30.06 recipe?

[John Dallas]

I'm having trouble getting good groups from my Remington 700 in 30.06

56 grains of 4350 and 180 gr Nosler is a standard load, but it doesn't shoot worth a darn in this gun. Have tried going up and down on powder charge, but no improvement. Anyone care to share their can't fail load?

Thanks

[CraigThompson]

You didn’t say what you were using it for , however I’ve always thought 180 grainers heavy for use in a 300 WIN or Weatherby . Anyway in an 06 or 308 I actually prefer 150’s for deer and or black bear , although I will use 165’s in a pinch . Anyway here are five loads that work very nicely in my old early 60’s Mannlicher Schoenauer Carbine 20” all five shoot virtually the same POA at 50 and 100 yards . All are lit with CCI 200 Large Rifle primers . First the Hornady 150 SST pushed by 46.7 grains of IMR3031 , second the Nosler 150 BT pushed 46.7 grains of IMR3031 , third the Nosler 150 AccuBond pushed by 57.5 grains of IMR4064 , fourth the Nosler 165 BT pushed by 47 grains of IMR3031 and lastly the Hornady 165 SST pushed by 57.5 grains of IMR4064 . Before I rebarreled my old early 700BDL to 6.5-06 and it still had the 30-06 barrel I used the Hornady 150 SP pushed by 59 grains of IMR4350 . All of these loads have done well on paper for ME in the guns fired from and all six loads have taken deer . However it goes without saying approach with caution as they may not do the same in your gun , so I’d suggest starting 3 or 4 grains less and work up .

[Bill Murphy]

How does your gun shoot with various factory loads? That may be a starting point in blaming your reload recipe or the rifle. It would be step one for me. Good luck from a 30-06 shooter.

[CraigThompson]

There’s a lot to be said for seating the projectile out further in the case to get better accuracy , however if the cartridge doesn’t fit well in the magazine box it’s pretty much useless to me . As to seating depth I go as far as I can but still slide up and down in the magazine box without sticking or bridging .

[Mike Poindexter]

I would suggest changing bullets first, before changing powder or charge weights. I have a pre-64 M70 FWT that shoots factory everything in less than an inch. But I have a new TC Compass rifle that shoots Hornady 180 Light Mags(a 20 year old factory load they dont make anymore) in less than an inch, but wont get the Federal Premium Nosler 180 P's into less than 2". I then worked up a load for the Compass with Hornady 165 gr Interlock BTSP using Reloader 17 (because I'm out of 4350 and I found a 5lb jug of RL 17) starting at 50 grains and working up to 56.5. The last load tightened the group up to less than an inch, and printed 2875 fps, so I stopped there. Good enough for me. I prefer the 180's for elk, but the 165's were available and I think they will do the job if I do mine. I'm using CCI 200 Large Rifle primers in once fired R-P cases. I will save my 180 NP's for the Winchester rifle. Good luck.

[tom leshinsky]

every once in a while you find a rem 700 that just won't shoot well. I had one, i returned it to Remington and they agreed and sent me a new rifle.

[Joseph Sheerin]

My Son's Rem 700 30-06 shoots sub MOA with Nosler 150gr Accubonds, and 57gr of IMR4350. Never used the 180's since all he's hunted with it are whitetails.

[John Dallas]

Tom - Doubt that returning it will work. My Dad ordered in in about 1973. I may try reducing bullet weight if I can find bullets

[Shane Jennings]

What's the twist rate of your barrel?

[John Dallas]

Dunno. Sorry. Whatever the factory specified in 1973

[Shane Jennings]

I think most 700s are 1 in 9.25" twist. A 180gr bullet should be stable with that, no problem.

Other stuff to check: make sure action screws are tight, make sure scope rings and bases are tight, scope itself - any chance it's faulty?, stock - is it free-floated? What about the crown (at the muzzle)? Any dings?

If all that is good, then you just gotta find the load that your particular rifle likes. Which Nosler bullet are you using? Partition, AccuBond, etc.?

[Phillip Carr]

John I realize that this does not answer your question concerning a good load for your rifle, but a few years back I experienced an accuracy issue with my 300 wsm. Normally this rifle shot a clover leaf 3 shot group at 100 yards.
It went to shooting a 2+ inch group at best.
I checked all of the usual problem areas and did not find anything.
I cleaned the bore good enough I thought and still no change.
I took it to a friend and gunsmith, and asked him to put a second set of eyes on my rifle.
He called me a week later and asked when I cleaned the rifle last. I told him just recently.
He then told me there was a lot of copper fouling and he had cleaned it out. I as very surprised to hear this.
I said I would be anxious to see if it made any difference. His remark was oh it did. I took it to the ranch and shot it this weekend and it’s shooting under an inch.
Dang if he wasn’t right. It was back to a fantastic shooting rifle once again.
This may not apply to your rifle, but in my case I leaned a valuable lesson on using a good copper solvent and taking the time to clean it properly.

[John Dallas]

Phil and Shane - Thanks for the thoughts on the gun. Screws are tight, and I cleaned the barrel with copper solvent after shooting. Got a few dirty patches as you would expect, but nothing out of the ordinary IMHO. The search continues

[Mike Koneski]

FWIW, when I work up loads for my rifles I'll start with 2 or 3 differetnt bullet weights. I always make a varmint load and a deer load so I will use the lightest bullet I can find for the caliber and a heavier bullet for deer. Start with published data and make about 5 or 6 loads with different powders and a single bullet weight/style. I'll shoot them in 3 shot groups at 50 yards then 100 yards. I'll tweak each load after the initial testing if it looks promising. Usually I can get down to 2 or 3 loads that will fill the bill. Then I'll play around with seating depth using a seating gauge to find exactly how far I can go with my bullet until I contact the grooves/lands. It's not a complicated process and it's great to do in the winter when I don't have 50 other things to take care of. Let's just say this process works well enough that I can pick up any of my rifles and have confidence in their ability to make things assume room temperature. :)

[David Lien]

Excellent thread. thanks to all that took the time to post up on this Rifle issue, it made this thread a much enjoyed good read.Does any one here remember the pet 3006 load of Michael Petrov that involved IMR 4895 Powder??. The 3006 is a favorite Caliber for me for over 60 yrs. I do not have new or modern rifles. My preference is the Model 1903 Springfield, Teddy Roosevelt shot one as did Ernest Hemingway. Both of these gunners took their rifles to Africa and the caliber gave a very good account of itself. Gary Cooper and Clark Gable also shot the 1903 Springfield in 3006 Cal. My preference is NRA National match Sportsters equipped with the Lyman (??47s or 48s??) Peep sight. I also shoot a Sedgley 1903 Springfield. I will be 82 in the spring, and I can still shoot the sight, but not as good as when I was younger. I do not recall ever shooting the kind of groups that you folks are talking about. I have found that wheather you are shooting Coyotes, Deer, Elk, or moose with a 3006, that BULLET PLACEMENT is more important than bullet weight. A good 150 GR. bullet works just fine if placed in the right spot, however I do like the 180 and 200 Gr. for the larger game. Lots of good Powders for this caliber, 3031 4064, 4895, 760 Win. Just to name some. Also an unlimited supply of good bullets in all sizes. I learned a long time ago that if you can not make a rifle shoot, sell it and get one or more that you can make shoot for you.:) Good Luck.

[charlie cleveland]

we had a browning 7 mag today shooting all over the place cleaned the barrels real good and it went to shooting dead on again...who would have thought that cleaning would have done so much good....charlie

[Mike Koneski]

Another thing that’ll cause stringing is allowing the bbl to get too hot. I’m guilty of that too but I just want to pull the trigger often and fast!!