.30-06 AI?

[lancetkenyon]

Thank you fraz. My primary purpose will be a lightweight elk rifle with a 24" barrel. No crazy long range shots, probably out to 400 yards. My hope is to push a 180 gr bullet to 2800 fps or better.

Easy with the AI.
I loaded a 24" .30-06 Spr w. 175 OTMs at 2875fps.

 

[Rich Coyle]

58 years ago

 

[simo hayha]

One of the most overlooked and underappreciated rounds out there.


I will do anything the 300win mag does.

 

[VinceMule]

I Agree!

 

[budlight]

I love my AI's but rarely have seen them feed as well as the standard case. Now I had guys tell me "not mine it feeds great". Then I've actually had the chance to run them and they feed like generic dog poop........



,

I had E.R, Shaw put together a custom AI for me. What you are saying above can be true. It had a problem with how the chamber was cut. So I shipped it back and they put a new barrel on it. Now it's flawless. So I've never had a problem with my three straight walled present calibers. So I think that poorly cut chambers, old reamers, the person doing the work, and or the dies resizing is the problem with AI's feeding or extracting. I use forester dies. I would also make sure that you are getting a SAAMI spec. I've seen some weird one off wildcat rounds.

 

[Tac-O]

I think I saw it mentioned somewhere that if you cut the chamber to actually be a 280 AI necked up to 30, then you get even more case capacity.

 

[FEENIX]

I originally wanted to do a .30-06 AI but went with .30 Gibbs instead.

 

[lancetkenyon]

2800 with a 180 should be easy with the .30-06AI.
I load for a couple .30-06Spr, and one runs a 175 OTM from a 24" w. H4350 @ 2870FPS, the other runs a 200.20x Hyb from a 26" w. H4831SC @ 2810fps.

I shoot/have shot several "improved 40°" cartridges, and mine all feed/fed just fine.
.22-250AI
.243AI
.250AI
.25-06AI
.260AI
6.5SS
6.5-.270AI
6.5-06AI
.280AI
7SS

 

[CCAguns]

I think I saw it mentioned somewhere that if you cut the chamber to actually be a 280 AI necked up to 30, then you get even more case capacity.

I have a 280AI that I love. I've often wondered if I can recut the bore to 30-06AI once the rifling gets worn from shooting? Or does it make more sense to rebarrel?

 

[Phil Lee]

Google the 30-06 Serengeti chamber reamer. Modifications in the throat area allow slightly higher velocities while using std dies. With 24" barrel, I'm getting 168's to 3020fps and 178eldx to 2920fps using H4350 with zero pressure signs.

 

[Muddyboots]

I have always had interest in 30-06 Serengeti chamber that kind of gets you same result to shoot heavies. Hmmm, I wonder how a fast twist, LA @3.65 magazine, with 180HH or 181HH would do in a 2 step throat that further reduces pressure?

Crap, just talked myself into new build.

 

[baldhunter]

I'm running a standard 30-06.Winchester cases give me a bit more volume over Remington cases,so I run Winchester.I use WLRM primers because I also load for magnum rifles,so I just use magnum primers in my 308 Win and 30-06 loads now.They worked great,so I just buy magnums now.The 30-06 case it's self is an amazing design.It just works with so many different powders.With the Improved or Gibbs versions,with the right powders,bullet weights and barrel lengths,I can only imagine what kind of velocities they can produce.Reloader 26 has opened my eyes up to how well that powder works with 180 and 200gr bullets.With a 180gr,63.5grs R-26,I'm getting 2890fps out of my 23" barreled 30-06,2882fps out of my 24"barreled 30-06 and 3021fps out of my 28" barrel 30-06.With a 200gr,using 61.0grs of R-26 I got 2815fps out of the 28".So R-26,if you have some or can find some,should work wonders in the improved cases.I have a good amount of the old discontinued Winchester WXR.I get 2997fps with a 180gr bullet with 62.0grs of WXR out of my 28" barrel 30-06.That was close to what I was getting with the R-26.WXR and Reloader-22 were made in the same factory as Norma MRP.They were both supposedly MRP powder that didn't make Norma's specs for MRP. I compared the WXR with some R-22 I had at the time in one of my 7mags loaded the same.I was getting about 15fps more with the WXR,about what you might see from different lots of the same powder.These powders really seem to excel with the 180gr + bullet weights.They should also be great choices in the improved cases.

 

[Muddyboots]

The 30-06 is like Chevy small block. Bolt on virtually anything and it just flat out ran like hair on fire. Just look at all options and pick any one of them, it will shoot great.

 

[esorensen]

I wonder what the case cap of a .30-280AI would be vs something like the Gibbs case. I went with a Serengeti reamer and 28" 9 twist…