wyobohunter
New member
Col. Townsend Whelen was an early pioneer in developing small game loads for the big game rifle specifically for wilderness hunts. Here is a stab at it.
-Rifle is a Tikka T3 Lite Stainless in 30-06 with 18” barrel and Leupold VX-II 3-9x33mm Ultra light in Talley rings. This rifle shoots 1 MOA consistently.
-Chronograph is a Shooting Crony Alpha Master and was placed 10’ from muzzle.
-All loads are using:
Fed brass, Fed 210 Primers, Alliant Red Dot powder.
Bullet is Sierra 170 gr. Flat nose (for 30-30), C.O.A.L = 3.084”.
Cases are neck sized only to help gas seal; may not be necessary but I'm doing it anyway.
-3 shot groups
Load #1 Date-12/14 Time- ≈ 8:15 Temp- 28° Wind- none
13.5 gr. Alliant Red Dot
Low Velocity =1488
High Velocity =1528
Avg. Velocity =1506
Extreme Spread =40.4
Standard Deviation =20.3
Group Size =1/2” @ 25 yds
Load #2 Date-12/14 Time- ≈ 8:30 Temp- 28° Wind- none
12.5 gr. Alliant Red Dot
Low Velocity =1419
High Velocity =1426
Avg. Velocity =1423
Extreme Spread =6.7
Standard Deviation =3.5
Group Size =1/8” @ 25 yds
Load #3 Date-12/14 Time- ≈ 8:45 Temp- 30° Wind- ≈5 mph
11.5 gr. Alliant Red Dot
Low Velocity =1300
High Velocity =1326
Avg. Velocity =1311
Extreme Spread =25.2
Standard Deviation =13.5
Group Size =1/4” @ 25 yds
Load #4 Date-12/14 Time- ≈ 9:00 Temp- 30° Wind- ≈5 mph
10.5 gr. Alliant Red Dot
Low Velocity =1192
High Velocity =1240
Avg. Velocity =1224
Extreme Spread =48.7
Standard Deviation =27.7
Group Size =1/2” @ 25 yds
Loads #2 and #3 are so close in accuracy the difference was likely me as I had the scope set on 3 power for all shots. I was going to load up several of loads #2 and #3 for more testing but the extremely low deviation and great accuracy of #2 has changed my mind. I'll load up a bunch of #2 and see how loud they are in the open air as I was shooting form inside an enclosure during testing so it was louder than it will be in field conditions. Point of impact was ≈ 1” and low and centered at 25 yds. on 3 power. I will play with variable scope setting to get POA=POI and try this loads out to 50 or 100 yds. Muzzle blast and recoil was negligible enough to see and hear the bullet strike the target for every shot. Bore fouling was about the same as any other load.
I liked how velocity dropped off predictably. I would love to work on down to subsonic but fear sticking a bullet. Plus, you can't argure with a Standard Deviation of 3.5 fps. If load #2 continues to perform today, isn't too loud, and I can get it to hit to POA I'll probably stick with it.
Also noteworthy, no filler material was used and I didn’t worry about powder position in case before firing.
-Rifle is a Tikka T3 Lite Stainless in 30-06 with 18” barrel and Leupold VX-II 3-9x33mm Ultra light in Talley rings. This rifle shoots 1 MOA consistently.
-Chronograph is a Shooting Crony Alpha Master and was placed 10’ from muzzle.
-All loads are using:
Fed brass, Fed 210 Primers, Alliant Red Dot powder.
Bullet is Sierra 170 gr. Flat nose (for 30-30), C.O.A.L = 3.084”.
Cases are neck sized only to help gas seal; may not be necessary but I'm doing it anyway.
-3 shot groups
Load #1 Date-12/14 Time- ≈ 8:15 Temp- 28° Wind- none
13.5 gr. Alliant Red Dot
Low Velocity =1488
High Velocity =1528
Avg. Velocity =1506
Extreme Spread =40.4
Standard Deviation =20.3
Group Size =1/2” @ 25 yds
Load #2 Date-12/14 Time- ≈ 8:30 Temp- 28° Wind- none
12.5 gr. Alliant Red Dot
Low Velocity =1419
High Velocity =1426
Avg. Velocity =1423
Extreme Spread =6.7
Standard Deviation =3.5
Group Size =1/8” @ 25 yds
Load #3 Date-12/14 Time- ≈ 8:45 Temp- 30° Wind- ≈5 mph
11.5 gr. Alliant Red Dot
Low Velocity =1300
High Velocity =1326
Avg. Velocity =1311
Extreme Spread =25.2
Standard Deviation =13.5
Group Size =1/4” @ 25 yds
Load #4 Date-12/14 Time- ≈ 9:00 Temp- 30° Wind- ≈5 mph
10.5 gr. Alliant Red Dot
Low Velocity =1192
High Velocity =1240
Avg. Velocity =1224
Extreme Spread =48.7
Standard Deviation =27.7
Group Size =1/2” @ 25 yds
Loads #2 and #3 are so close in accuracy the difference was likely me as I had the scope set on 3 power for all shots. I was going to load up several of loads #2 and #3 for more testing but the extremely low deviation and great accuracy of #2 has changed my mind. I'll load up a bunch of #2 and see how loud they are in the open air as I was shooting form inside an enclosure during testing so it was louder than it will be in field conditions. Point of impact was ≈ 1” and low and centered at 25 yds. on 3 power. I will play with variable scope setting to get POA=POI and try this loads out to 50 or 100 yds. Muzzle blast and recoil was negligible enough to see and hear the bullet strike the target for every shot. Bore fouling was about the same as any other load.
I liked how velocity dropped off predictably. I would love to work on down to subsonic but fear sticking a bullet. Plus, you can't argure with a Standard Deviation of 3.5 fps. If load #2 continues to perform today, isn't too loud, and I can get it to hit to POA I'll probably stick with it.
Also noteworthy, no filler material was used and I didn’t worry about powder position in case before firing.