Best Brass for Hot 30-06 Loads

[HawHee]

I am trying to get 2950 fps from my 30-06, using a 168 gr. Barnes TTSX. My rifle has a 24" barrel. Does anyone have a recommendation as to the best brass for this application? Any load recommendations?

[helotaxi]

You do realize that you're looking for nearly 100fps beyond what Barnes was able to get, right?

[tammons]

The Barnes RL17 load is 3.295 COL.

You might be able to get close if you run it long at 3.4" or probably longer and use brass with the most capacity and
also fire form your brass and neck size it. Maybe moly too.

I dont have fire formed 30-06 case capacities, but the guys over at snipers hide probably do.
One guy is loading the 208 gr amax over RL17 in 30-06 and getting 2800 out of a 26" barrel.

I do know that Winchester 308 brass has a good bit more capacity in 308.
That is the go to brass to fire form etc for shooing the 208 amax over RL17 in 308.

If you go over there and do a search for RL17 you might find some data.

I dont have the length for that bullet, but I ran an estimate on QL.
It would be easier to get it with the 165 gr MRX bullet since it is shorter.

I hesitate to type in any numbers here because you want to run on or beyond the edge of safety and its an invitation to disaster.

Actually I dont think the animal on the other end will know the difference between 2850 and 2950 even if its big.

Why are you trying to push it so hard.
Just leaves no room for error.

[HawHee]

Tammons, I have a Leupold Boone & Crockett reticle that will match my 30-06 trajectory quite well if I can get 2950 fps with a bullet that has a ballistic coefficient around .470, which the Barnes 168 TTSX does have. I used that very same bullet to kill a cow elk at 475 yards last November with my '06. The load is 61.0 grains H4350 in Remington brass, ignited by a CCI 200 primer. My magazine is long, and so is the throat of my rifle, so I can seat the bullet out far enough to accomodate 61 grains of H4350, if I use a drop tube. I will look into RL17.

[tammons]

I just ran it through quicktarget and if you zero at 200 yds with the scope 2" above the CL of the bore, and you use the large triangle bullet drop setting, which is roughly 2.2 moa-300 yds, 4.8-400, 7.8-500, you end up almost dead all the holdoff points out to 500 yards at 2900 FPS if the bullet BC is actually 0.47.

2900 would be very doable with RL17 loaded long in fire formed win brass IMO.

Of course if the BC is actually lower you could have different results.

That retical setting has the same MOA spacing the same as the LR reticle that I use and if you tweak the zero range a bit and that can work too, IE shooting a bullet at 2850 with a BC of .45, Zero at 220 yards, Max 2.1" high, and the holdoff points are 312 yards, 404 yards, 500 yards.

[HawHee]

Great info! Thanks, Tammons. I'll give RL17 and Winchester brass a try.