(FN=Flat Nose, SP= Spire Point,
HP= Hollow Point, RN= Round Nose)
JHP= Jacketed Hollow Point, FMJ=Full Metal Jacket)
Loads for .30-06 Rifle:
(Note: These are near maximum loads, you should use 10% less to start.)
(See note on Powders below or read all about various Powders.)
Bullet is .308" diameter. Due to different barrel lengths,
type of bullet, seating depth, primer type and other factors,
you may not get near the FPS charted. It is just a guide and the reason you should start under these charges and work up.
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100 grain Plinker (Cup Jacket with lead nose)
IMR 4895 56.0 gr. 3,276 FPS
IMR 3031 48.0 gr. 3,017
Reloader 11 50.0 gr. 3,154
2400 31.0 gr. 2,825
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110 grain JSP (Hornady Jacketed Spire Point)
IMR 4895 54.5 gr. 3,265 FPS
H4895 54.0 gr. 3,343
IMR 3031 56.0 gr. 3,365
Reloader 7 45.0 gr. 3,145
Reloader 15 58.6 gr. 3,465
2400 30.9 gr. 2,715
H380 58.0 gr. 3,311
A2230 57.0 gr. 3,385
A2460 58.5 gr. 3,421
748 52.7 gr. 3,230
760 59.0 gr. 3,210
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125 grain JSP (Sierra Spitzer Point)
IMR 4895 53.0 gr. 3,176 FPS
H4895 53.0 gr. 3,176
Reloader 7 42.0 gr. 2,915
Reloader 15 56.8 gr. 3,275
2400 30.0 gr. 2,575
H380 56.0 gr. 3,151
A2230 53.3 gr. 3,172
A2460 53.5 gr. 3,125
748 51.0 gr. 3,060
760 57.8 gr. 3,125
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150 grain JSP (Spitzer or Spire Point)
IMR 4895 49.5 gr. 2,845 FPS
IMR 4895 48.5 gr. 2,731 (in bolt action rifle)
(Hi=2791, Lo=2628, ES 162.9 fps)
H4895 49.0 gr. 2,932
IMR 3031 49.5 gr. 2,850
IMR 3031 46.7 gr. 2,887 (2007 manual)
2400 29.4 gr. 2,330
Reloader 7 43.8 gr. 2,780
Reloader 15 53.6 gr. 3,005
H380 54.0 gr. 2,921
A2230 49.4 gr. 2,865
A2460 49.5 gr. 2,862
748 48.0 gr. 2,810
760 54.0 gr. 2,900
Varget 50.5 gr. 2,975
Benchmark 49.5 gr. 2,944 (2007 loads)
H-335 51.5 gr. 2,982
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165 grain JSP (Spitzer or Spire Point)
IMR 4895 46.5 gr. ----- FPS
H4895 48.0 gr. 2,932
IMR 3031 47.0 gr. -----
2400 29.2 gr. 2,295
Reloader 7 40.5 gr. 2,610
Reloader 15 50.5 gr. 2,835
H380 52.0 gr. 2,792
A2230 46.0 gr. 2,663
A2460 46.7 gr. 2,659
Varget 50.5 gr. 2,873
Benchmark 47.7 gr. 2,795
H335 47.0 gr. 2,749
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170 grain (use amounts for 165 gr. bullet)
-----------------------------------------
180 grain JSP (Spitzer or Spire Point) or JRN
IMR 4895 43.5 gr. 2,520 FPS
IMR 4895 48.0 gr. 2,680 (2007 load from manual)(careful with this one)
H4895 44.0 gr. 2,600
IMR 3031 44.5 gr. 2,540
IMR 4064 48.7 gr. 2,693
2400 28.2 gr. 2,210
Reloader 7 39.8 gr. 2,505
Reloader 15 48.5 gr. 2,720
H380 51.0 gr. 2,702
H335 46.0 gr. 2,621
Varget 47.0 gr. 2,668
Benchmark 46.0 gr. 2,660
A2230 44.0 gr. 2,568
A2460 45.8 gr. 2,563
748 45.0 gr. 2,540
760 53.0 gr. 2,725
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200 grain JSP (Spitzer or Spire Point) or JRN
IMR 4895 43.0 gr. 2,445 FPS
H4895 43.0 gr. -----
IMR 3031 44.5 gr. 2,450
Reloader 12 44.8 gr. 2,440
Reloader 15 46.0 gr. 2,505
A2230 43.5 gr. 2,386
A2460 44.5 gr. 2,429
WMR 55.7 gr. 2,435
760 49.0 gr. 2,470
-----------------------------------------
220 grain JSP (Spitzer or Spire Point) or JRN
IMR 4895 40.5 gr. 2,230 FPS
H450* 57.0 gr. 2,423
IMR 3031 42.5 gr. 2,300
A2230 42.5 gr. 2,248
A2460 43.0 gr. 2,268
WMR 55.7 gr. 2,380
760 49.0 gr. 2,370
* use magnum primers
-----------------------------------------
Discussion: IMR 3031 is a faster burning powder than IMR 4895, so you use less of it for similar
volocities. I have listed powders of Hodgdon, Alliant and Accurate also. Use which ever you have handy. Slow burning powders generally work better in longer barrels and heavier
bullets. 30-06 Cases will stretch, especially with hot loads, and you definitely need to check
each in a case length guage and trim off excess brass. Of course, discard any cases that show
a split anywhere on the case. For hunting at long distances with an unobstructed view, you should
choose the spire point with a soft lead tip. For hunting at shorter ranges in brush, as is common in
the woods of Alabama, you should choose a round nose bullet. They are less easily deflected and/or
deformed by brush that you may be shooting through. The flat nose bullet is used especially in
tubular fed magazines to prevent pressure on the primer in the cartridge above it.
There are a number of other high performance bullets on the market. The "boattail" is a very good long range target match bullet. It has very good wind performance. If you are shooting for precision, you should weight each powder charge and put exactly the same amount in each case. Each case should be exactly on specs and the bullet should not be crimped into the case. (These bullets don't normally have a crimp ring anyhow)
There is still much
military ammo on the market, including the red tipped "Tracer" round. There is a blob of red phosphor
on the back end of the bullet that burns. You can see the red dot heading for the target. A caution: clean the bore of the gun very good after firing tracer rounds in it.
Another military round is the armor piercing (black tipped) round. It has a hardened steel core inside the copper jacket, and it will penetrate an engine block or moderately heavy steel. If you can find an old junk
car somewhere, it's interesting to see just what parts of the car it will penetrate, and how far it will go.
References: Accurate Arms Co. 1996 Reloading booklet - - Alliant Powder Co. Reloaders' Guide (1995) - - Hodgdon's Basic Reloaders Manual (1996) & (2007) - - Speer Reloading Manual, #12 - - Winchester Reloading Components Manual, 14th edition - - Lyman Piston & Revolver Reloading Handbook, 2nd edition. - - VihtaVuori Oy Company, reloading booklet (1995) - - Numerous magazine articles on reloading special calibers and personal loads where noted.