Advice 30-06 0-500yards load

Hey guys got a new project in the wings that I will be loading for at some stage.
I mostly shoot reds and the occasional fallow can anyone give me some advice of their experience with 30-06 and where I should be looking for a all round load that will be ok from 50yards out to 500 yards ?
Haven't played with a 30-06 yet so not sure where the shine best.
Heavy and slow say 180ish gns for high bc pills that wont blow up at close range ? Light and fast for flat shooting ?
Hard monos ? Or softer pills ?
I have 2208 on hand which seems ok I understand that 2209 is better but open to suggestions.....
I know all components are hard to get currently so hypothetically just researching at the moment so I can keep my eyes out when components become available.
Thanks everyone :cool:

I used 165 nosler bt in my 30/06. Worked well but never shot to that distance. A friend is using 178 eld-m in his 308 with really good results at 600+ yds. I’d they them or a match 180gr.

56 grain of IMR4350 behind a 180 sgk bt will be accurate and about 2700+ fps. Around 58 grn will give you over 2800fps with a 165 grn sgk.

178g ELD-X

I started with the 165 SGK, kills anything it hits. Then loaded some 165 SST's - shot same point of impact. And they kill anything they hit. To make sure things were all good I spent some time on the gongs out to 600, nothing fancy, just punch some numbers in to a ballistic's app and have at it. Way out to 600 was easily achievable with both projectiles, in fact boringly repetitive.
Then just to try and screw with the system I loaded some 150's and 180's. Bugger me, they performed the same, accurate and repetitive. I would suggest dont over think it, pick a projectile you would be happy to use, load some up and if it works, go shoot some shit.
If you need some 30 cal projectiles to play with, let me know Danny, I can drop some over.

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Originally Posted by Husky1600

I started with the 165 SGK, kills anything it hits. Then loaded some 165 SST's - shot same point of impact. And they kill anything they hit. To make sure things were all good I spent some time on the gongs out to 600, nothing fancy, just punch some numbers in to a ballistic's app and have at it. Way out to 600 was easily achievable with both projectiles, in fact boringly repetitive.
Then just to try and screw with the system I loaded some 150's and 180's. Bugger me, they performed the same, accurate and repetitive. I would suggest dont over think it, pick a projectile you would be happy to use, load some up and if it works, go shoot some shit.
If you need some 30 cal projectiles to play with, let me know Danny, I can drop some over.

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Thats bloody generous of you, I may take you up on that. My biggest issue will be finding a suitable projectile I can get enough of once a load is developed.....

165 SST and 2209 or RE16 will do what you want perfectly

2209 is the go if you have it, but 2208 and quicker powders will work in the 06.

With 2209 and a 180 gn pill, 56 of 09 is about where it’s at ~2700 ish fps, up to 58.5-59 with a 165 for 2900 fps in my rifles.

On reds and pigs etc a cup and core 165 is fine. Use your favourite flavour or what you can get. I swap between Nosler bt and AB for when a Sambar might come be in the area. Similar point on impact to each other.

Shooters world Gore have 178gr Eld X a plenty.

For those interested. Being the minion I am taking note of who has what in stock on my travels :D

178eldms would be epic with some 2209.

I use 178 eld m's and 2209.

Been thinking of changing to eld x's for a bit more certainty on the close shots, but no problems so far

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Originally Posted by dannyb

Hey guys got a new project in the wings that I will be loading for at some stage.
I mostly shoot reds and the occasional fallow can anyone give me some advice of their experience with 30-06 and where I should be looking for a all round load that will be ok from 50yards out to 500 yards ?
Haven't played with a 30-06 yet so not sure where the shine best.
Heavy and slow say 180ish gns for high bc pills that wont blow up at close range ? Light and fast for flat shooting ?
Hard monos ? Or softer pills ?
I have 2208 on hand which seems ok I understand that 2209 is better but open to suggestions.....
I know all components are hard to get currently so hypothetically just researching at the moment so I can keep my eyes out when components become available.
Thanks everyone :cool:

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Rifle details?

Barrel length, twist rate, contour, stock, weight, what type of scope you have on, etc?

Best consider all these factors when developing a load, a light rifle with a heavy load (many of the sugguestions above are) will not be fun to shoot over extended periods, meaning harder to gather dope and drift data.

Why develop an absolute banger of a 500m load if 90% of your shots are 0-150m? Two different pills could be a better choice.

Rifle is 1:10 twist, 22" barrel, general hunting contour bareel not heavy not ultra skinny, will be suppressed, bout 3kg, will have a 4-16×40 nikon monarch on it for now, in reality most of my shots are 200-400 yards on average but have the abilty and skill to take shots out to 600 yards in the right conditions.
Recoil is not an issue for me.

bog std 150grn hornady interlock pills work darn well in the 06 and will take care of the 90% of stuff......save your superdupergarycooper loads for the other 10%
your wallet will thankyou for it,it may ever save your sanity not having to be miserly guts and not shooting as much as low on good pills.

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Originally Posted by Rock river arms hunter

Shooters world Gore have 178gr Eld X a plenty.

For those interested. Being the minion I am taking note of who has what in stock on my travels :D

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I did comment on the various projectiles I saw on the shelf a week or two back, something along the lines of "if you had a website they'd be goneburgers" and the answer went a little something like "we're here to look after the locals" :thumbsup:

Looking at a lot of info, I might be relegated to 150gn projectiles as I only have 2208 available (lots of it) 2209 is better for heavies but unless there is someone that wants to trade a couple kgs of 2208 for 2209 I vould be a bit stuck....
Have been thinking about either 150gn accubonds or 150gn sirocco swifts both are meant to perform pretty well.
What say the masses ?

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Originally Posted by dannyb

Looking at a lot of info, I might be relegated to 150gn projectiles as I only have 2208 available (lots of it) 2209 is better for heavies but unless there is someone that wants to trade a couple kgs of 2208 for 2209 I vould be a bit stuck....
Have been thinking about either 150gn accubonds or 150gn sirocco swifts both are meant to perform pretty well.
What say the masses ?

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honestly with the way projectile prices and availability is going I personally wouldn't bother with an accubond or swift. Very $$$ and i supply is low then you have to get another load developed. I'd look at something more basic that is cheap and plentiful and once you sorted the load buy a decent number to keep you going
@Tahr sometimes shoots basic HPBT projectiles and just dials up a little bit more.

yip perfect for that 10%......and basic cup n core for the other 90.....

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Originally Posted by Russian 22.

honestly with the way projectile prices and availability is going I personally wouldn't bother with an accubond or swift. Very $$$ and i supply is low then you have to get another load developed. I'd look at something more basic that is cheap and plentiful and once you sorted the load buy a decent number to keep you going
@Tahr sometimes shoots basic HPBT projectiles and just dials up a little bit more.

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The problem is even the basic pills are hard to find, I asked about those 2 pills because I could buy a couple hundred.

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Originally Posted by dannyb

Looking at a lot of info, I might be relegated to 150gn projectiles as I only have 2208 available (lots of it) 2209 is better for heavies but unless there is someone that wants to trade a couple kgs of 2208 for 2209 I vould be a bit stuck....
Have been thinking about either 150gn accubonds or 150gn sirocco swifts both are meant to perform pretty well.
What say the masses ?

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2208 and for that matter 2206h will go to 180 grains just look in the adi book
They may not be the best choices but do work I've used 2206h with 178 eldms on more than one occasion quite sucessfully.
As to bullets call me old fashioned (and youd be right) but simple cup and core bullets have never let me down are plentiful and work.

I have shot my longest range deer (not far off 500yd) with a cup n core. Worked wonders and shot the lights out compared to the fancy bullets in that calibre.
Have you looked at the 168tmk for LR stuff? If you are shooting 200-400 most of the time these would probably be perfect. ADI shows it gives up almost nothing to 2209.Have a box of factory like hornady, fed or rem for the close stuff

If you look at loading data in manuals for Garland/m14 match loads with 165/167 you will see the powders are faster ones 4064, etc. 2208 will be fine.

W760/H414 or the Belmont equivalent is fabulous in the 30-06 if easier to obtain. 60 gns with a 150 for about 3000 fps, back off 2 gns for a 165 and 4 for a 180. Work up naturally.

Just a word of warning here. Some 06 wont take the full 57+ 2209 loads above with a 180 or and perhaps others. I have one that pops primers at 57.5 so hold it at 56.5. Other one I have is fine though.

On brass, Rem is soft and less volume. Win seems to have more volume and less likely to show pressure than RP I my exp

I am also experimenting with the 30.06.
If you have 2208 then a 150 gn pill is a perfect option .I use 51 gn with magnum primers,getting 2750 ft/s.This can be used at 500 but suggest maybe loading it up.I find this load extremely soft shooting so stick with it and dial for distance,this is from a 20 inch sako with suppressor.
I have tried the 178 eldx, using 2209 getting 2750 also,I never got the oportunity to use at 500 but at 0-200 I really wasn't impressed.this powder is near impossible to find also.
I found the 30.06 shines with 165gn projectiles,but once again needing 2209.

I hope this is helpful and I like to know more of people's experience with this caliber,it's a terrific caliber for loading,but seems it doesn't have the popularity here in nz.

Theirs plenty of 168 vlds at my local but they wont be cheap at least you could secure a few hundred though

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

bog std 150grn hornady interlock pills work darn well in the 06 and will take care of the 90% of stuff......save your superdupergarycooper loads for the other 10%
your wallet will thankyou for it,it may ever save your sanity not having to be miserly guts and not shooting as much as low on good pills.

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Yes Micky,
Very true. Just about any 30 calibre 150 grain pill will do the business out to reasonable range and the 150 grain Hornady is as good as any and better than some. However this is not what some may want to hear. Even I was seduced by the 165 grain interlock's when I had a .30-06 AI for a bit. That rifle has gone and the .308 is still here. Recently, while doing some test loads with different powders in my .308 I found that the 165 grain projectiles (left over from the .30-06 AI escapade) shot really well. I may consider switching to them once my stocks of 150 grain Hornady and Norma projectiles runs out. By my estimate this should occur around 2060 when I am 110 years old or there about.
Regards Grandpamac.

Superformance works well with the 178 gr eldx if you can source some.

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Originally Posted by Mooseman

Superformance works well with the 178 gr eldx if you can source some.

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Yes this, in my 30 284 (ballistic twin to 30-06) superformance and a 178 amax (or eldm) was magic from 0-600y

Yup and superformance may as well be rl26 cause its about as easy to come by :oh noes:

90% sure there is some advertised on trademe now....as for price........

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

90% sure there is some advertised on trademe now....as for price........

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I'd be wanting 3 or 4 lbs to keep me going not 1 tub, I see it's advertised at reloaders up north but no way of shipping :pissed off:

any hunting bullet with a decent bc will do that sort of distance from a 30-06
doesn't need to be a match bullet

try the speer gold dot they have a stunning bc for a soft point hunting bullet
kill awsome too

yet to meet a rifle that doesn't like them ether

Have to laugh this thread answer most of the other threads on here.
A 30-06 appears to do well with any powder projectile combination.
Nothing else needed.
I admit to being slightly biased.

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Originally Posted by superdiver

178eldms would be epic with some 2209.

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any reason to think they wouldn't work with Superformance ?

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Originally Posted by dannyb

any reason to think they wouldn't work with Superformance ?

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Greetings @dannyb,
Rather than lusting after powders you don't have and probably can't get why not just go with the AR2208 that you do have. Almost all military cartridges for the 30-06 were loaded with powders no slower than AR2206H. You would give up less than 100 fps with the lighter projectiles and only a little more with the 178 or 180 grains. Move over to AR2209 when you can get some. The deer won't know the difference.
Regards Grandpamac.
PS I believe that the Superformance we can buy was the blend formulated for the 30-06 so it should work well.

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Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings @dannyb,
Rather than lusting after powders you don't have and probably can't get why not just go with the AR2208 that you do have. Almost all military cartridges for the 30-06 were loaded with powders no slower than AR2206H. You would give up less than 100 fps with the lighter projectiles and only a little more with the 178 or 180 grains. Move over to AR2209 when you can get some. The deer won't know the difference.
Regards Grandpamac.
PS I believe that the Superformance we can buy was the blend formulated for the 30-06 so it should work well.

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I do have 4lbs of Superformance now....:thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by dannyb

any reason to think they wouldn't work with Superformance ?

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Never thought it wouldn't but 2209 seemed to be the go to. Keen to see how SF goes in it. What pill you going with?

That was a good score Danny, my load with SF is 58 grains with the 178 gr ELDX , velocity average is 2780 fps.

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Originally Posted by superdiver

Never thought it wouldn't but 2209 seemed to be the go to. Keen to see how SF goes in it. What pill you going with?

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At the moment its a toss up between 178 eldm or 175 targex as thats what I can lay my hands on.....The only eldx I could find anywhere was 200gn and I think that whilst it may work it also may not...

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Originally Posted by dannyb

At the moment its a toss up between 178 eldm or 175 targex as thats what I can lay my hands on.....The only eldx I could find anywhere was 200gn and I think that whilst it may work it also may not...

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I tried the 200 gr eldx in my Ruger American and got good speed with SF but it didn't shoot well at all.

careful......them partitions DO contain some magic...... its only my Scottish heritage that stops me using them....