Hello
I was recently given some 30/06 factory ammo.
20 Winchester 180gr Ballistic Silvertip
17 Hornady 178gr ELD-X
and (1) round of Federal Fusion 180gr.

So, naturally I wanted to see what was inside. That?s what I do.

HORNADY 178gr ELD-X

HORNADY 30-06
178gr ELD-X

Adertised Velocity 2750 (24")
C.O.L.  3.254"
CASE;
Length    2.484"
Shoulder  .436"
Base      .465"
Weight    181.4grs. w/primer
BULLET;
Weight    178.3grs.
Diameter  .3080"
Length    1.405"
HEADSTAMP  HORNADY 30/06













FEDERAL FUSION 180gr

FEDERAL FUSION 30/06
180gr
Advertised Velocity 2700
C.O.L.  3.176"
CASE;
Length    2.485"
Shoulder  .436"
Base      .466"
Weight    206.4grs. w/primer
BULLET;
Weight    180.3grs.
Diameter  .3085"
Length    1.214"
HEADSTAMP  FC 30/06











WINCHESTER 180gr BALLISTIC SILVERTIP

Winchester 30/06
180gr Ballistic Silvertip
Advertised Velocity 2750
C.O.L.  3.277"
CASE;
Length    2.486"
Shoulder  .438"
Base      .465"
Weight    193.4grs. w/primer
BULLET;
Weight    179.9grs.
Diameter  .3076"
Length    1.359"
HEADSTAMP  WINCHESTER 30/06















I wouldn?t bother posting anything about this, but I found the propellant charge for the Winchester rounds very interesting. I discovered previously that my rifle will not shoot molly-coated bullets. Period..  So, I went about pulling the whole box and went about replacing the Silvertip bullet with Hornady 180gr Spire Points.
Removed the decapping pin from the neck sizing die and ran the brass though, then treated the brass to the 22? inside the neck chamfer tool.
As each round was dis assembled, the propellant charge was weighed. The first came in at 59.6grs. Most of the box was right around that, but I found charges from 59.4 up to one round weighing in at 60.0grs. The heaviest charge I have ever seen in factory ammo was 57.0grs. This is some exceptionally slow stuff.. You would think with a ball propellant like this the charges would be more consistent. Well, that?s factory ammo for you. There was enough ?excess? where I could charge each case with exactly 59.6grs.
Another thing that was interesting, the charges were very ?clumpy?. I literally had to dig with an ice pick to break up the clumps and get it all in the bowl for weighing. And then had to use the back end of a screw driver handle to finish breaking up the clumps so I could pour the charge back in the case. Never seen that before with commercial ammo.

The Hornady ammo was very typical, nothing unusual about it.

Now the one Federal round was curious. Why such a light charge at 52.0grs? This propellant ?looks? exactly like the propellant found in some Fed Fusion 165gr .308 Win rounds I did a pull-down for a while ago. I wonder if Federal is biasing the ammo toward auto-loading rifles..? 


https://postimg.cc/gallery/KFgrjrc

Now it?s range time. Let?s see how this stuff shoots.




The Hornady ammo was good. No surprises there.
The Fed round was predictably slow.

But, the Winchester ammo. Of course it?s not technically factory ammo anymore but.. This rifle has NEVER seen an 180gr bullet go this fast, or any rifle I?ve ever worked with for that matter. That Silvertip ammo must be some hot stuff! The brass extracted with no issue and felt recoil was mild actually.

Well, that?s it. Just thought some like-minded ammo nuts would find this interesting.

First one: HORNADY 178gr ELD-X with 55.0 grains may be Alliant Reloader 17
Second one: FEDERAL FUSION 180gr with 52.0 maybe Hodgdon Hybrid 100V
Third one: WINCHESTER 180gr BALLISTIC SILVERTIP maybe Winchester-760 or Hodgdon Superformance

With the Winchester round, I can't see this being 760, as 760 max's out at 55.5grs. Now Superformance is a possibility. It max's out at 59.7.. good match. Never got an opportunity to pick up any Superformance before the world turned to crap. In any event, the Winchester round is most impressive.

The Federal round is loaded with 52.0grs of something. Hybrid 110V max's out at 57.0grs. The starting load is 53.0grs. It looks like it is the same 'family' but the factory propellant would have to be faster than Hybrid 100V.

The ELD-X round could be anything. I included a pic of IMR 4451 for a possibility.

Propellants have certainly come a long way from when I got started back in the late '60's..