Unique powder for 30-06

jae

New Member
Hi just picked up a per 64 Winchester model 70 in 30-GOV-06. I`m setting on about 10 pounds of Unique. My bullet moulds are in the 150 to 210 bullet weights.
Please share you favorite loads.
Thanks John
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
tell us a little something about the rifle and your goals with it.
I got some loads right off the top of my head but your gonna have to work with us a little here.
gas check.. no gas check.
store bought.. home made.
alloy?
diameter?
yeah,,, it matters, unless your end goal is just to hear a bang.

welcome to the site.
 

Ian

Notorious member
My favorite cast bullet load starts with getting 70 years of copper fouling out of the bore and making an impact impression of the chamber and throat. Next step is a combination of what Ben and Fiver wrote.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
I do recommend the Lyman Cast Bullet book, but IME, they seem to shoot their bullets
at notably smaller diameters than I use. Other than that difference, that book is a
real source of knowledge, and especially lots of loading data for the faster pistol and
shotgun powders under cast bullets in a huge range of cartridges, data pretty much
unavailable elsewhere.

Bill
 

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Lyman's 4th has Unique data, too.

Just last evening, I was perusing both the 3rd and 4th for Argentine data.
 

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Yep, those two manuals have served me well. The rifle seems to favor 16-grains of 2400, with the fattened Lee 312-185, but I'm not done experimenting.

Edited to correct wrong powder listed in original post.
 
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Ben

Moderator
Staff member
I will say this about the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook .
I have my doubts that Lyman ever fired a cast bullet downrange to determine group size. They chronographed their loads and those that had small deviations in muzzle velocity were deemed to be " accuracy loads ". I have found very little truth in that label either.
Many of the loads with cast bullets in rifles are way too fast for my taste.
Could be that my alloy is just a bit soft and won't allow those speeds ? ?


I've tried some of their " fast loads ".
All over the paper at 100 yards.

10 - 11 grs. of Unique with 150 - 200 gr. cast bullet ( with a gas check ) will usually yield some pretty good groups. My 06 rifles usually likes a .311" dia. cast bullet.

Ben
 
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462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
CORRECTION ALERT

Due to an error that was overlooked by my editor, my previous post has been edited.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
I knew it was wrong...LOL
but I'm glad you changed it so someone didn't try it.
probably wouldn't have hurt anything, but the on paper results would have most likely been disappointing.

those high speed loads they show are actually helpful... just,,,, not with their bullets.
Lyman doesn't really make a 'high velocity' rifle bullet [not anymore, they did have 1 good 7mm design that they discontinued long ago] RCBS and Saeco come closer [and sometimes actually succeed]

the alloy lyman uses [lino-type] is far too hard, not just in BHN, but on the rifle itself.

ww alloy cut with some soft lead dropped in a pan of water has run up to 2400 fps several times for me.
I doubt I used a load from a lyman manual, and I know I didn't use a lyman design, but the alloy itself had no problem getting there.
 

Bill

Active Member
And, all the loads in the rcbs manual are with 10-1 alloy, the 314299 Lyman gives me match accuracy in an 03a3 with 2400 powder
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
You said "Unique"......can't help much with that powder in rifles, Unique is shortgun & shotgun fuel for me.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Unique is great in rifles, IME. Around 10 gr or 12 in most of the 'late 19th century/early 20th
century bottleneck military cartridges' works well and is typically very accurate for moderate
velocity loads.

Bill
 

Snakeoil

Well-Known Member
Since I just went down a similar road as a newbie to this lead bullets in bottleneck cartridge foolishness, I'll share my process. First, guys at the club who tend to place well in the club matches were consulted. I took that info and took a look at the Lyman book for more background details. The boys at the club helped me select a bullet and a powder, the Saeco 315 and 2400. I get the bullet from Meisters. I also perused this site for info and asked a few questions. Armed with that info and my bullet, I loaded up 5 test rounds each for various powder charges that would shoot in the 1600 fps range. Loads were in 0.5 gr increments. Went to the range with my chrono and shot them at 100 yds for grouping and velocity check. I found one, 18gr. that was the most consistent. Guys at the club said 17.5 gr worked well for them. So, very close to their findings.

Slugged my barrel and did a chamber cast (yeah, should have done that before) and found my bore was .312. So, bumped up my sizing die to .312 from .311 and have been shooting that load, since. I did alter the OAL of the loaded cartridge after the test session and my first match with the rifle. But I have not put any on paper since doing that. Scores in subsequent matches indicate it was a good choice. Basic rule with the top shooters at the club is make the round as long as possible and will still function in the magazine. I settled on 3.130".

Although the rifle is shooting well, I need to revisit group size on paper when the light is steady and the wind is nil to remove external variables and get a better feel for what the rifle can do, if I do my job.

As a sidenote, several of the recoil sensitive shooters at the club are using light loads of Unique in their loads. Not sure if anyone is using it in .30-06, but they are using it in .30-30. Some are so light that the report out of the guns is more of a pop, like a gallery .22. Yet they are still reaching out to 500 yds with them. Many shoot offhand so not possible to truly assess the accuracy of their loads.