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Nsghunter

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I sold a rifle and mist likely will move forward towards handloading soon. Problem is, I don't know a drum thing about the powders, or much about the general process for that matter.

What type of powder should I consider for 30-06 and .45 acp? My press will be a Lee classic turret press with the Lee powder auto feed.
 
I have no clue about pistol, but for 30-06 I would start with either h4350, or imr4350 there is a 99% chance that those 1 of those 2 powders will give you every thing you need for a deer cartridge
 
The 30-06 can be loaded with many different powders successfully. A good rule of thumb is the heavier the bullet the slower burning rate powders work best.
I usually use IMR powders with all my rifle cartridges. For the 30-06 I've had good results with 4350 for 180 gr bullets. My go to powder for 150 gr is 4895, for 165 gr my rifle likes 4064.
Purchase a good reloading manual or two they usually list "the most accurate load" for every caliber. This may not be the most accurate load for your particular rifle but it's usually a good starting point.
 
Buy yourself a good reloading manual and do some reading, everyone has their pet powders and sometimes our suggestions may not be available in your area. So you need to be able to go to plan b if plan a is not in stock. H and IMR 4895 and 4350 are good 06 powders but there are many. W231 and Unique are good ones for the .45ACP but again there are many.
 
Nsghunter":3u5ldr7p said:
Will the Lee reloading manual that cones with the reloaded be sufficient?
Click to expand...
Should be, but I have seen Lees latest, but It wouldn't hurt to get another one like Nosler, Hornady or Sierra. I tend to like the bullet manufactures manuals the best.
 
My pet load is Nosler Book Max load IMR4350 over Federal 210M primers in R-P brass with a 150 grain Accubond or Partition on top.

1) Get a book.
2) Get another book
3) Go here and read http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/reloading-education
4) Thumb back through history on this forum.
5) Take Notes (I have a loose-leaf notebook for my calibers)
6) Find a Mentor
7) Bookmark load information sites on Nosler, Hodgdon, Lee, and so on.
8) Ask questions
 
Do you have another rifle cartridge you will be reloading for? When I chose a powder for my rifles I chose IMR 4064 because it works for all my rifle calibers: 30-06, .243 and .35 rem. It won't be the best for all three but I like having just one powder on the shelf and I'm a hunter that shoots a box a year at most. Rifle and pistol powders are very different so you won't find one powder for 30-06 and .45. Question for others - what one book would you recommend to start?
 
Pistol powders are, in general, FAST. Exercise caution and care.

I am kind of weird on this point, keep the two firearms separate. Nothing for an 06 will ever work in a 45 and vice versa.
 
DaveB":2f8fnatd said:
My pet load is Nosler Book Max load IMR4350 over Federal 210M primers in R-P brass with a 150 grain Accubond or Partition on top.

1) Get a book.
2) Get another book
3) Go here and read http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/reloading-education
4) Thumb back through history on this forum.
5) Take Notes (I have a loose-leaf notebook for my calibers)
6) Find a Mentor
7) Bookmark load information sites on Nosler, Hodgdon, Lee, and so on.
8) Ask questions
Click to expand...


forget step 2

buy a loadbook

http://www.loadbooks.com/

less than 10 buck per caliber has all the info from ever bullet mfg and powder mfg
 
DA is correct, the LoadBook products are actually very effective.

If you are loading a few calibers or use many different manufacturers of bullets they work quite well.
 
I have at least 10 manuals and at one time or another will them all. If I find a load on the net someone else tells is great I will check it in one or more manual.
 
I've reloaded since the mid to late 1970's and have never owned a loading manual. Since I started as a teenager who was always short on funds, I could never stomach the idea of wasting money on loads when you could just flip somebody else's open and write down a couple loads. Nowadays it's way easier to get free loading data from bullet and powder manufacturers. They all have websites. These websites mostly have lots of basic info about reloading too. There's no need to pay for it.

Regarding powder, I'd go to the IMR powder website and look at some loads with the cartridge and bullet you want to load and see which powders give good velocity, then see which one you can actually find in stock somewhere. Generally speaking you don't have to find loading data for the exact bullet you are using as long as it's the same weight and construction. What I mean about construction is to not use lead core bullet data with a solid copper alloy bullet like the Barnes TTSX. Always start 10% below max powder charge and look for primer flattening, hard bolt lift, case head smearing, case flow into the ejector hole on the bolt face, etc. as you work up the powder charge. With cartridges that operate below pressures where any of this occurs, about the only sign you have to watch for is to watch for case stretching which happens with some rifles after many firings. This will show up as a bright narrow ring right in front of the solid case head. You can bend a wire to fit down inside the case to feel for this pending failure too. If in doubt with these cartridges, such as the 30-30 or 35 Remington, load a bit below the book max. You won't notice any real loss of performance and your peace of mind will be well worth it.

One of the big things to keep foremost in mind when reloading is be safe. Only put one powder on the bench at a time when actually loading. Otherwise keep your main powder supply somewhere else so that you have to stop and go get the one you want and think about what you are doing. I read my notes out loud and repeat the powder I am getting to myself at least twice. If somebody were watching me, they might think I was losing my mind. I'm actually trying to keep it - literally!
 
Most 30-06s like 165gr bullet and 57gr IMR4350 or 180gr bullet and 56gr IMR4350... These are the quintessential 30-06 loads, but should be worked up to with caution. If you cannot get good accuracy out of one of these loads in your rifle, you most likely need to adjust seating depth, your rifle has issues, or you are doing something wrong.

But... there are a ton of powders that work well for the 30-06:
RL15, 17, 22
H4895, 4831, 4350, 1000, Varget
IMR4895, 4064, 4350
Western Powders Hunter
And this list is just scratching the surface.

Your rifle will likely like one bullet/powder/casing/primer/seating combination better than the next. This is one of the fun things about reloading.
 

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