What performance could load the 30-06 up to?

I began my love affair with the '06 in 1950, courtesy of my father and uncle, with a 1917 Enfield. I bought the Weatherby in 1971. That 4064 load worked way back then--and still does.

Remchester used to give out foam-backed pads to gunshops, to set on glass-topped counters to avoid scratches. 1950s and 1960s, anyway. They had ammo performance data. Almost all test rifles were 26". '06 pressure, commonly, was given as around 49,000 psi. .308 and many others were given as 55,000 psi.

FWIW, my father always duplicated the GI load in his sporterized Springfields, using the Hornady 150-grain Spire Point. Witnesses spoke of a couple of 500-yard one-shot kills he made on deer.
 
Ruger480, the action (receiver and bolt) ain't the weak link in the pressure containing system. It's the cartridge case. Brass is softer and weaker than steel; iron, too, for that matter. And the case walls are a lot thinner than barrel and receiver ring walls as well as bolt lugs and faces.

Cartridge brass starts to extrude at about 70,000 cup, 86,000 psi. About 10% higher, cases can crack and shoot tiny particles of brass right into the middle of some body part..........

.30-06 SAAMI proof loads are about 69,000 cup, 84,000 psi.

Remington 700 actions will hold together up to about 145,000 psi. Winchester 70's to about 135,000 psi. There's a huge safety margin built into what cases can safely handle and the bursting point of actions.

Nobody in their right mind wants to shoot ammo whose cases start extruding parts of their heads back into holes and cutouts in the bolt face. So, the smart/safe/long-case-life/best-accuracy thing to do is keep peak pressures down where the extremes of its normal spread do not go into the dangerous range. And as there's not 100% complete support of the back 1/4th inch of the cartridge case, those who dare to load hotter that normal max pressures for a given cartridge have more important and uncontrolled egos than living a long, uninjured life style. As well as the same thing for their firearms.

Yes, I may be a hard-ass about all this. But I've seen bandaged faces and hands on people who chose to go over the line of safety.

Check that SAAMI document for what it says about proof load pressures for different cartridges back around page 228.

If you're really adamant about loading .30-06 cases to unsafe levels for brass cases, there is a way. Have a machine shop make you some cases out of hardened steel whose outside exactly match your chamber dimensions. And hardened steel primer cups, too to have a primer making company put the pellet, seal and anvil in them for you. Then you can load ammo to perhaps 20 or 30 percent higher than SAAMI, industry, and common sense maximums with brass cases. But you'll need a 50% stronger firing pin spring to dent that steel primer cup enough to crush and detonate the priming pellet. You could call the ammo ".30-06 +++P+++" loads and have that bunted into the case head. Then hope the precision made cases provide a good gas seal so it doesn't leak around in back into or around the bolt and go backwards into your.... . . . .. .. well you can figure out where that high pressure gas will go.
 
Last edited:
Of course, loading it beyond the arbitrary SAAMI limit is entirely different than loading to 85,000psi and nobody has said one thing about loading to unsafe levels until it has to get blown out of proportion by a self-described "hard ass".

There's not a reason in the world that the .30-06 can't be loaded to the same MAP as any other case that's based on the same (or even substantially similar) design.

It's supposedly "those who dare to load hotter that normal max pressures for a given cartridge have more important and uncontrolled egos than living a long, uninjured life style." when they do it in a .30-06 but take that EXACT SAME BRASS and neck it down to .270Win or .25-06 and it's suddenly just another day at the office.:rolleyes:
 
I'm not trying to turn the '06 into a 300 Win Mag but I am curious as to how
close one can safely approach 300 Win Mag velocities with bullets 165 grain
and heavier.
Click to expand...
You can't. ;)

Because as fast as the 30-06 can be made to run, the 300Win -- treated to the same development -- will run just that much faster.

The `06 is the supreme quarterhorse of rifle cartridges.
It will do everything for you very, very well
Just don't beat it with a whip.
 
Brian, .270 Winchester brass has been made to higher standards than all the .30-06 brass has been. I was only taking into consideration that not all .30-06 brass is equal in its metalurgy and hardness numbers. The wrong one loaded too hot equals boom, or at least a crack.
 
Ok, well that's a little different.;):D

So folks who want to load .30-06 up to .270 or so MAP will be better served necking up .270 brass.
 
So folks who want to load .30-06 up to .270 or so MAP will be better served necking up .270 brass.
Click to expand...

Let's do this (this doesn't make it a wildcat does it?).
And lets cap it with a 200 grain SST type bullet.
What kind of numbers are we talking about here? I haven't figured out how pressures equate into MV yet.
I'm also not going to worry about barrel life. My 06 is a savage axis and when I'm ready, I'll build a new one.
But for now, I'm trying to figure out where the 30-06 tops out at. Safely.
 
I'll run some numbers in QuickLoad when I get home. It doesn't care about the brass, only case capacity. I can set it to give me numbers at any max pressure I choose.

Nah, it's not a wildcat. As long as the dimensions are still in SAAMI .30-06 specs, it's a .30-06. Technically, I suppose running it over SAAMI pressure puts it outside the realm of truly being .30-06 but that's just the individual round. The chamber and brass are still .30-06. The headstamp doesn't matter either.

Most of my .243AI brass says 7mm-08 Rem on it.:D
 
Brian, they'd be better served using M72 match brass. Toughest .30-06 cases on this planet. That's what some folks used for hot '06 loads with a case packed full of IMR4350 under 197 or 200 grain bullets for long range matches.
 
Staying within SAAMI pressure standards is all wel and good. However, when a cartridge is NOT loaded to it's full potential, then either proper pressure standards to allow reloaders to use that potential should be made available. I can think of three cartridges right now off the top off my head that fall into this category. The 7x57MM Mauser, 8x57MM Mauser as loaded in the US, the .280 Remington and might as well include the 30-06 as well.
I load for all the rounds just mentioned with the exception of the 8x57 Mauser and do get performance well above factory/SAAMI levels. Brass lasts for as long as ten loadings and primer pocket stay tight. Just depends on the brand of brass. I find Winchester to last the longest with Remington close behind but Federal seems to be much softer so does not last as long.
Take the 7x57 for example. It's loaded to 45,000 C.UP./50,000 P.S.I. give or take. A 145 gr. bullet from Winchester does an advertised 2600 FPS. I get 2550 FPS from my 22" Winchester M70 FWT. I shoot the 140 gr. Nosler BT at 2800 FPS from that same rifle. It's about 30 FPS slower in my Ruger #1A but has proven to be a bit too hot for my custom Mauser which has a match grade chamber an barrel. Brass from the first two guns will not chamber in the Mauser. Did a test using data for the 175 gr. RN that the 7x57 made it reputation. Used a load that gave 2300 FPS in the Ruger and FWT. The load was 2410 FPS in the Mauser still with no pressure signs. Same load for all three rifles.
Then there's the .280 Rem. Remington admits it's downloaded for pump and semi-auto rifles. The 150 gr. Corelokt does 2800 FPS from my 24" barrel. My handload with the 150 gr. Nosler LRAB does 3010 FPS. The one box used for the workup to that level has been loaded five time so far and is still going strong and primer pockets still tight.
Well all know about the 30-06 and weak low numbered Springfields so I won't beat that old drun. What I will say is if my Remington M700 Classic in 30-06 was made with lesser strength materials than the same model in the .270. I have to say poppycock! Baloney! BS!
Would not surprise me a bit if the guys doing the load work for the loading manuals have worked up proper moderm pressure loads for their own hunting use. If so, then they're not cheating fair.
One more thing. Anyone that does load past published maximums does so at their own risk. I do it for certain cartridge that I know are deliberately underloaded from the factory and kept down in the manuals for liability purposes. I've been reloading/handloading my own ammo since 1954 and I hope I've learned a few things. I sure as hell do not know everything but I haven't blown a gun up yeet, knock on wood. :)
Paul B.
 
Last edited:
23j0a2v.jpg
 
The original question: "Does any one have the numbers on what the '06 can put up in a modern bolt action?"

Find a load that's around 55,000 psi--which apparently is what most "hunting cartridges" are loaded to. Load desired weights of bullets, 150/165/180 grains. Use a chronograph. :) One test = beaucoup expert opinions.

(FWIW, Sierra's boat-tail bullets of those weights have near-identical trajectories for 500 yards, +/- three or four inches.)
 
November 28, 2010, 09:06 PM

Rifle: Model 70 (new FN model)
Barrel: Medium/24"
Bullet: 180SMK
Case: WW (1st fire)
Primer CCI-BR2
OAL: 3.28" (10/1,000ths off the lands by Stoney Point measurement)
Powder: Vihtavuori N560

Ran QuickLoad calculations to find the best probable combo for highest velocity/least pressure (< 58,000) with the SMK.

`Worked it up from a predicted 51,000psi load to that just over 58,000 -- and watching the velocities that provide correlation to pressures. (Did anyone ask about Chronographs and safety in another thread? Oh yeah. "Don't worry if you stay within published loads." Problem here is that published loads are all over the map.)

Anyway, with trusty Oehler35, a Starrett micrometer for the web/rim, a loaf of bread and thou....

jgpp2b.jpg


"Actual" is in blue, and is limited to three rounds each as I figured I'd bump up against velocities and/or rim expansion/bolt lift that told me pressure was waaaay exceeding my allotted 58,000. `Never happened. (SD for three rounds is a fiction... But it does give a sense of repeatability.)

Added Note No powder compression req'd,
 
Brian, Lake City's last run of M72 .30-06 match cases was in 1967.

Paul, you state that when a cartridge is NOT loaded to it's full potential, then proper pressure standards to allow reloaders to use that potential should be made available. Exactly, what's the routine for determining a cartridge's full potential? That's a descriptor I've not heard of.

You also state Remington admits their .280 Rem's downloaded for pump and semi-auto rifles. Yet it's got the same peak pressure as the .30-06; 60,000 psi according to industry specs. Their data says the 150-gr Core Lokt leaves at 2890 fps, SAAMI's spec is 2975 fps for 150's and your rifle put that bullet out at 2800 fps. Have you verified that all three barrels have the same chamber, bore and groove dimensions to level that playing field and are fired in the same conditions? If not, then it's normal to see that much difference for a given load across them. It's easy to measure yours and see if it's the same as SAAMI specs for an industry standard pressure/velocity test barrel.
 
...proper pressure standards to allow reloaders...
Click to expand...
As well understood by greybeard handloaders, that "standard" is different with different components even within the same cartridge.
Shot at Max SAAMI standard (which is available/downloadable with just a Google search) and sized only minimally to fit the chamber,
Lapua brass will last quite a long time.

Federal brass will start dropping primers from loosened pockets after just a few+ cycles.

This is not a one-size-fits-all game.
 
The new Federal case I loaded with 42 grains of 4985 over a Fed. 210 primer below a Sierra 165-gr SBT bullet shooting that same case 47 times in a tight bore/groove Hart barrel didn't have its primer pocket loosen any significant amount. Maybe Federal cases are softer these days.
 
My personal Federal vs Lapua experience is w/ 223 and 300Win from about 3 years ago.

Hit 55,000 in the 223 and literally throw the cases away after fifth cycle.
(Primer pocket, not web thinning. Ditto the 300 anywhere near 60K)

Personal and anecdotal to be sure, but not inconsistant.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top