Powders? 30-06 and the 178g eld-x

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Shadow9mm

New member
So i decided to try the 178g eld-x in my 30-06. However most of the powders i have are more aimed at the 150g range bullets. Looking through my hornady manual i dont have any of the powders listed for this bullet weight class. reccomendations on powder or loads for this combo? Id preferred to avoid compressed loads if possible.

I currently have on hand that might work
Varget
Bl-c(2)
Big game
 
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With what you have I'd try Big Game. I find either H4350 or IMR 4350 to be ideal with 150-180 gr 30-06 loads and Big Game comes very close. I used it briefly at one point when I could not locate either of the 4350's.

Varget is a great 308 powder, but just OK with lighter 30-06 loads. Not a good choice with anything over 150 gr.
 
Ramshot Hunter, Reloder 17, 4000-MR. All of these work for me. I have not tried the 178 ELD-X in my '06, but it is great in 300 H&H.

PS: I think Hunter is close to Re-19, Big Game to Re-17.
 
ligonierbill said:
Ramshot Hunter, Reloder 17, 4000-MR. All of these work for me. I have not tried the 178 ELD-X in my '06, but it is great in 300 H&H.

PS: I think Hunter is close to Re-19, Big Game to Re-17.
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Ramshot Hunter is very, very close to H4350. H4350 would be the very best powder for this application.
 
Here is some Load data, only powder they have listed is blc2 and picture i took

Varget is 37.9 to 46.4 is max
BLC2 is 40.4 to 47.4 is max

This is for Horandy 178 A max and Hornadys older 178 BTHP
 
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Switched from IMR to H4350 years ago because the smaller granules flowed better in my measure. The two powders are close, but not identical in burn rate. I use it under 165 Sierra BTSP's.
 
Hoping to get to a store with powder today, will see what i can get my hands on. Hunter will probably be my first choice. H4350 my 2nd.
 
akinswi said:
Did you try any of the recipes I sent above? Varget is pretty dang versatile
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did a little research, off of hodgdon using 180g bullets, hunter seemed to edge out the powders I have by close to 200fps, albeit with some compressed loads. Also the extra powder volume is important, more powder means more energy stored in the case. in this case if we call it 10g just to keep our numbers even, its 20% more powder. I'm planning to at least pick up a pound of hunter to try if I can find any locally.

Varget max
nosler e-tip 43.6g at 2546fps
sierra SBT 47.0g at 2668fps

BL-C(2) max
sierra SBT 48.5g at 2634fps

hunter at max
nosler e-tip 58.1c, at 2821fps
sierra sbt 59.5, at 2835fps
 
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sako2 said:
Have you looked at staball 6.5? https://hodgdonreloading.com/rldc/?t=1
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I have looked at it. not a huge fan of the staball line. From what I remember johnnies reloading bench found it to be a bit temperamental in the loads he worked it up in, hard to get good sd/es. I tried staball match in my 6mm arc and had poor results. Hornady does not have any load data for it with this bullet, and Hodgdons has maxes between 52.1 to 57.2.
 
Shadow9mm said:
did a little research, off of hodgdon using 180g bullets, hunter seemed to edge out the powders I have by close to 200fps, albeit with some compressed loads. Also the extra powder volume is important, more powder means more energy stored in the case. in this case if we call it 10g just to keep our numbers even, its 20% more powder. I'm planning to at least pick up a pound of hunter to try if I can find any locally.

Varget max
nosler e-tip 43.6g at 2546fps
sierra SBT 47.0g at 2668fps

BL-C(2) max
sierra SBT 48.5g at 2634fps

hunter at max
nosler e-tip 58.1c, at 2821fps
sierra sbt 59.5, at 2835fps
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That is quite a difference lol, your shoulder will thank you later lol. Hope it works well for you.
 
Military match ammunition used IMR4895 behind the 174.5 grain M1-Type bullet (M1 Ball bullet design without a cannelure; the actual spec allows minus 3 grains for an average of 173 grains, but all the pulled ones I've measured have been right about 174 grains, whereas the actual cannelured M1 Ball bullets have averaged closer to 173-grains). The weight difference is barely significant from the 178-grain Hornady, though the military did not maximize velocity and certainly did not maximize case fill. Military specs came from historical (WWI) use of faster powders that could not safely get to higher velocities before the IMR powders were developed.

IMR4064 does a little better with case fill for the same velocities. For combat ammunition, Lake City used a lot of WC852, which, in canister grade for handloaders, is H380. These powders are good choices in the Garand and the Springfield '03 rifles the military loaded 30-06 for. They won't make for undue wear in them.

To shoot faster, the other powders already suggested are good. Vihtavuori powders, though expensive, are very good and, in the N1## series, tend to have a lower energy density than some of the similar burn-rate IMR powders and thus can fill the case better. Load data for the 178-grain ELD-X is here.
 
akinswi said:
That is quite a difference lol, your shoulder will thank you later lol. Hope it works well for you.
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My shoulder always does when I shoot the 06.

But I'm being a bit sneaky. I probably wont be up at max. I generally find the most consistent ES/SD around a half to a full grain below max. So In theory i should have lower working pressure, less wear and tear on the throat/barrel, and not full recoil, but still get the same velocity as a max load with the other powders, perhaps even a touch more. If i could stay up in the low to mid 2700s that would be a win IMHO. But I will have to see how it plays out.
 
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