30.06 (Varget)

This is the third video of our new series in which we test loads for my 30.06. In this video we test Hodgdon's Varget powder. We paired this powder with Hornady's 168gr BTHP match bullets and CCI's 200 large rifle primers.
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[@guardianminifarm8005]

We have always had excellent results with Varget in many calibers. The SD/ES has typically been really quite good at the top end of the charges in all calibers. That tends to be where we find the best accuracy as well. We have been very impressed as of late with Staball 6.5 in 30/06 and 7mm RemMag with heavier bullets. Especially in the /06 with 165/168 and 180s. Again at the near max range everything has been tight and velocity quite good.

[@Accuracy1st]

Quite a few years ago I decided to try Varget in my 30-06 since I had read it was very accurate in this cartridge. I bought the Varget solely for my 308s though. I was working on a bear load to take to British Columbia. I had exhausted and gotten bored with previous and highly successful loads using 180 Swift Scirocco IIs and 165 and 168 Barnes TTSX bullets. I just like to try new stuff. The Bergers were relatively fresh out in the market place being advertised as hunting bullets so I tried them, and with excellent success. I had stored my chronograph during that time as we had just finished my basement and I knew shots were not going to be in excess of 300 yards so I wasn't overly concerned with SD or ES. If the 30-06 was grouping 2-4" at 300 I was more than satisfied with it. Rifle: Blueprinted Rem 700 with detach mag 22" PacNor barrel installed by the late and wonderful John Noveske of Noveske Rifle Works, former PacNor employee Factory wood stock pillar and skim bedded and painted by John Noveske I bought the 185 Berger VLDs to try in my 300RUM and they were screamers but I had plenty on hand so tried in the 30-06 with Varget, Lapua brass, Fed210Match primers. Groups were excellent from the start and never were over an inch at 100 yards from starting charge to max. So, I decided on 0.3 grains under max and called it a day. Killed a black bear in BC with it at about 55 yards, DRT. They shot so well I loaded up 80 rounds and after that bear hunt moved on to other rifle/load projects. That 30-06 killed a LOT of game in that configuration with multiple loads. I purchased a Brux 30 cal #3 barrel 10 twist in 2022 that had interrupted fluting. Last year I decided to rebarrel that 30-06 with it, get the muzzle threaded and cerakote the rifle to match Noveske's stock paint job he called "southwest Oregon." Glad I did!! All the while I thought to myself, what about those extra 80 rounds of ammo near max in that PacNor barrel? I did forget to mention that I also bought 3 Tikka 30-06 rifles last year as well and knew Tikka tested their rifles with high pressure ammo. All 3 are Tikka Hunter models, 1 right hand, 2 left hand. Otherwise, identical. Tested it in one of them and it shot fine and actually a one time 3 shot group was 1/2" which also happened to be the first three shots by me. I decided to shoot that ammo in the newly chambered Brux barrel and it was not only safe but it was also the very first ammo put through that barrel. First 10 shots never got over 0.750. At this point I was clocking my ammo and in that Brux barrel it was slow at 2640fps. Tagged one doe with it on our property last season. She dropped. To prove all I'd heard about Tikka barrels being slower than most other barrels I wanted to see for myself. Naturally I had not been made aware of this before I bought them. I just picked up a new/old stock stainless Tikka T3x Lite left hand 30-06 that didn't sell on an online auction (the biggest one we all know about). I called the seller and asked if he was going to relist it and would he be willing to sell direct. Since he's also a store owner he sold it to me direct. I just took it out Saturday and shot that ammo through it as well along with my old 168 Barnes TTSX ammo I have over Reloder19. The Barnes were first out of this new rifle and 3 went into 0.800. Then I shot 3 groups of 3 with the Berger load and it's a nice tight 3/8" in each. HOWEVER, it's only 2425fps!! So, the rumors are true in this case and after using my new Garmin Pro I have also found previous handloads in many other custom rifles are ON AVERAGE, 200fps SLOWER in my Tikkas!!! That sucks. But hey, as we all say in hunting, take accuracy over speed any day. As of now I own 22 Tikkas and half are going to be rebarreled. I'm taking several of the 30-06s and 270s and converting all of them to 280 AIs even though they shoot really well in factory configuration. Also converting a new 270WSM and 7RemMag to 270-7PRC later this year once my barrels are done.

[@grob25]

I pulled 0.68 with BL-C(2) and 180 Sierra Tipped Game King, from my 30-06. I am seating the bullet for .020" jump. So far, so good.

[@thewashingtonreloader]

Those are some nice numbers. Do you know the velocity?

[@grob25]

@@thewashingtonreloader the average was 2639 fps. The SD was 34 fps. The ES was 80. That was 48 grains of BL-C(2) in Winchester brass. Shooting out of a Savage Axis II.

[@allenkyer1954]

Try imr 4350 really powder for 30.06

[@thewashingtonreloader]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4SQlaGLh86Zm9Esi=H5PISgdfkFuyePOo

[@roberthealy9389]

I just wish I would of stocked up on it when it was around $30.00 a pound!!! YIKES now in the $50.00's crazy.

[@joearledge1]

You do know that the "velocity node flat spot"(Saterly method)has been pretty well disproved at this point right? And, you didn't mention if you were picking a load based off of this test, but at the very best, 3 shot groups allow you to eliminate the worst 25% to 50% from the testing field. I've shot 5 shot groups with 16" el cheapo 5.56 chamber 1:7 AR with factory m855 62gr green tip steel penetrator, and 4 went into 1/4 moa... neither the gun, ammo, nor projectile are even remotely close to capable of that. You also didn't mention your intent for the load. Based on the rifle I'm assuming medium or big game hunting, or just tinkering around and plinking. Anything consistently under 2MOA all the time, would be fine for either of those applications, so the 3 shot groups would be ok-ish to pick a load for that is good enough to get those things done. Anyway, good luck with whatever you're doing 👍

[@thewashingtonreloader]

Wow. Ok. This could be considered the very first bad comment that my channel has gotten. Most people will ask questions and tell me recipes that are working for them and stuff like that. I'm not sure how much experience you have in the world of reloading but I've been reloading for nearly 20 years now. Just for fun most of that time but pretty serious for the last five. The "Satterly" method which I and most of the serious f class and prs shooters use, most definitely does work. I have seen what the Hornady videos have said about it and I've seen all the rebuttal videos that champion shooters have made also. But most of all I know what I personally have experience using this method. It works for me so I will continue using it. You are free to come to your own conclusion about what works for you. I have detailed in other videos what the goal of my channel is. I thank you for your comment but I don't get your point in you telling me I'm wrong when you have no clue to what I have learned in my journey of reloading. Have a great day @joearledge1.

[@joearledge1]

@@thewashingtonreloader you consider constructive criticism be a bad comment... ok I guess... I didn't realize that you'd be that sensitive. It's your time and money and channel you do what you want with it. I've also been hand loading for about 20 years and tried the Satterly method when it first came out. I have an extreme background in math and science, so what Scott was saying didn't make sense, but I gave it a shot anyway. Don't knock it till you try it right? Fair enough. So I did a few load workups with it. Yes there were flat spots in the velocity trends. It didn't deliver any insanely good results. One day I decided to stop being lazy and validat the method. So I got a few cartridges, rifles, pistols, powders and projectiles, such that I'd have a pretty diverse sample population. Anyway, over about the course of a week or two, I shot each applicable Satterly test 5 times. The order of firing was jumbled to distribute fouling and heat. The rate of fire was 1 per 1min, single load, no mag. There were flat spots in nearly all of the tests. The problem was, the second string's flat spots were not even close to the first string's. The morphology of the trendlines was different for every string. The composite of 5, 10-shot strings was a straight line, for every combo that I tried, rifles and pistols. You do what you want, but if you're after the truth, research is good... testing, experimenting, and validating are more better. If you think it works so well, validate it. Pick a load, any load, known or unknown or whatever. Set up 5 Satterly tests for that load, compare the analyses afterwards. Don't listen to me, I'm just some idiot on the interwebz. Test it yourself, or don't, anyway, good luck with whatever it is that you're doing

[@thewashingtonreloader]

@@joearledge1 Dude! Like I said watch more of my videos. I explain everything. My channel is still in it's infancy. I plan on confirming my results. I even say it in my videos. You'll just have to stay tuned. I don't have a ton of time to go shooting and it takes me an hour to get to where I shoot. So I shoot a lot and record it. Then I have to edit the videos. So in the end I'll have 2 or 3 videos per powder bullet combo. I'm still shooting videos 1 and 2 for some of my rifles. I know you want to see the final results but I'm just not there yet. Be patient I'm working on it.

[@JimParvin-o9e]

Winchester 760 is the powder for the 30/06 and varget is the powder for the 308. Test that for a change.

[@greybone777]

I've never had any reloading manual recommend 760 as the ideal powder for 30-06. My current manuals list varget as producing the best results in 30-06. That being said, Randy Selby, a true professional recommends 760. So I'm sure you are not wrong. I may just try it. sometime. 😊 . Varget definitely works in 308 as does imr 4227 and blc2.

[@thewashingtonreloader]

What's your load recipe for Winchester 760?

[@JimParvin-o9e]

@@thewashingtonreloader 57 grains which is 3.8 cc. Under a 150 grain Sierra pro Hunter bullet, Remington 9.5 primer and the overall cartridge length is 3.283. The cartridge overall length for my 30/06 is 20 thousands off the lands.

[@rogerramjet7567]

Either 4350 for the 06 would produce superior results for the 06. Used both for decades 👍👍😀

[@thewashingtonreloader]

Which 4350?

[@Accuracy1st]

@@thewashingtonreloader I've had equal success with IMR and Hodgdon with 165 and 168 Barnes TTSX

[@thewashingtonreloader]

@@Accuracy1st what's your recipe?

[@Accuracy1st]

@@thewashingtonreloader Lapua brass, Fed210M primer, 55.0 gr H4350, 57.1gr IMR4350, 59.0 Reloder 19. All grouped the same, all killed mule deer, whitetail, and blackbears the same. All in the mid 2800s from a 22" Pacnor barrel and now a 22" Brux barrel.