Pistol or Rifle loads for an 18" barrel??

[Itsricmo]

Trying to get a better idea for loads for my "not to be done soon project" lol
For an 18" barrel or even a 16.5" barrel, what type of load information do I want to be considering??
30-06 or 30-30 is the caliber. I know there is A LOT that can be put in to consideration but let's try to keep it simple

18" in 30-30: pistol or rifle
16.5" in 30-30: pistol or rifle

18" in 30-06: pistol or rifle
16.5" in 30-06: pistol or rifle

Any powders I should consider? Varget seemed to come up a lot in some google searches for contender loads but for 14" barrels..

Thanks,
Rick

[hoytcanon]

You can shoot whatever loads you use in your 22" barrel guns... they will be perfectly safe from an 18"... most of my chopped barrel guns kept their favorite loads... some I adjusted for better performance... if anything, go a couple grains "lighter" with the same bullet and powders in a short barrel gun. In my .30/30, I "upped" the load a couple grains (still below max pressure levels)... with the new load, I had the same velocity and better accuracy in a shorter more Handi gun... the best of both worlds.

[gcrank1]

Part of the 'fun' of reloading is that you get to try different recipes. I would likely stick to powders in the 'middle' of the book data; ie, the medium burn rate not the really slow burning ones as you dont have the long barrel that often responds better to the slow.
That said, there isnt any reason not to try data for the longer 'Contender' barrels with a length closer to what you end up with. They will work fine in a few inches more.

[petemi]

I usually look at let's say Hodgdons loads for a particular caliber and bullet weight.  I usually use one of the faster burning powders listed.  It seems to work.  All the shorties are shooting well.

Pete

[Itsricmo]

If I understand it correctly, a faster burning powder shoul have less muzzle flash but probably more blast. Where the slower powders would have more flash and potentially less blast. Moderate burning powders should have a middle ground between the two. I will probably take a nice pair of ear plugs with me groundhog hunting and maybe deer just because the blast is going to be significant regardless of powder.

Would Contender (pistol) loads give me more velocity and such in an 18" versus the rifle loads?
(^Assuming it uses faster powders)

Rick

[SHOOTALL]

I shoot the same load in my 26 in bbl as I do in my 16 inch bbl 308. Remington 165 BT with Vargret powder and CCI primers .
 Of course there are other loads used but with the ammo shortage  going on these bullets , powder and primer was what I could get. They work well out to 300 yards so far.

[petemi]

Let's try this one step at a time:

"If I understand it correctly, a faster burning powder shoul have less muzzle flash but probably more blast. Where the slower powders would have more flash and potentially less blast"

I guess there's probably a correlation between the two, but I have never noticed it.  When I shoot, the only thing concerning me is where the bullet is going.  We have lots of talk here about recoil and muzzle blast and I just don't get it.   Yeah, if you're gonna shoot a sixteen inch .45-70 with a 405 over a  max load you may experience at a tad bit of recoil and even, perhaps, a mite bit of muzzle flash.  Like so what?  What do you expect??  Geeze, these aren't rimfires we're dealing with.  None of it makes a hill of beans if you're hauled down on the buck of your life or venison in the freezer.  If it weren't for the dead deer, I wouldn't even know the rifle fired.

To me, Recoil and Muzzle Flash is just a bunch of targety poop.  If the SOB nails your butt at the bench, take it away and shoot it the way it was supposed to.....off hand.  I've found I've generated more flinches shooting off a bench than I ever thought possible.  It ain't a natural position, and for me with a big load, it is damaging.

Pete

[gcrank1]

Dont overthink this, Ric

[Itsricmo]

Valid argument, Pete. I appreciate your input and thinking about it, I guess I agree lol
With earplugs I shouldn't have to worry about blast and during the day I shouldn't REALLY have to worry about flash soooo both are non-issue.

Now about that velocity... Varget still seems to be a popular short barrel powder in google-foo. Amy recommendations for Hodgdon?

[SHOOTALL]

Flash has not been a problem with the short 308 with any load. I had a Encore in 3006 I used the same loads as for a rifle , factory or reloads

[Itsricmo]

Flash has not been a problem with the short 308 with any load. I had a Encore in 3006 I used the same loads as for a rifle , factory or reloads

How was the performance of that encore?

[SHOOTALL]

I shot it a targets out to 200 meters / yards . It was ok for that . I then sold all my encore barrels except the 50 cal ml.

[Itsricmo]

I'm assuming if you we're hitting the targets @ 200m that I could hypothetically hit a deer. So I will take that as a positive note haha