Light Loads for 30-06 ???

[AllOut]

I just aquired a savage 110 30-06 and was wanting to make some lighter loads for it. I shot it with some 180gr hornady sst and it shot a 1inch group @ 100yd from the bed of the truck But was wanting to make some lighter loads for my wife to hunt with. Im not looking for tons of speed just less recoil for her to handle (she is use to a .243) I loaded some 150gr Nos BT with 49gr behind it that i plan on testing but with 1:10 twist will it stabilize very well cause if it shoots the 150gr then i was going to drop to 130gr next... any tips that could help or am i just waisting my time?

 

[338Shooter]

If it shoots 180s it will stabilize smaller (shorter) bullets just fine. Going heavier is where you have to worry about stabilization. I don't know about light 30-06 loads though. I'd imagine you could just go by the starting loads from the books. Maybe even under those by 5% or so.

 

[Rod Snell]

I've used IMR 4064 for moderate hunting loads that went over well with recoil sensitive shooters.
I just used 150 gr bullets and the starting load from Hodgdon.
http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

 

[AllOut]

I used IMR 4064 with the 150gr but started in the middle (49gr)
Would it be better to go with a barrel with less twist like 1:12 for the lighter bullet or just use less of a load to try and keep the speed down? We hunt out west so longer shots are allways present (300+ yards) so i dont want to tone it down so much that it drops off at longer ranges... hopefully im not asking for to much i just dont have much experience with '06

 

[Shifty]

Hornady has some light factory loads she might like. Dunno if your set on a handload or looking to buy off the shelf.

 

[Shifty]

Also...my load for my M1 is 47 grains of IMR4895 pushing a 150 grain bullet. My M1s 1 in 10 barrel devours it.

 

[AllOut]

Id like to load my own that way i know what im am getting everytime without having to sell a kidney for it

 

[Huckelberry75]

Id like to load my own that way i know what im am getting everytime without having to sell a kidney for it

The essence of why we take on the labor of reloading.

PS> Shifty, thanks for sharing that load. I am going to try that in my Garand. It should be fun for pigs and other four legged targets.

 

[AllOut]

The essence of why we take on the labor of reloading. ]

plus its so much fun racking your brain trying to figure out why its not working the way u want it to

 

[TonyT]

IMR-3031 powders ignites quite readilly and was used for many years to produce lower velocity loads. Unfortunately I discarded the data many yeras ago when I stopped shooting the 30-06.