.30-06 - 178 Gr ELDM H4350 FRUSTRATED

[Porquistador]

Hi guys,

Have been browsing the the forum for about a year now and finally decided to sign up. Awesome stuff.

Need some help here.

I am shooting a custom .30-06 with a 27.5 inch barrel and am struggling with a long range load using H4350 and hornady's 178 Gr Eld bullets. I managed to find a great load at 56.8 gr of H4350 @ 3.220 COAL which is just over .050 off the lands for this particular rifle. This combination shot a .5" group with a ES of 8 and SD of 22 @ 2912 FPS @ 20 Deg Celsius. Problem is this load is over max and marks a dangerous load in GORDONS RELOADING TOOL.

I have since tried to re-develop the load with no luck leaving me frustrated and annoyed.

Any advice? thanks.

 

[19Wyoming]

Are you showing pressure signs on your brass? What have you done to redevelop it? Just reduce charge? We need more info to help.

 

[Porquistador]

Are you showing pressure signs on your brass? What have you done to redevelop it? Just reduce charge? We need more info to help.

Thanks for your reply. The brass showed no signs of pressure. No ejector marks etc. I did notice on one piece that extraction was slightly hard but that was only on one rounds and it also did not reveal any pressure marks on the case. What I did for re development was shoot a load up in .3 gr inc. from 52 gr - 55 gr looking for flat spots in velocity (satterlee). Non really showed up but I went with two at 52.4 and 53.6. Loaded up 5 of each and shot groups at a 100. Es 44 and up and sd were all above 15 and groups were meh. Nothing like the 56.8 gr load. Think it will be safe to use even at higher temps? I live in the desert and sometimes can really heat up here.

 

[gohring3006]

I would run it if it shows no signs.
Too many variables to determine that particular load is unsafe in your rifle.
Throat length, chamber size etc.

 

[19Wyoming]

I would run it as well. H4350 is pretty temp insensitive. If you start seeing pressure when it gets hotter worry about it then.

 

[Porquistador]

I would run it if it shows no signs.
Too many variables to determine that particular load is unsafe in your rifle.
Throat length, chamber size etc.

I agree, but what worried me was that one hard extraction. Had to tap on the bolt to eject that specific case. Could that relate to excessive pressure? Thanks

 

[Gary in MD]

What makes you think this is a dangerous load in your rifle? Are you seeing any pressure signs? Just because it is slightly over max in someone else's opinion doesn't make it unsafe in your rifle. You are probably right near max, but some rifles shoot very well with top loads. Load more and pay attention for any signs of high pressure.
If it is shooting accurate and shows no pressure signs, I would keep shooting it.
Just my opinion
Gary

 

[Porquistador]

For all you gun nuts that have experience reloading .30-06, would this normally be a dangerous load?

also, in relation to barrel ware, is 2900+ perhaps too fast?

 

[19Wyoming]

I have to do that some from brass that's been shot too many times and gets sticky.

 

[Gary in MD]

I'm loading 58.5 of H4350 in my '06 with 168 grain bullets with no pressure signs.
Your velocity it high but you do have a long barrel with you could attribute to that velocity.
Gary

 

[gohring3006]

For all you gun nuts that have experience reloading .30-06, would this normally be a dangerous load?

also, in relation to barrel ware, is 2900+ perhaps too fast?

Not necessarily in a 27.5" barrel. I ran all the way up to 58.5 grains of IMR 4350 in my 30-06 with 178. The powder was way up in the neck. My throat is long though, I am running 3.45" coal. 2950fps with a 24".
I backed off to 56.5 grains for better case life.
Here's a simple test. I would load up one case several times and see how many firings until you get a primer pocket to loose to fire again. If it runs up to 7-8 firings, I would probably run it.

 

[Porquistador]

Thanks guys. I will load more, test and report. Appreciate

 

[User4302021]

For all you gun nuts that have experience reloading .30-06, would this normally be a dangerous load?

also, in relation to barrel ware, is 2900+ perhaps too fast?

The issue you are seeing in the literature or software, is that 30-06 is limited to 55k psi in a lot of sources. There is no reason why a 30-06 shouldn't be a 60K psi cartridge in a modern action. Given the extra pressure for a modern loading, and your length of barrel, 2900 fps is nothing to be worried about.

56-57 grains of H4350 and a 180 grain bullet is a classic 30-06 load that has been proven on probably all 7 continents over the last 70 years. You are in good territory.

 

[Porquistador]

The issue you are seeing in the literature or software, is that 30-06 is limited to 55k psi in a lot of sources. There is no reason why a 30-06 shouldn't be a 60K psi cartridge in a modern action. Given the extra pressure for a modern loading, and your length of barrel, 2900 fps is nothing to be worried about.

56-57 grains of H4350 and a 180 grain bullet is a classic 30-06 load that has been proven on probably all 7 continents over the last 70 years. You are in good territory.

Thanks! This is really reassuring!