Is there any reason why... (.30-06 reloading question)

by AaronB, Thursday, May 07, 2026, 08:12 (1 day, 4 hours, 6 min. ago)

I have 50 prepped .30-06 cases and a box of Hornady 180-grain round-nose softpoints of .308 diameter. I have several useful powders for loading in .30-06. The reloads would be for hunting applications at moderate ranges.

Is there any reason for me to look past the classic "fill up the case with 4350" load, say 57.0 grains? Or should I just load that and forget it?

-AaronB

I would try......

by RayLee, Thursday, May 07, 2026, 16:10 (20 hours, 8 minutes ago) @ AaronB

A somewhat reduced load. IMR 4198 and 28 gr. (2.2cc lee) then 32 gr. (2.5cc lee) and finally an unsanctioned experimental 36 gr. (2.8cc lee). There are similar reduced loads with 5744 and the like.

Of course I would also file, sand or grind the tip back to the jacket or even farther to get a wide flat.

But that is in Ray's dimension/universe/world where the sky is green and the grass is blue.

I wouldn't mind that, but...

by AaronB, Friday, May 08, 2026, 06:47 (5 hours, 31 minutes ago) @ RayLee
edited by AaronB, Friday, May 08, 2026, 08:13

...but I'm not going to use my store-bought bullets for reduced loads. That's what cast bullets are for. :-D

Of which, I've got a box of 50 of those (my Heavy Thirty 220-grain FPGC) already loaded in .30-06, not to mention 30 more of a 173-grain Lyman RNGC loaded in .30-30 brass. Both of those loads use 4198, and in both cases I'm attempting to launch the bullets at 1800 fps.

I'm using the .30-30s for plinking, function testing, and for making .30-30 AI brass in my Marlin.

That Marlin 336 with the AI chamber has turned out to be something of a gem. A 1968-era gem, but a gem nonetheless.

-AaronB

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