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Top go-to powder for 30-06 with 168-172s

Lol now find RE powders😂🤣😂🤣
I have no issue, have several 4kg jugs in RE19, RE22 and RE25. Bought up heaps the last shipment to Australia, heard on the rumour mill there would be a shortage, so took advantage, pity more RE33 didn't show up, oh well, got a 1lb bottle for my trouble.

Cheers.
 
Any of the 4350's. Folks shy away from the imr as it's less temp stable but as long as you're not on the ragged edge I haven't seen a problem. I still run it, and a winter load shot in the summer or vice versa has always grouped well for me regardless.

You'll see a lot of data and "data" out there about velocity variability due to temperature, usually between .5 and 1.5 fps change per 1 degree change. H4350 is in theory on the low side, imr 4350 on the high side of that. So if you build a load with both powders at 50 degrees ambient, assuming you hunt from 0 to 100 degrees, you might see +/-25 to 40 fps for the h4350 and +/-60 to 75fps for the imr at your outer extremes. For most folks that won't make much of a difference. If you're going to shoot a deer at 900 yards it absolutely will make a difference, but by the time you try that game you should already know the details of how your rifle and load will perform in every condition.

The only powder that ever gave me pressure issues due to temperatures was RL15 in a .308. A load built in 30F weather and up nearing maximum was stored, then taken to a shooting competition in august at 104F. The ammo sat in an ammo crate in the sun and by the end of the day, it was ejecting primers from every other case. It was in an ar10 and halfway through the stage my mag finally stopped feeding. I dropped the mag and it sounded like a maraca, as it was full of blown out primers.
 
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Any of the 4350's. Folks shy away from the imr as it's less temp stable but as long as you're not on the ragged edge I haven't see a problem. I still run it, and a winter load shot in the summer or vice versa has always grouped well for me regardless.

You'll see a lot of data and "data" out there about velocity variability due to temperature, usually between .5 and 1.5 fps change per 1 degree change. H4350 is in theory on the low side, imr 4350 on the high side of that. So if you build a load with both powders at 50 degrees ambient, assuming you hunt from 0 to 100 degrees, you might see +/-25-40 fps for the h4350 and +/-60-75fps for the imr at your outer extremes. For most folks that won't make much of a difference. If you're going to shoot a deer at 900 yards it absolutely will make a difference, but by the time you try that game you should already know the details of how your rifle and load will perform in every condition.

The only powder I ever had a pressure issue due to temperatures was RL15 in a .308. A load built in 30F weather and up nearing maximum was stored, then taken to a shooting competition in august at 104F. The ammo sat in an ammo crate in the sun and by the end of the day, it was ejecting primers from every other case.
Good info, and speaking of R15 I do have 2lbs of R15.5 that I'm not loading with right now. Not much data out there other than Alliants and its showing some pretty impressive velocity with 168s in 30-06. If I recall right it was 2900fps give or take. 24in tube
 
Good info, and speaking of R15 I do have 2lbs of R15.5 that I'm not loading with right now. Not much data out there other than Alliants and its showing some pretty impressive velocity with 168s in 30-06. If I recall right it was 2900fps give or take. 24in tube
I've never used r15.5 so I can't speak to it at all. I know that I really loved r15 for my .308, aside from that one issue. Accurate as all hell, and I burned up about 4 pounds of it loading for my ar10 and feeding it in 3gun competitions. I recently went back to it for some hunting loads and was happy as a clam with the accuracy. I've never put it in a 30/06 though.
 
Lol now find RE powders😂🤣😂🤣
26 is the only one of those thats been super hard to come by for me. Which I have a 8lb jug of it that I'm sitting on for the right rifle to come along.
I've never used r15.5 so I can't speak to it at all. I know that I really loved r15 for my .308, aside from that one issue. Accurate as all hell, and I burned up about 4 pounds of it loading for my ar10 and feeding it in 3gun competitions. I recently went back to it for some hunting loads and was happy as a clam with the accuracy. I've never put it in a 30/06 though.
Supposedly it's a hair slower than 15 and super insensitive to temp. I'll probably start with H4350 and 15.5
 
I haven't loaded much for the 30-06 but obviously there's guys on here with years and years of experience loading for the 30-06 before the "cool" calibers took over.
I've got a 22in proof savage ultralite on the way and planning to shoot the 172 speer impact with the 168 berger classic hunter being a backup. I've got access to quite a selection of powder.

What would be the top 2 go-to powders for my setup?
H-4350
 
Now that H4350 is to be had in many LGS' it would be among the best.
When I had a 06 & RL23 a case full of RL23 got close to 3,000 - bolt gun, 10 twist, 24".
I hear that after WWII there were huge stocks of 4895 that were dissolved & made into H380 & that works OK with 165's but there are better powders.
 
Agree.
There are several good powders for 30-06. Easy to load for in a wide range of bullet weights and component availability is the reason it's still so popular.
Can't go wrong with H4350 in that weight range.
I have a stack of 172's as well but haven't tried them in the '06 yet.
 
Agree.
There are several good powders for 30-06. Easy to load for in a wide range of bullet weights and component availability is the reason it's still so popular.
Can't go wrong with H4350 in that weight range.
I have a stack of 172's as well but haven't tried them in the '06 yet.
The impacts have been one of the easiest bullets I've ever loaded with. They just don't seem to be picky at all and perform extremely well on tissue.
 
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