant. Maybe look at IMR4350/4831 see what that produces in your rifle.

I wouldn't have thought a magnum primer particularly necessary for a 30-06 load.

 

[Border]

Every barrel is individual. Even two off the same production line one after another. Some don't like certain bullets ,some show more velocity ,others less. Wear also influences velocity. It is not an exact science even though we try to narrow the variables. Glad you enjoyed the links.

 

[NeilG]

As per deeangeo`s reply, I use IMR 4350, with a 150 gr Interbond, and I get a chrono`d average ( over 10 shots ) of 2810 FPS, with a Fed 210 GM primer.... That is using 57.2 gr of powder though....

I could go a bit faster with room for more powder, but as this combo was grouping at .610" for 5 shots, I was over the moon....

All the best.

Neil.

 

[Southern]

Norma powders seem to be very consistent and very clean burning. Sounds like 204 is a bit slow for bullets lighter than 175-180 grains, but maybe try a hotter primer.
It seems that 203-B might be better for 150 and 165-gr.

 

[Border]

The Reloder series of powder is almost exactly the same as Norma powders as they both are produced by Bofors. I am pretty sure that Re 15 is the same as Norma 203B. Re 22 is the equivelant of MRP.

 

[Southern]

In terms of burn rate:

Norma MRP(2) is supposed to be about the same as RL-22 and IMR-7828ssc.
Norma 204 lies between RL-19 and RL-22... pretty slow for a .30-06.
Norma URP is like VV N-150, H-4350, AA-4350, Tubal 5000, RL-17
Norma 203-B is like RL-15, H-380, Ramshot Big Game..... a little faster than W-760, which is a good powder for the .30-06.

 

[A Guy Out West]

Just goes to show you that matching the manual can be frustrating. I have had loads for my Swift the were over 300 fps slower as well. I guess the partition load came out pretty good, only 67 fps below the Norma manual. I am going to try a magnum primer and see what it does. I really want at least 2700 fps with a 180 gr anyway. I don't know why they call for magnum primers, I always thought anything below 60 gr of powder cold get by with a regular LR primer. I did some experimenting with magnum and non magnum primers a while back. The load I used was identical except for the primer. There was a noticeable difference in the group size but it was small. I was looking for some 203-B to try in the Swift but Cabella's didn't have any. The Vhit powder is about $40 per pound, is it worth it? That's almost twice as much as the IMR stuff. The Norma manual has a 180 gr load with 55.5 gr. of URP, with a MV of 2802. Any one ever get those kind of results in a 30/06 with URP?

 

[A Guy Out West]

The Reloder series of powder is almost exactly the same as Norma powders as they both are produced by Bofors. I am pretty sure that Re 15 is the same as Norma 203B. Re 22 is the equivelant of MRP.

Every time I see or hear the word Bofors, it brings me back to Whitesands Missile range and the Sgt York project. I worked on a very small part of that project and got to see those twin 40 mm blazing away. I think the 40 mm is an ideal anti aircraft round. High velocity and it hits like a sledge hammer. Oh, I digress.

 

[EMcC]

I'd be interested to know if any of you 30-06 users load with H380 or H4895.
I've just changed rifles and my new Browning is a lot more fussy than my previous Blaser rifle.