.30-06 Lead free Deer/Hunting Load ideas/info

[TonyMang_89]

Looking to work up a deer hunting round for my .30-06 , looks like Barnes TTSX 130 grain is a popular choice. Does anyone have any experience with that particular bullet or any other suggestions for a place to start ? Rifle is a Ruger M77 ultralight with a 20" barrel

I have brass , primers and dies but just want to get an idea of what powders/bullets have performed well for the calguns crew .

Thanks for any input , I appreciate it .

[bigbossman]

I use the Barnes TTSX 150gr with H4895 and get 2900+fps and sub-moa groups. Kills pigs and deer dead where they stand.

[AGGRO]

I'm using 134 hammers with imr 4895. Get's the job done. I'm using hammers for most of my hunting firearms now.

[pennstater]

OP, what powders do you have? bigbossman's load will certainly work. For the 150's, I use IMR 4064. Anything heavier, one of the 4350's.

MLC

[flyer898]

I have had good results using Winchester 760 with Barnes bullets in 30-06. I like the ball powder because it meters smoothly and the charge to charge variation is less than 0.1 grains.

[TonyMang_89]

Ok ,that's good to know. I've got some H4895 and IMR 4895 for the Garand so that would be convenient to work up a load for the deer rifle with the same powder.

2900 +FPS and sub moa sure sounds like a winner.

[G-forceJunkie]

I ended up with 150 TSX over 51 gr of 4064 seated .050" off the lands. I've found the TSX bullets really picky about lead, accuracy goes downhill fast as the lead increases over .050". It's not an issue in my 30-06 Rem 700 as the long action lets me seat the bullet way out. In my .308 short action Rem 700 the OAL is well beyond magazine length to get .050" off the lands thus have to be single loaded.

[bigbossman]

Ok ,that's good to know. I've got some H4895 and IMR 4895 for the Garand so that would be convenient to work up a load for the deer rifle with the same powder.

2900 +FPS and sub moa sure sounds like a winner.

IIRC, the MAX load was 51.5gr, but don't take my word for it, use caution and due diligence. I ended up at 50.5gr using commercial (FC) brass, shooting out of a Tikka T3 Lite. Make sure all the copper is scrubbed out of the bore, and seat them off the lands. The TTSX bullet likes to jump. If you don't want to or can't measure the freebore, just seat them halfway through the last groove (closest to the bullet tip) and you should be fine.

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[TonyMang_89]

Thanks for the tip bossman . Nice shooting ! I've been eyeing those Tikka T3's for a while now and have heard nothing but good things.

[cz74]

Varget works well for me with the Barnes 130 grain TTSX bullet, averaging 3,050 fps out of my 22-inch Benelli Lupo 30-06

[Divernhunter]

I use IMR4064 with the 150gr TTSX seated so the top relief groove is just showing.. I also use a mag primer. Learned to seat them deep and push them fast for best accuracy and terminal performance.
I also use Win 748 and max loads

[Shumba]

Have had good luck/groups and good velocity with Ramshot Big Game powder in my 30-06 and Barnes 150 TTSX, Power Hammer 150 grain, and Hammer Hunter Tipped 154 grain. If you can find some Ramshot Big Game, work your way up and check for pressure, but my 30-06 likes 57.0 to 58.0 grains. Great accuracy and velocity. Dropped a cow elk last season at 405 yards with a 150 grain Power Hammer at 3,000 FPS. My rifle also shoots great groups and gets great velocity with H414 / W760 and 150 TTSX. Only problem is both H414 and W760 are temp sensitive.

[TonyMang_89]

Thanks for all the tips , that should get me started in the right direction . Seating them deep and pushing them fast seems to be the theme here.

[bigbossman]

Thanks for all the tips , that should get me started in the right direction . Seating them deep and pushing them fast seems to be the theme here.

Deep and fast, that's what momma likes.