# IMR4350 or IMR 4064



## jb1023 (Jul 15, 2008)

First a bit of back ground. I have a Ruger MKII 30-06 built in 1973 that I purchased from my father-in-law. I have never reloaded before but am getting ready to purchase a Lee turret and all the necessary accessories to go along with it. My FIL used to reload and was the girls ROTC rifle instructor at a University here. Along with the rifle he gave me the last 16 rounds that he reloaded for this particular rifle, batched Nov 4 1975, and told me this was the best combo he found for this rifle. On the label it says he used Nossler 165gr bullets (looks like the partition Spitzer bullets on Midway site), Winchester 8 1/2 primers and 49.0 grains of IMR 4064 powder. My question is, should this be the first consumables I buy or has something changed with any of those components in the last 36 years? Also, those bullets are not exactly the cheapest for target shooting, $34.50/50, so is there something else that will have the same or similar characteristics/ballistics that I can use for practice to save some money such as Speer Hot Core $25/100 and save the expensive bullets for hunting? Thanks all.


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## jb1023 (Jul 15, 2008)

Sorry, mixed up my powders, on paper. Meant IMR4350 and not W296.


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

Fixed the error for you. If I got it wrong, let me know and I'll correct the correction. :mrgreen:


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## RustyNut (Apr 10, 2011)

I use 4064 in my Garand but I don't have a bolt gun in 30-06. The guys I know that reload .06 in bolts say 4350 with 165/169 gr bullets are as good as it gets.


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## Creeker (Jul 18, 2011)

4064 is a fine powder for the 06 but for 165s it hard to beat good ole 4350.


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## Tazman (Jan 13, 2012)

Im not sure if these powders have changed in the past years much but i can say there are alot more powders out there now.The biggest pain in reloading is finding the right powder for the rifle and load and each rifle is different.Example being i have a Rem 788 in .243 and have loaded for it for many many years and its a tack driver.My buddy has the exact same rifle,even the same scope and my loads do not work at all in that gun.So what works for one may not work for you.

Anyways,some other good powders for the 06 could be,H-414,W760,H4831.IMR 4350 is a good powder though,if it works stick with it,I use it alot,its a pretty versatile safe powder.Changing bullets could have a effect on your FIL load recipe so you may have to play around and find a load that works well.Thats the only thing i hate,i have many pounds of powder that i never use because i bought it trying to get the best accuracy and it didnt pan out.I wish they would sell like 1/4 pound containers of powder ,it would be easier on the wallet when hunting down the best load.


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