First 30-06 Rounds

[Rathmatik]

Howdy,

Today I reloaded my first 20 30-06 rounds. These are for my Remington 700.

I bought a bag of new Winchester cases. I also bought a box of Nosler 165gr Ballistic Tip bullets.

First, I resized and chamfered/deburred each case. I'm seating at a COL of 3.320", which was the suggested length per Nosler for this particular bullet and cartridge. I still need to get a case gauge to check headspace, which I plan to before firing these.

I'm using H4895, and started with a reduced load to see how that goes with less recoil. I loaded groups of 5 rounds at 34.0, 37.0, 40.0, and 43.0 grains.

I did see a variance between 3.316" and 3.3205" (I am using the RCBS FL die set). Is that normal? There were some small differences between the case lengths too, and I didn't trim since they were all within the trim/max case length range. The shortest and longest rounds chamber in my rifle fine.

I also did a light roll crimp, about 1/4 turn past touching the case mouth. Please let me know how these look!

 

[robertc1024]

The OAL will vary depending on the shape of your bullet seater and the consistency of the bullets. When you start getting really picky about consistency, you measure to the ogive of the bullet instead of the OAL. I wouldn't worry about it for now.

 

[Rathmatik]

The OAL will vary depending on the shape of your bullet seater and the consistency of the bullets. When you start getting really picky about consistency, you measure to the ogive of the bullet instead of the OAL. I wouldn't worry about it for now.

Okay I see, that makes sense now. Yeah, it didn't seem like a lot so I figured these are pretty close for starting out. That is good to know, I knew about the ogive method and it makes sense now that it can provide more consistency (I wondered what the difference was, so it's clear now). The Hornady comparator is one of the next things on my list. Thanks!

I also wanted to point out in case anyone wonders, but the H4895 max load for 165gr jacketed bullets is 47.5gr (start is 43gr), so I could technically reduce to 28.5 (60%), but 34 seemed like a good start with 3gr increments to the suggested starting load.

 

[Moonpie]

Good work.

Now you need an M1 Garand to go with that.

 

[Rathmatik]

Good work.

Now you need an M1 Garand to go with that.

Thanks! Haha yes, my thoughts exactly.

 

[deemus]

Looks great. I load for my Rem 700 too. I've been using Hornady SST 165g's in mine.

 

[Rathmatik]

Looks great. I load for my Rem 700 too. I've been using Hornady SST 165g's in mine.

Thanks! That's awesome, I'd like to give the SST a try sometime as well.

On another note... I did notice there are some small shavings from the bullet near the case mouth, could that be due to the brass being uneven? I did chamfer as I mentioned, but wonder if the mouth was not totally square. Or, perhaps the crimping caused that if it did it too soon while the bullet seated?

Is that of great concern?

 

[SQLGeek]

Or, perhaps the crimping caused that if it did it too soon while the bullet seated?

I know that can certainly be the case for pistol rounds. Rifle I'm not sure.

 

[sergeant69]

if you must crimp, and theres lots of reasons not to in a bolt gun. seat and crimp seperately. back die out till it won't crimp and seat bullets, then back seating stem out so it won't seat and lower die till it barely crimps. case neck tension is what holds bullets in cases when done properly. generally. depending. etc etc etc

 

[Dawico]

Howdy,

Today I reloaded my first 20 30-06 rounds. These are for my Remington 700.

I bought a bag of new Winchester cases. I also bought a box of Nosler 165gr Ballistic Tip bullets.

First, I resized and chamfered/deburred each case. I'm seating at a COL of 3.320", which was the suggested length per Nosler for this particular bullet and cartridge. I still need to get a case gauge to check headspace, which I plan to before firing these.

I'm using H4895, and started with a reduced load to see how that goes with less recoil. I loaded groups of 5 rounds at 34.0, 37.0, 40.0, and 43.0 grains.

I did see a variance between 3.316" and 3.3205" (I am using the RCBS FL die set). Is that normal? There were some small differences between the case lengths too, and I didn't trim since they were all within the trim/max case length range. The shortest and longest rounds chamber in my rifle fine.

I also did a light roll crimp, about 1/4 turn past touching the case mouth. Please let me know how these look!

View attachment 196915

First off, Winchester has had a lot of quality control issues with their brass. Make sure to inspect them well. It is mainly the necks so it is easy to see the flaws.

Secondly, you don't need a case gauge. Worthless tool in my opinion. Your rifle's chamber is all the gauge you need. If the rounds chamber you are good to go. They don't check headspace anyways.

 

[sergeant69]

First off, Winchester has had a lot of quality control issues with their brass. Make sure to inspect them well. It is mainly the necks so it is easy to see the flaws.

Secondly, you don't need a case gauge. Worthless tool in my opinion. Your rifle's chamber is all the gauge you need. If the rounds chamber you are good to go. They don't check headspace anyways.

what he said.
raise the ram till it stops, lower the sizing die till it touches the shell holder, back it off 3-5 turns and size a case. see if it will chamber. don't force it. if its won't or its hard to close bolt, lower die a turn, size and try to chamber again. you want a bolt closure thats between no resistance at all and firm. lock the die ring in place and ur good to go. for that rifle.

 

[Rathmatik]

Awesome, thanks for the tips! I think I'll try the sizing until it closes and also stop crimping at the same time. I still plan to get the Hornady comparator and OAL gauge so I can determine an accurate CBTO for my rifle instead of using COAL.

Good to know about the case gauge, I was wondering what that would really tell me if it chambers fine already. Although, It does measure the headspace min/max, so how would I know if my rounds are fine without using one?

 

[Dawico]

Awesome, thanks for the tips! I think I'll try the sizing until it closes and also stop crimping at the same time. I still plan to get the Hornady comparator and OAL gauge so I can determine an accurate CBTO for my rifle instead of using COAL.

Good to know about the case gauge, I was wondering what that would really tell me if it chambers fine already. Although, It does measure the headspace min/max, so how would I know if my rounds are fine without using one?

I think you are confusing a case gauge with go/no go gauges.

A case gauge is cut to SAAMI specs for testing loaded ammo but many chambers are a hair bigger so if a round doesn't gauge it may still chamber. ( If you are adjusting the sizing die like above it won't do you any good anyways). Your chamber is the best gauge.

Go/ no go gauges are used to check headspace of a chamber. Go should chamber while no go shouldn't like the name implies. If the no go chambers you have headspace issues.

 

[sergeant69]

this caliber headspaces on the shoulder. if the cases are TRIMMED to spec ( so they are not too long, a bit too short is fine)and the bolt won't close or closes hard, the headspace is excessive. if the bolt closes real easy, the headspace is probably fine, and yes you can overdo it making the headspace out of spec, but the brass is being worked too much. if the bolt closes as stated above, the headspace is correct FOR THAT RIFLE, and the brass will last longer. this is assuming your chamber is also as it should be. and it 99.9% is. so be sure you keep the chamber and the bolt face clean and your primers seated deep enough so you won't get a false "reading" (feel) when the bolt closes on a round. also be sure u also deburr a bit the outside of the cases too after trimming.

 

[Rathmatik]

I think you are confusing a case gauge with go/no go gauges.

A case gauge is cut to SAAMI specs for testing loaded ammo but many chambers are a hair bigger so if a round doesn't gauge it may still chamber. ( If you are adjusting the sizing die like above it won't do you any good anyways). Your chamber is the best gauge.

Go/ no go gauges are used to check headspace of a chamber. Go should chamber while no go shouldn't like the name implies. If the no go chambers you have headspace issues.

Ah okay that makes more sense now. I was looking at these gauges that people have suggested before by Wilson, https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00OI5J806, but it sounds like this is unnecessary.

 

[sergeant69]

and....the COAL figures you see are pretty much useless as the loaded round has to fit into the magazine of the rifle. each bullet will be given a different COAL in the manuals. so don't load to that length and head to the range then find out they are too long to fit into the magazine. load em just shy of being too long then a tad more. all of this is common sense you will catch onto real quick.

 

[Rathmatik]

this caliber headspaces on the shoulder. if the cases are TRIMMED to spec ( so they are not too long, a bit too short is fine)and the bolt won't close or closes hard, the headspace is excessive. if the bolt closes real easy, the headspace is probably fine, and yes you can overdo it making the headspace out of spec, but the brass is being worked too much. if the bolt closes as stated above, the headspace is correct FOR THAT RIFLE, and the brass will last longer. this is assuming your chamber is also as it should be. and it 99.9% is. so be sure you keep the chamber and the bolt face clean and your primers seated deep enough so you won't get a false "reading" (feel) when the bolt closes on a round. also be sure u also deburr a bit the outside of the cases too after trimming.

That is interesting to know, did not know about the shoulder usage for headspace. Do you know of some material that explains that for 30-06? Yes the bolt closes just fine, and I compared to some factory ammo and it felt the same. I checked all of the new cases and they were all close to trim length, with some just a tiny hair under. I deburred the outside anyway since it seemed like they needed it just a bit.

 

[Rathmatik]

and....the COAL figures you see are pretty much useless as the loaded round has to fit into the magazine of the rifle. each bullet will be given a different COAL in the manuals. so don't load to that length and head to the range then find out they are too long to fit into the magazine. load em just shy of being too long then a tad more. all of this is common sense you will catch onto real quick.

Okay gotcha. I seated to the COL that Nosler suggested, which was 3.320", but yeah that makes sense. My 700 has an internal magazine and they went in without issue. Clearly using CBTO will be better for my specific rifle.

 

[sergeant69]

Ah okay that makes more sense now. I was looking at these gauges that people have suggested before by Wilson, https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00OI5J806, but it sounds like this is unnecessary.

thats not a go/no gage and is actually not a bad tool to have

 

[Rathmatik]

thats not a go/no gage and is actually not a bad tool to have

So would this suggest that the sizing is wrong if the headspace was outside min/max with this gauge? Since you mentioned that it's controlled by the shoulder with 30-06. Although I bet it'd be off with fire-formed brass.