.30/06 250 grain bullets ?

[tanoose]

I am looking for handloading data on the 250 grain bullets for the 30/06, i was wondering what kind of velocitys were being obtained.Looking for published data  not personal data from the web.  By that i mean Hornady Barnes Etc. Also looking for any high velocity loads for the 30/06, I am trying to see if they have data that would match the high energy loads put out by Federal. Maybe someone could stear me in the right direction .Thanks Tanoose

[Graybeard]

250 grains is pretty heavy for a .30. I think Barnes makes one bullet in their Original line for it. So you might check the Barnes manual or their website for info. I don't think any of the other major bullet makers makes one heavier than 220 grains so book data is gonna be hard to come by. I'd be surprised if you could safely load it to 2400 fps in the '06 but that's a guess on my part.

[tanoose]

I was thinking 2300 and maybe 2400 and above would be sort of  a high energy load. I wonder what the real need would be.  Jack O'Conner wrote that the 220 grain bullet was recommened for lions and tigers. But he was skeptical to the real need  as he had shot tigers and grizzlys with the 180 grain bullet and grizzlys are bigger then lions and tigers. But i once read somewhere that the 30/06 handloaded with 250 grain bullets gave excellent results. I wonder if maybe they were referring to hunting brown bear?Still if anyone finds any writing on this please pass it on to me . Thanks Tanoose

[Dand]

Back in the 50's and maybe even early 60's the Barnes 250 in the 30-06  was pretty highly regarded brown bear medicine for Alaska Brown bear.  Seems like I remember reading about them now and then as a kid.  You might try to find some old issues of the Alaska Sportsman.  I think these days with the Barnes X bullets you could get better velocity and performance with a much lighter (200 gr) bullet.  But I have a box of 80's vintage Barnes originals.  I haven't tried them in the 30-06 but I did do a little work with my 300 win mag - mostly at very moderate velocities.  At the time I was aspiring to be a gun writer but I never even got through my full round of tests.  I came to realize that if a gun writer really does do a thorough job of load testing and analysis, he EARNS his meager pay.

I think I used PO Ackley's book as a loading guide for those heavy bullets - be CAREFUL Ackley liked to load really hot and powders have changed a lot since he did his work.

[Con]

tanoose,
Published data:
Source: ADI Smokeless Powders Handloaders Guide
3rd Edition, November 2000
30-06 Springfield
24" barrel
Weight Type        Charge  Vel
250gr  AR2209     47.5gr  2156
250gr  AR2213SC 52.5C   2237

ADI makes the Hodgdon powders: AR2209 is sold on the US market as H4350, and AR2213SC is sold as H4831SC (Make sure to check this out yourself!; I could be wrong!!) Above loads are listed as maximum.
Cheers...
Con

[1911crazy]

My question is why a bullet that big??  That big of a bullet in the '06 must drop off very quickly in power and accuracy. I reload the 180gr speer magnum mag-tip's and we hunted blackbear with them and what a job they do in the damage department.  I shoot 3/4" groups @100yds and its the only round i use in my '06.   The only gun that surpasses my '06 is my 338win.mag. with its 250gr bullet it has the muzzle energy of 4,000ft.lbs. and the muzzle energy (2,700ft.lbs.)of an '06 at 200yds.  I like the performance of my '06 but for shooting larger bullets you just can't beat anyone of the  belted magnums.                            BigBill

[Graybeard]

The current Barnes manual lists loads for the .30-06 using the 250 Original using the following powders:

RL19
RL22
H4831
H1000
IMR4350
IMR4831
Win WMR

Max listed loads for the most part are in the 2250 fps to 2300+ fps range.

[Mac11700]

My question is why a bullet that big??                              BigBill

A few different reasons for him...I'm sure...like...just wanting to know how it will work in his rifle...wanting to reload and have the heaviest load available for it...and to play around with it...or to even hunt with it...some of us aren't satisfied with just having 1 load for any paticular rifle...and like to have several to choose from...depending on what stikes our fancy that paticular day...or to what and where  we are hunting ...I myself like to know what's the heaviest...and lightest load..... my rifles will shoot accurately...and I enjoy handloading for them too...

Mac

[Con]

Mac nailed it on the head regarding trying the 250gr in the 30/06. Lots of shooters like to experiment. Two of my up coming experiments are to see whether a 300gr Woodleigh RN will stabilise in a 1:16" barrel of a 35 Whelen, and likewise what velocity can I get out of a 358Win using the same projectile. Also, if you can get around 2300fps from a 250gr in a 30/06 then you've essentually recreated the 318WR, which historically had a pretty good reputation. Cases are nearly identical so it should be achievable. Come to think of it, a sporterised Yugo M48 rechambered to 8mm/06 and loaded with a 250gr Woodleigh would be almost identical to a 318WR and pretty cheap to build....hmmmm.
Cheers...
Con

[tanoose]

Thanks for all your input , i thought it was barnes, i've got to stop throwing out those old magazines and box them in the garage as then i would of had fun looking for the article on the 250 grain bullets. You guys did hit it on the head its just another load that i would like to play with. My reloading is not just for hunting loads as this hobby is about having fun trying lots of different loads just to see how they shoot. But the 250 grainer does sound like an ok load for close range big game. Thanks again Tanoose

[Ramrod]

Max listed loads for the most part are in the 2250 fps to 2300+ fps range.

Hmmmm, never tried bigger than 220 in the old '06. These looks like a good 150-200 yard big game stomper. The penetration should be great at these velocities.

[tanoose]

Yes Ramrod it does sound like an interesting load . And if its published in the 2250-2300 range then i bet you could probibly get it to 2400fps . someone like buffalo bore might find the right powders to get that velocity in the 2400 fps range and that would be an  even more interesting load.  But they might not see the need for it in the 30/06 as this caliber is powerful enough already and they like to spike up loads in calibers that dont offer that extra punch. I found it interesting to see they loaded a 220 grain bullet for 35 remington shooters, i've been tring to get my Dad to try these loads but hes happy with the standard factory 200 grain loads. And then why not they have worked for what over 100 years or so.

[Ramrod]

Those lower velocities would be O.K. for me. For all practical purposes, there would not be any real difference in power, and 100 fps might gain what, 10 yards more range?
Now, If I just had some lions around here...

[tanoose]

The 220 grain bullet at 2500 fps would  would only give you about 100 foot pounds of energy more then the 180 grain at 2700 but i guess the 40 extra grains would give you deeper penitration. the 250 grain bullet on the other hand if you could get 2400fps would give you about 300 more foot pounds of energy  and being 70 grainds heaiver would give you deeper penitration so i would think it would be a better close range bear stopper. But the 250 would slow down and at 200 yards then the 180 would be the perfect choice . The 250 should work better to stop a charge on a large bear, be it black or a grizzly

[tanoose]

All this might not matter as  i heard from Randy Patton a customer service rep for barnes told me today that barnes no longer manufactures the 250 grain bullet so i guess i will take a long hard look at the 220 grain bullet .