I just picked husband up a Remington CDR 30-06. Never owned this caliber and don't have a clue of powders for hopefully 165-180 grain bullets. It's a 10 twist so we are figuring 180 to best bullet for it in a Sierra Game King. Going to try a few boxes of 180 cor locs to get some brass. Pretty easy to pick up at the range also. He wanted a bolt action in wood and a Remington and this was all I could find. Put a Nikon 2.5 X 10 prostaff 7 on it and it looks pretty good. Hoping it shoots as well. Hunting only so any suggestions of powder and bullets. Sierra loading guide shows RL 22 for 180 and RL 15 for 160-165. I've got all kinds of different powders. Varget. Imr 4451. Imr 4166. Imr 4064. Imr 3031. H4831 sc. Imr 4831. Imr 4350. H4350. A few more including both Reloader 22 and 15. Any suggestions. He wants it for deer and bear here and a Mule deer and antelope hunt this fall.
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Reloading 30-06
- Thread starter Wendyj
- Start date
Imr4064 and 4350 should be ideal. For 168gr I use 47gr 4064 and it shoots great. You'll want 165 or 180 if hunting. 165 probably more than adequate. There is an old standby load for 4350 that supposed to shoot well in everything. I think it was 57 gr of 4350 and 168gr. <---FACT CHECK before using.
condor bravo
New member
Thought I knew Remington bolt rifle designations pretty well since I have 70 model 700s but cannot identify, even by going to the net, what the CDR is. But my guess it is a model 7 or 700. But regardless of what it is, there are probably more loadings for the '06 than most any other caliber and you have some of the powders. In the bullet weight range you specify, popular choices are 4064, 4895, 4350 and even 4320. First choices are often 4895 or its near twin brother, as I call it, 4064. Then 4350 or 4320 may take over with bullet weights of 180 or higher. I would expect a variety of '06 loading recommendations and only the individual rifle knows what it likes the best.
CDL. Not CDR. My iPad types what it wants. Sorry. It s just a 700 with a wooden checkered stock. Thought about going with the Tikka Hunter but got this one at a good price so a little longer barrel and still not a lot of weight. I'm curious if the 10 would handle a 190 grain Nosler competition bullet. I just happen to have 200 of them and would be ok for plinking a little. I'm really hoping it will handle a 160-165 with the 10 twist for anything around here. Got a hundred or so Hornady sst that my 10 twist 308 hates.
The 10 twist will work just fine with anything from 150 gr up to 230 gr. You'll probably also find it acceptable with bullets in the 125-130 gr range.
With 150-180 gr bullets either H4350 or IMR4350 is about as good as it gets. 4064 is right there too as is RL17. Depending on what is available Ramshot Big Game and Ramshot Hunter work well too. If you want to go heavier than 180 gr then RL19 or RL22 seem to be the ones I see mentioned most often. Varget, and RL15 work OK with lighter bullets, but there are better options.
I think the 165/168 gr bullets are the most versatile. They work well enough from small whitetail up to elk or larger. You can select a softer 165 such as the Hornady SST or Nosler Ballistic Tip for deer and go with a harder Partition or Accubond for more penetration on larger game. The 150 gr Barnes TTSX's would be a great all around bullet too. They out penetrate most 180 gr conventional bullets.
Some of the high BC 200 gr bullets such as the Accubond or new Hornady ELD will retain amazing energy numbers at distance when fired at 30-06 speeds. They don't shoot as flat, but with a scope equipped with dots or dials a flat trajectory isn't important. You can get more energy at 400 yards with these bullets than a 300 WM would deliver with conventional 180 gr bullets.
With 150-180 gr bullets either H4350 or IMR4350 is about as good as it gets. 4064 is right there too as is RL17. Depending on what is available Ramshot Big Game and Ramshot Hunter work well too. If you want to go heavier than 180 gr then RL19 or RL22 seem to be the ones I see mentioned most often. Varget, and RL15 work OK with lighter bullets, but there are better options.
I think the 165/168 gr bullets are the most versatile. They work well enough from small whitetail up to elk or larger. You can select a softer 165 such as the Hornady SST or Nosler Ballistic Tip for deer and go with a harder Partition or Accubond for more penetration on larger game. The 150 gr Barnes TTSX's would be a great all around bullet too. They out penetrate most 180 gr conventional bullets.
Some of the high BC 200 gr bullets such as the Accubond or new Hornady ELD will retain amazing energy numbers at distance when fired at 30-06 speeds. They don't shoot as flat, but with a scope equipped with dots or dials a flat trajectory isn't important. You can get more energy at 400 yards with these bullets than a 300 WM would deliver with conventional 180 gr bullets.
I can't believe no one (yet) mentioned IMR 4895, which is the CLASSIC powder for the .30-06.
IMR 4895 is/ was the standard, used in the military loadings. a 150gr@2750fps or a 173gr @ 2640fps (both specs +/- ).
IMR 4350 doesn't give you the absolute most velocity possible, a slightly slower powder (like 4350) is needed for that. 4895 will give you GI speed and more than a bit above that (matching commercial ammo), which is all one really needs out of an 06. Don't let that stop you from trying to get what you want, though. Slower powders can deliver fastest speeds, accuracy is, as always, dependent on the individual rifle, ammo, and shooter.
The 1 in 10 twist is a "holdover" from the days when the standard military bullet was a 220gr RN (.30-40 Krag) it does well for most lighter bullets, and is probably the most common .30 caliber twist rate, worldwide.
Commercial 06 is loaded in weights from 110gr to 220gr, and I've even gotten decent close range groups (100yds or less) from the ultra short 100gr "plinkers) though at 300, you might find "minute of paper plate" accuracy (or less) with them.
IMR 4895 is/ was the standard, used in the military loadings. a 150gr@2750fps or a 173gr @ 2640fps (both specs +/- ).
IMR 4350 doesn't give you the absolute most velocity possible, a slightly slower powder (like 4350) is needed for that. 4895 will give you GI speed and more than a bit above that (matching commercial ammo), which is all one really needs out of an 06. Don't let that stop you from trying to get what you want, though. Slower powders can deliver fastest speeds, accuracy is, as always, dependent on the individual rifle, ammo, and shooter.
The 1 in 10 twist is a "holdover" from the days when the standard military bullet was a 220gr RN (.30-40 Krag) it does well for most lighter bullets, and is probably the most common .30 caliber twist rate, worldwide.
Commercial 06 is loaded in weights from 110gr to 220gr, and I've even gotten decent close range groups (100yds or less) from the ultra short 100gr "plinkers) though at 300, you might find "minute of paper plate" accuracy (or less) with them.
For deer hunting the 180 gr bullet or even heavier is too heavy and slow for good expansion and fast kills with the 30-06.
that's one opinion. I know people who believe the 180 kills like lightning, and the 150gr is too light for good penetration. I also remember a time when the only common choice in factory ammo for deer was either the 150 or the 180.
perhaps this is why the 165 was produced. Have seen numerous deer and other beasts dropped DRT with all of them. Have also seen all of them fail to drop deer DRT. That fail is on the shooter, not the bullet.
There is no magic bullet, choose what you think best.
condor bravo
New member
To suggest a specific load, I'll also go along with 57 gr 4350 and 165 gr bullet weight as mentioned three times or so above. This is a max or near max load and compressed. That produced excellent accuracy with a model 70.
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IMR4350 is one of the standards for heavier bullets. When I couldn't get any, I found Reloader 17, which was supposed to have the same burn rate, but I get a little better accuracy from it as well. I got H4895 for loading military semiautos, but especially with heavier bullets, it's not as accurate and its velocities are less than with IMR4350 in the bolt gun.
A 165 with the 10 twist for anything, anywhere. Partial to IMR4064 myself. Gives more consistent accuracy than either 4895.
The '06 loves 165 grain hunting bullets. A 165 grain bullet out of a .30-06 will kill any game in North America. Including big bears. Gives you just about the best combination of "punch" and accuracy without excessive felt recoil.
For deer hunting, the 180 grain bullet unnecessary. Isn't really necessary for any game in North America.
"...too heavy and slow for good expansion..." Absolutely untrue. A 220 Silvertip(the old kind) will expand, um, dramatically upon impact with a ground hog.
The 165 was produced because it's close to the .30 AP's 168 grain bullet without sounding martial.
"...This is a max or near max load and compressed..." 57 grains of IMR4350 is one above minimum. Probably is starting to be compressed(given that 60.0 max is compressed), but compressed loads are nothing to worry about.
The '06 loves 165 grain hunting bullets. A 165 grain bullet out of a .30-06 will kill any game in North America. Including big bears. Gives you just about the best combination of "punch" and accuracy without excessive felt recoil.
For deer hunting, the 180 grain bullet unnecessary. Isn't really necessary for any game in North America.
"...too heavy and slow for good expansion..." Absolutely untrue. A 220 Silvertip(the old kind) will expand, um, dramatically upon impact with a ground hog.
The 165 was produced because it's close to the .30 AP's 168 grain bullet without sounding martial.
"...This is a max or near max load and compressed..." 57 grains of IMR4350 is one above minimum. Probably is starting to be compressed(given that 60.0 max is compressed), but compressed loads are nothing to worry about.
brasscollector
New member
I use IMR 4895 for my 150s and IMR 4350 for my 165-178s. My 30-06 is just an old sporterized mauser and it will shoot 1" @ 100yds or better with all my loads.
I'm curious if I can resize the 50 pieces of 25-06 brass I have to use in the 30-06. I've resized a few and loaded a few dummy rounds. They are 2.475 and 2.470. Below saami specs for minimum but have plenty bearing space on the 165 grain bullet and more on the 180. I can toss them if not safe to load or possibly damage the rifle.