Bullet weight and load development?

B

BC Buck

New member
I have a A bolt in 30-06 i need to set up for deer hunting. My last pencil barreled 06 shot all weight bullets terrible except 180 gr. Took me a lot of time to come to that conclusion. What is the most efficient way to get a idea if a barrel does or dont like certain bullet weights.
 
If you plan to roll your own many bullet manufacturers offer "Bullet Sample Packs" a Google of which will get you some results. This way you are not buying 50 to 100 bullets only to find out after a few 4 shot groups they suck for your rifle. You also may want to consider barrel twist rate. When you start looking at 30-06 .308 caliber bullets there must be a hundred out there to choose from.


Ron
 
In my experience the heaviest weight boattail bullet your twist rate is likely to stabalize well is usually the most accurate. It doesnt always work out that way but most times. For an 06 I would try something like a 200grn accubond or gameking first.
 
There are twist rate/bullet weight/length charts, but they won't tell you what bullet and load your gun shoots best.
Doing it the old fashioned way might be tedious, but it's still the most effective way to find the answer to your question.
 
Pick the bullet you would most like to use, and try it. You might not have to try any others.
A lot of 30-06's will shoot a variety of bullets accurately.
 
"Pencil Barrel Hunting Rifle"
We call them 'Walking' rifles or 'Mountian' rifles, weight is a serious issue when you carry them all day!
"Ounces equal pounds, and pounds equal pain"

Figure the maximum distance you will be REASONABLY lobbing lead.
Most guys get 'Googly Eyes' when they see all the 'Wiz-Bang' glass and buy something they don't need and can't properly operate.

My 06 mountain rifle has fixed 6X with friction adjustment (instead of 'Click' adjustments).
Friction allows you to adjust to the Nth degree, where 'Clicks' limit you to 1/4" or larger adjustments.

Once zeroed, you aren't going to take time to mess with knobs when the deer is walking along in front of you... No sense in having 'Clicks' when you don't need them.

The same is true with high power 'Zoom' (Magnification), makes the optic a LOT more complicated internally, and all that extra mechanical function/fittment makes the optic less reliable both in weather/temperature changes & over the life of the optic.

Anything that needs a 50 page manual & batteries is just silly to me...
Even if someone figures out the basics TODAY, they have to relearn everything in a year when hunting season starts again... and the batteries are DEAD & corroded!

Buy or build 150, 165/168, 180 & 200 grain rounds.
Just one box will tell you what the rifle is going to 'Like'...
Work towards a 'Fine Tune' round from there...
The rifle will usually let you know pretty quick what weight it's going to work with...

If you roll your own, I have some odds & ends of bullets/weights around here,
I'll be happy to donate if you can use them... I've been cleaning out the odds & ends in the bullet cabinet, and I probably have 100 pounds of "10 of these, 7 of those, 12 of them"...

For years & years, I zero for 'Minute Of Deer Heart'.
If zeroed @200 yds for instance, it's going to shoot about 1" high @100 & 1.5" low @300.
This is RIFLE 'point blank zero', you won't miss that deer heart with dead on aiming from under 100 out past 300, no adjustments required.
 
Last edited:
You must be shooting something really fast. 300 sounds a little optimistic for 1.5" low, but I agree with the general sighting principle. For my more pedestrian .308/.30-06 rounds, I figure a 200 yard zero gives me about 2" high at 100 and 2" low at 230 yards. At 300 I'm holding half a foot high or slightly more.
 
In the case of my 308 Mountan rifle. I chose the rifle that had a ballistic and kinetic reputation for what I wanted it for. That was Deer size game. Then I started loading at 150gr. It shot well about 1-1 1/4 at 100 Yds. Eventuly I went up to 168gr. That shot as accurate with a little better Energy and Trajectory.

Look up your cartrage charts for BC, SD and twist for the cartrage you are interested in. A larger BC will reach out a little flatter. Larger SD will give nock down energy. You will need to find twist relation charts on the webb.


Look up Hogdon cartridge loads to find loads you are interested in. Then go to Hornady Ballistic Calculator to determine the trajectory.

I hope this helps.
 
What length barrel ?
What is the twist rate of the barrel ?
( usually stamped on the barrel close to the caliber stamping )

With that information we can give you a general answer
and narrow down the weight bullets it will like
 
It's a Browning hunting rifle in 30-06, so it probably has a 22" or 24" barrel with a 1/10 twist, and should handle any 150 to 180 grain bullet.
 
A little light/fast than 'Normal', depending on shot placement & terminal energy not being wasted on the other side of the deer in some hill side...

I just not a big fan of 'Do-Dads' on a hunting optic, and putting meat on the table beats the 'Latest-Greatest' bullet on the market.
Around here, if you can see 200 yds in the brush it's a minor miricle, and we are just now getting to use full size rifle rounds.
Humped all over West Virginia for years, and in that country light beat 'Fancy' every time!
Out west I used something a little heavier (caliber/bullet weight), mule deer take a little more than white tails, so normally something that would fill that moose tag I spent so god awful much on...

Now, chicken is cheap!
The neighbors raise grass fed beef & trade for farm ground leases, the hog producers down the road trade for welding & machine work...
My old broken down body is perfectly happy eating high on the hog and NOT climbing mountains to get fed!

I still keep the old light weight (relative) .30-06 clean & oiled, but as long as there is pork & beef in the fridge I'm probably not going too far...
Besides, during the fall I might have 20 white tails standing in the side yard, don't seem quite right to shoot deer the dogs get along with & have got so used to my wife they don't bother running from her anymore...
 
If I have a decent load worked up for a caliber that is not near the top of the loading charts, I typically try that first. If it works (and it usually does) I go with that.
 
What is the most efficient way to get a idea if a barrel does or don't like certain bullet weights.
Click to expand...

Start with a bullet that is recommended for you barrel's twist rate then test using bullets you think are going to be best for the way you hunt. In your case the Browning should have a 1:10 twist and should shoot 150's through 180's well. My Browning shot well using 180 Nosler Partitions, it was the first bullet I tried in it and I used it a lot of years before trying Barnes X-Bullets (the original Barnes bullet). The Noslers were consistently giving just over 1 MOA performance but as I ran out I decided to try the Barnes after reading an article on them. The old Barnes were known for their accuracy woes and in my rifle they proved to be no different, 2 MOA was the best I was able to squeeze out of them. I shot a few animals with the Barns though and their performance on games was impressive to say the least. Once the Barnes were gone though I went back to the Partitions.
 
An A-Bolt in 30-06...hunting deeer....

Every barrel is a little different, some shoot lots of bullet weights great, some don't.

Load up ten test rounds in 150, 165, and 180 gr bullets with a starting charge of appropriate powder. I recommend going either all flat base or all boat tail. Make sure the rifle is on paper first, and then shoot for groups. Whichever bullet weight is shooting the tightest with a starting charge is probably going to give you a really good starting point for working up an accuracy load.

That's 30 rounds for testing, and even if all the groups are about the same, that's still permission to do a load work up with any bullet weight you feel like.

Jimro
 
I paid a TON of money for a .308 barrel that wouldn't keep 2 MOA with anything than 178 grain bullets.
I found someone that wanted that 'Top Brand Name' barrel more than I did.

Stuff happens...
 
SSA --
do you now for shure its a Browning or are you guessing ?

waiting for BC Buck's answer
with that info we may be able to help
other wise it is all guess work
 
Definitely try Sierra 150 grain Pro Hunters. I can't say enough good things about their performance in my `06; and compared to the price of other brands' "premium" bullets, they are an absolute bargain.

My best load uses them with RL 19.
 
bullet weight/load development

The basic thing you should know is "What is the twist of your barrel?" You won't know what bullets (weights) your rifle will shoot without this basic info.

Larry
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top