30-06, RL26, 180gr?

[nicholasjohn]

Another good check for pressure besides QL, etc, is measure a new unfurled cases web diameter and then measure after firing. .001-.0015 expansion is probably a good stopping point. You can do the same on a factory round before and after firing. For liability purposes and a myriad of guns the factory load can be shot in you KNOW they ll most likely be conservative on pressure.

A chronograph as a part of this testing will be very beneficial also. Share your results if you do this. We all like to learn more.
Thx

Not very many guys use case head expansion to gauge max loads anymore, but I've found it to be pretty reliable. Where are you getting your maximum measurements from ? Also, any tips on methodology for making the measurements ? I have found this to be a tedious process, but well worth the fuss. Thanks.

 

[fmuguira]

We ve done enough of this in conjunction with a Labradar that we feel pretty good about what works for us. If you ve got a good burn rate powder for the cartridge being used and your velocities and barrel lengths are similar to the bullet and powder manufacturers upper velocities then you re probably gonna see .001 expansion or so on a new vs fired case; at least in our experience.

You re right about tedious measuring though! A blade mic is your friend if you ve got one.

 

[Plinker147]

Try 180 Berger elites hunters, less bearing surface will help FPS. With new powders r23 or 26 you will make the old 06 pretty exciting. Might need a 26in barrel to hit 2900

 

[ZReed85]

I ran 185 vld at 2905 in s 24 inch hawk hill barrel with zero pressure and amazing accuracy. Norma brass 210M

3.36 kissing lands

Serengeti reamer but that allows for no extra capacity. Yours will hit that too, just work up to it

 

[nicholasjohn]

We ve done enough of this in conjunction with a Labradar that we feel pretty good about what works for us. If you ve got a good burn rate powder for the cartridge being used and your velocities and barrel lengths are similar to the bullet and powder manufacturers upper velocities then you re probably gonna see .001 expansion or so on a new vs fired case; at least in our experience.

You re right about tedious measuring though! A blade mic is your friend if you ve got one.

I have a blade mic, and this is why I got it. Works great. I use Hodgdon's specs, which state that max pressure coincides with .0005 - .0006" case head expansion. Thi is when measurements are taken on the case web, just ahead of the extractor groove. At that point, factory loads typically expand around .0003". There is another method, which was employed by Ken Waters - he measures what he calls the "pressure ring" which is where the case walls meet the web. His numbers for max pressure look more like yours do. Which point on the case are you measuring ?

 

[fmuguira]

Case head, not web. We re running pressure up there.... going to do some testing on a case with .001 first firing expansion and repeatedly load it with same combination and monitor brass life regarding Primer pockets, any split necks, etc. If we can get 8-10 loadings then fine with trashing brass.

Obviously some brass is 'tougher' than others, etc so all factors come into play. This measurement of the brass is definitely a gray area.... would be interesting to have a strain gauge on rifle to use that in conjunction with brass measuring. Poor people with poor ways! lol

 

[baldhunter]

I tried Reloader-26 with a 165gr Nosler Ballistic Tip,64.0grs was 2870fps and 65.0grs was 2898fps.It's a really heavy powder and you can get a lot of grains of in a 30-06 case.I haven't tried the Reloader-26 with 180gr Accubonds or Ballistic Tips,but after reading about some of the results others are getting I am getting interested in trying it.It seems to be one of those powders you would probably run out of case room before reaching too high of a pressure.I bet it would work well with 200gr Accubonds too.Anybody able to do a QL on a 30-06,24" barrel,Win Case,WLRM Primer,Reloader-26,180gr Accubond also 200gr Accubond?I Tried 59.0grs of H-4831 with the 200gr Accubond and it shot great at 2650fps with that load.

 

[Nomosendero]

Yes, one would think with 200 Accubonds it would do very well.

 

[nicholasjohn]

Case head, not web. We re running pressure up there.... going to do some testing on a case with .001 first firing expansion and repeatedly load it with same combination and monitor brass life regarding Primer pockets, any split necks, etc. If we can get 8-10 loadings then fine with trashing brass.

Obviously some brass is 'tougher' than others, etc so all factors come into play. This measurement of the brass is definitely a gray area.... would be interesting to have a strain gauge on rifle to use that in conjunction with brass measuring. Poor people with poor ways! lol

Somebody has done that already. A guy named Dave Scovill wrote this up in an article that appeared in either Rifle or Handloader magazine a number of years ago. He was working with a wildcat cartridge that was based on the 30-06 case, and it was an improved design with the shoulder moved forward and a neck diameter for a .338" bullet. He measured case head diameters, as well as doing strain gauge testing in Barnes Bullets' lab. The results showed that .0003" of expansion coincided with about 57,000 psi, and .0005" appeared with readings right around 60,000 psi. If you want to see that article, it may come up with an internet search of 338 Skovill, which was what he called his wildcat cartridge. I don't know what kind of brass he used, but he said that it was an un-formed case marked 270 Winchester in the head stamp. ( He wanted to start with something that had not been fire-formed prior to pressure testing, so that it wouldn't have been work-hardened at all.) It was a good article that would be well worth reading.

 

[Stammster]

I was hopeful my to get to the range and post back, but y'all are just going to have to bear with me - as it's way too hot in Texas right now.

 

[Capt RB]

Rl26 is not very bulky compared to many slow powders so if you can run a quick load profile to see if it's feasible go for it. The partition is a brick in the wind and not the most precise shooting bullet. I'd look at others the 181 hammers for an all-purpose and some of sleek high bc offerings from the various mfg's. Heavier might need other powders some very easy to obtain like 100v.

 

[Vol1975]

Anyone running RL26 in a 30-06 with a 180gr Partition or Accubond?

I'm thinking somewhere around 2900 fps would be nice to reach out and touch some elk out to about 700 yds.

Kimber 84L, 24". Match chamber.

I've been loading H4350 under 30-06 165s for years, but have had impressive results recently with RL26 in 270 win with 145s and 150s. I'm thinking the RL could really perk up the 30-06 with 180s.

How about a quickload simulation?

i did some extensive test with this powder with 30-06 and 180 grain pill. Have ran h4350 for a long time but wanted to try to consolidate powder. Any way here is the jist of what I found
gun was a 24 inch 4 grove 10 twist gun

final load was at 61.5 grain with 180 grain flat base interlock or accubond. Meat and poatatoe gun. Speed was around 2800 FPS. Most accurate 1/2 Moa easy. Pressure signs was couple grains more but the node and accuracy was around 2800 with Es in the single digit. Gun held 3/4 Moa out to 350 yard with ease. I tried playing around with primers and different cold temp etc. put this load through it all.
cas fill was full.

on a note I thought I would get more speed but I did not. My load with h4350 of 57.5 grain is about 60-70 FPS faster but I have ample powder in rl 26.

be truth full if I didnt have Ample reloader 26 powder and was buying powder just for my 30-06 I'd buy h4350.

on another note my 7mm 175 grain load was 61.5 grain also and it ran 2845 FPS with easy accuracy 3/4 Moa out to 500 yards. very accurate
thought I'd get more speed but the straight out accuracy load was at this speed. Cheers. Hope this help.

 

[Stammster]

I finally got around to shooting this load last week at 100yds.

Conditions were ok. Temperature in the high 60's, with winds varying 8-15 mph from about 130 degrees. This didn't bother me, as I was shooting for velocity, not group size.

In summary, I loaded the following:
Kimber 84L Classic 30-06 with 24" bbl
Leupold 3-9X40
RL26
WLR Primers
180gr Nosler Partition P/N 16331
New Starline Brass with post firing avg case capacity 70.2 at 2.485" case length
COAL 3.294". (0.010" off lands)
Magnetospeed Sportster

Shot# Gr FPS
53 61gr 2866
54 61.5gr 2879
55 62gr 2893
56 62.5gr 2905
57 63gr 2925
58 63.5gr 2952

Even though I didn't see any pressure signs on the brass/primer, and no heavy bolt lift, I decided not to shoot the 64 and 64.5gr loads. Primers were a little flat, but were actually the same looking at all charge weights and also looked the same from some mild 165gr H4350 loads I shot also.

I'm pretty impressed with the results. Also the 4 shot group from 62, 62.5, 63, and 63.5 gr was right around 1" - which shows a lot of promise regarding the POI change over such a large range of charge weights/velocities.

I'm going to focus on 62-63.4 gr in 0.2gr increments, with 5 shots each to see which shoots the best with respect to group size and ES.

According to my QL runs, the 63.5 gr load is right at 60kpsi at 2952 fps.

The 64gr load is estimated at 62kpsi, and the 64.5gr load would be 64kpsi at 2999 fps. Absolutely smokin' for a 30-06. For this modern 30-06, I'm sure both of those would be fine - but I see no reason to push it as my goal of 2900 fps was initially met and exceeded.

Note: Bottom row is the RL26/180 Partition

The first thing I plan to shoot with this load is a crow, in order to make a pie for some of you doubters.

 

[Stammster]

Here are the ballistics of that load at 2950 fps with a BC of 0.474 at 5000 ft, 45F with a 10mph cross wind.

I'll take that "brick" any day for elk out to 650 yds.