I have a 30-06 that I would like to take to Africa one day for hunting plains game. The 180 gr. bullet is generally thought of as the all round bullet weight for the 30-06. I use the Swift A-Frame 180 gr. loaded to 2700 fps. For African use I have read that the 220 gr. is the best weight to use (from John Taylor's African Rifles & Cartridges). Would it be better to use a 180 gr. Swift A-Frame @ 2700 fps. or a 220 gr. Woodleigh loaded to 2400 fps. for African plains game. If the 220 gr. Woodleighs were used, I could probably also load up some 220 gr. Barnes solids that would have a similar point of impact to the Woodleighs. With modern bullet technology, the new super premeium 180 gr bullets (A-Frame, Trophy Bonded, X-bullets, Failsafes, etc.) seem to work wonderfully on larger game. Should I stay with a premium 180 gr. bullet like the A-Frame or should I load up some 220 gr. Woodleigh Softnoses and possibly some 220 gr Barnes Solids for use in Africa? What are the pro's & con's of either bullet weight?

I would be relaxed about any taking any of the bullets you mention. The terminal effect will not be noticable.

I would load all three and see which one I shot best.

Perhaps I would favour 180 grain Barnes X. Flatter than a 200 or 220 if you need to anchor a wounded animal at a range longer than normal, coupled with good termimal effect.

My 30/06 has been used extensively in Africa as a loaner rifle for about 10-12 years now. Several hundred animals have been taken with it. Not a single one has been lost.

My loads shoot a 165 grain Aframe or Hornady interbond at 2900fps. With this load there have been a very high frequency of exits from animals as large as Kudu. For The bigger or more solid animals exits are more rare but they have all been found with out a struggle when hit properly.



Using the 180 grain bullet is fine as well but I would not bother with anything bigger for Plains game. Remember that a boned bullet is the equal of the next larger weight of a standard construction bullet because it will retain its weight.

Example if you hit a Blue wildebeast with a plain Hornady factory "inter-lock" bullet you will find bits and pieces of lead and jacket throughout the chest and recover a small piece of the cupped portion of the bullet jackets base.

The lighter bonded bullet will retain almost all the weight and be recoverd deeper, straighter, and in one big chunk. They are the only way to go.

I've used the .30-06 with 180gr. Swifts on safari, with great results.

It's important to remember when reading books written long ago that bullet technology is light years ahead of where it was in the 1940's.

George

Although I have not used them, I am hearing good reports on the performance of the new Barnes Triple Shock bullets. The Barnes XLC's in 180 grain shot very well in my '06 but once I got to Namibia I couldn't help myself and had to use my .375 H and H on all of the game I took.

How about the 180 Nosler Partition in front of 55 grains IMR 4350 in the '06? Velocity undocumented, but a nominal 2700 fps is expected.
9 shots and 9 dead animals, all pass-through except 1 recovery in a kudu bull, with the bullet protruding from the offside shoulder. Picked it out with knife point. Animals included 2 kudu bulls, 1 zebra stallion, 1 waterbuck, 2 warthogs, 2 impala, 1 blesbok.
Worked for me.

Marv

I leave next week for a buffalo/plainsgame hunt in the Chewore North area of Zimbabwe (heavy cover & shorter shots).

I'm taking a 416 Rigby for the buffalo, but for the plainsgame I am using my Pre-64 M70 300H&H loaded with 220 grain Nosler Partitions (2,700 fps chronographed) and 180 grain Barnes TSX's (3,050 fps). I have the 220 grain bullets sighted dead on at 100 yards and the 180 grain TSX's shooting dead center but 1.75" higher.

I will mainly be using the 220 bullets, but if I have time to set up for a longer shot I will try to remember to switch to the 180 TSX load. However, even if I mix up the bullets in the heat of battle, either load will do the job.

I'm taking 40 rounds of the 220 load and 20 rounds of the 180 TSX's. For the Rigby, I'm taking 24 rounds of 400 grain Barnes X's and 16 rounds of Hornady solids (old style).

On my last hunt in the same area, I used my 375H&H on everything. I was shooting the 300 grain Swift Aframes and 300 grain Barnes solids. I kind of found the 300 grain Aframes to be a bit hard (not opening up much) on the plainsgame, so I am looking forward to seeing how the 220 grain NP's and 180 TSX perform.

Hopefully I will have pictures to share at the end of the month

Tim

Marv,

I've used the same thing for years except my rifle likes 57 grains of the same powder. Chrono'd velocity is 2,725 fps from a 22" barrel. Everything from dik-dik to Eland has fallen to that combination.

Rich Elliott

I used the 220gr Woodleighs loaded to about 2460fps in my .30-06 on my most recent trip. It was a plains game hunt in South Africa in 2002. The largest thing I shot was a Red Hartebeest. (Kudu was also on the agenda but I didn't get a shot at one.) I also took a Bushbuck on the trip. The 220gr Woodleigh worked like a charm; even on the smaller animals. I'm sure other premium bullets would also work well. After all the ol '06 has proven itself over the years. I just wanted to be traditional and nostalgic so I chose the 220gr bullets for the .30-06. And I just like heavy for caliber bullets. I was hunting in the northern Limpopo Province which is bushveld country. Shots are usually close in the bush. I think my longest shot on the trip (on the Hartebeest) was about 120 yards (my PH's estimate). For bushveld hunting with a .30-06, I think the 220gr Woodleigh would never be a bad choice.



Just my two cents worth....

-Bob F.

I'm not an 06 guy but if I get back to Africa, w/ my boys in the next 2 years or so, my son's rifle is an 06 & I will be loading 180gr premiums, probably NPs @ 2750fps. For me, it's a .338-06.

My vote goes to the 180gr permium bullet your rifle likes best. A FRame, TSX, or Partition. jorge

My wife used her 30-06 with 180 grain Swift A-frames a few years ago in Namibia. This bullet worked just as expected: perfectly! I can't see that a 220 grain Woodleigh bullet will be much extra help on plainsgame, but if you want to try that just for fun, I see no reason not to. Try both weights out and see which works best in your rifle.

Erik D.

I have used a 30.06 on several plains game safaris, as have my wife and boys. We generally load 180g Nosler partitions, which have worked well all the way up to and including eland. I have also used the Barnes 180g TSX in my own 30.06 with great results. These are the standards as far as I am concerned. For some of the open country animals, these loads perform well even at what most would consider long range. I can't imagine how a 220 grain would do better, but I'm sure they work as well.
I vote for sticking with the premium 180 grain loads.

Bill

I just got back from a plains game hunt and used my backup gun, a .308 Win., on 6 of my 8 animals. Being as how it was my backup I didnt have premium ammo just plain old Remington 180 gr. psncl @$15.00 a box. I took Blesbuck, Blue Wildebeast, Duiker, Steenbuck, Zebra, and Red Heartbeast with it. Nothing required a second shot.



I guess that you could say that a .308 is almost in the same catagory as a 30-06 speed wise. Its not a speed deamon and really dosnt require premium bullets for plains game in my opinion. BUT, IF I knew I was going to be using this gun as my main gun I would have had Nosler Partitions for it. From my experiences you can never go wrong with the Noslers, they dish out the licking and keep on ticking. Plus, if your not a reloader you can find these already factory loaded. I would also stick with the 180 for the 06.



Why did I go with my backup gun so much you ask? Because it is a lot shorter and lighter than my magnum and for me it made my day more enjoyable, plus it kicked butt ....

I have five 30/06 rifles of some sort and type at last count.
I have taken a truckload of Texas critters with one and then there were elk, kudu, hartebeest, gemsbok, steinbok, spingbok,impala, warthog, deer of several species and hogs from various countries.
Most have been shot with 180 grn somethings and usually the somethings were 180 Nosler Partions from Federal.
I was a guest at the Sako factory hunt in Finland in 1985 and we killed 32 moose in two days. All with 30/06, 6 power scopes and 180 grn Sako Hammerhead bullets. No moose was lost and few required a second shot. The timber was very thick.
A number of years ago Ross Seyfried wrote a very lengthy story on all the premium bullets available at that time.
In the last paragraph he wrote something close to this, "When all else fails and you can not figure out what to do, buy a box of ammo with Nosler Partitions and stop worrying about it." Seemed sound advice and I took him at his word.
In 40+ years now only one critter has managed to run off...the ever tough Texas whitetail buck.
Long live the "un-romantic" and ever faithful workhorse '06!

You know, It's funny. On other boards your description of the effect of the Hornady Interlock would be considered bullet failure! It didn't stay together and exit. Just my $.02, capt david

Between my two sons and I we have taken 3 tsessebe, 3 warthog, 3 impala, 3 red lechewe and 2 kudu. All were taken with 30-06 factory rounds; federal 180 gr trophy bonded bear claws. I have no qualms about either recommending or using this round.
The rifles were two model 700's and one model 70. They both worked well also.

Use a premium 180 grain bullet and you will have no problems, used 180 grain Federal Nosler Partitions in my 300 win last weekend, shot 3 Kudus with no problems, they work like they are suppose to