Hello everyone,

I'm putting together a 30-06 load for a friend to hunt Wisconsin deer. Mostly it will be a brush load, but there are chances to take a shot up to 300 yards too.

My friend is fairly new to hunting, and I want to make sure he doesn't "blow up" a lighter weight bullet. And because he won't be doing a lot of shooting during the year (though I want to encourage him to shoot a lot!), I want to use an accurate bullet. Also, because we're only talking Whitetails, I don't think he needs a premium, at least not at conventional '06 velocities.

All that said, I'm thinking about a round-nose 180 grainer.

I did a brief search...and Hornady looks good. But I'm also wondering about Speer's rendition? It has a little better b.c., while still exposing a lot of lead at the tip. Some have found it "a little hard," though, which concerns me on sub 200 lb. Whitetail.

What would you use?

Thanks!

friar

p.s. cross-posted in Big-game and Reloading

For someone who won't shoot a lot 300 yards is a long way.

Why not try a 165 grain load? He'll get a little less recoil and maybe shoot it more often. The Hornady 165 grain spire point had worked well in a lot of 30 caliber guns.

Load up some Nosler 165 gr BT's.
More than enough bullet to drop a WT deer in their tracks.
The secret is to keep the impact velocity below 3000fps. With a 30-06, you are below this velocity and expansion will be just fine up close or way out there.
You can also buy factory seconds direct from Nosler's Shooters Pro Shop.

Regards,

JD338

I have used the Speer 180 grain RN.. In fact, I prefer it over the Sierra and Hornady... but excellent bullets....

I wouldn't worry about it being too hard on Minnesota sized whitetails...I have dropped a few with it... zero problems....

I also use it a lot in my 30/40 Krag... and it is very very accurate in that rifle... as accurate as the Sierra 190 Match Bullets in the Krag... open sites, 100 yds & 200 yds....

cheers
seafire

quote:

Originally posted by Fjold:
For someone who won't shoot a lot 300 yards is a long way.

Why not try a 165 grain load? He'll get a little less recoil and maybe shoot it more often. The Hornady 165 grain spire point had worked well in a lot of 30 caliber guns.

excellent choice.

Think the 180 RNs are a great idea. Why not get a box of each below - Its always a good idea to try the factory load your trying to duplicate.

Remington's 30-06 Springfield, R30064, 180 Core-Lokt, SP

Winchester's 30-06 Springfield, X30064, 180 gr. Super-X® Power-Point®

quote:

Originally posted by B17G:


I wouldn't worry about it being too hard on Minnesota sized whitetails...I have dropped a few with it... zero problems....



cheers
seafire

Hay Hay, Take that back! Them Wisconsin deers is puny compared our Minnesota Monsters.

Thanks everyone for the comments, I appreciate your thoughts!

Certainly you're right, Fjold--300 is a long shot, and then some. The more I think about it, I suspect my friend won't take a poke at anything more than 150 or 200 yards off.

And, alas! I knew, Ray, that someone would point out the practical wisdom of the Rem & Winchester loads...certainly, they would work in a pinch . But, winter is getting long here, and Nagzilla (God bless her!) finds too much for me to do if I don't run off to the reloading room.

Again, many thanks everyone!

friar

quote:

Originally posted by JD338:
Load up some Nosler 165 gr BT's.
More than enough bullet to drop a WT deer in their tracks.
The secret is to keep the impact velocity below 3000fps. With a 30-06, you are below this velocity and expansion will be just fine up close or way out there.

I agree on the Nosler 165BT's, but IMPACT speed below 3000rpm? how about MV below 2800fps for use inside 200yds

I'd load 165gr BT's because loaded down you can get them moving more slowly than 150's
I load them down to 2700fps (49.0gr IMR4064) for hog hunting with a Semi-auto rifle.

For a bolt action rifle I'd suggest working up a load with IMR4350 to drive them to about 2800fps.
this will take 57.0gr of IMR4350

you might also try RL19 starting around 58-59gr and working up..

My favorite load for my bolt action 30-06 is a stout load
of RL22. I managed (with a L O N G droptube) to get about a grain more RL22 into a once fired neck sized case than Nosler did in their testing.
that propellant charge with a 165gr ballistic tip moves out of my 22" barrel at 3045fps and shoots into about
3/4"@100yds

Put one of these into the close side shoulder of a yearling whitetail doe and the results are impressive
Though not if you want to eat the shoulders.
I find that a Barnes X-bullet makes a lot less of a mess.

But I'm waiting for Nosler to add a 165gr accubond to
their product list.

If your friend is recoil shy try using a 150 gr. hornaday RN at 25-2600 fps. The 150 gr. or the 180 Gr. RN at at a lower fps will do well out to the ranges you mentioned. Meat damage with the RN bullet at lower velocities will be minimal.

I have killed a couple of deer in a 300 Win Mag with 180 Sierra Round Nose bullets loaded down to 30-06 velocities. that bullet worked great.

Also in my 308's and my wifes 30-06 drilling the 165 Sierra HPBT Gameking has been an excellent bullet.

You really can't go wrong with anything mentioned. I prefer lighter premium bullets in the '06 myself. The 150 partition and accubond have both been great.

I you do want to heavy and blunt look at the 170 flatpoint partition or the 185 Lapua Mega. The Lapua is a semipointed, but does shoot very well.

Gabe

The only .308 180gr RN's I've ever used were Hornady's. They shot so well I never saw the need to try anything else.

One thing that really surprized me is how fast these type bullets run out stream down range. I've since switched back to 165gr spritzers because of that.

One thing I would suggest is if this is what you want to do and If you actually think you may get a shot at 300yds with them, go shoot a few at that range. I found they didn't shoot anywhere near where the ballistic chart said they would. At 400yds, mine shot about 10"-12" lower than the chart suggested! Your mileage may vary.

On the plus side, they would group in clover leaves @100yds out of my .300H&H

Terry

I personally like the 180gr RN idea quite a bit. I like the Hornady 180gr myself and am using them in my .308 truck gun. At modest velocities you won't see huge amounts of wasted meat, and if your friend isn't going to practice at distance then the ballistic advantages of lighter bullets are a mute point.

Should he decide to do more practice and stretch shots out a bit, you may take the advice for the 165gr HPBT. Very accurate and very deadly. It will outperform the Nosler BT generally. I really like IMR4350 and H4831sc in the '06. Nate

quote:

Originally posted by friarmeier:
Thanks everyone for the comments, I appreciate your thoughts!

...

And, alas! I knew, Ray, that someone would point out the practical wisdom of the Rem & Winchester loads...certainly, they would work in a pinch . But, winter is getting long here, and Nagzilla (God bless her!) finds too much for me to do if I don't run off to the reloading room.

Again, many thanks everyone!

friar

friar,

Take a look at the tests below. Notice how well the Remington CL 180 RN's performed! They started expanding at about 1,500 FPS terminal velocity and continued all the way to 3,100 FPS without any jacket seperation!

30 Caliber Best Bullets

Decisions, decisions!

The joy of reloading...now if I could only FIND a supply of the Remington 180 Rnsers, I could do a little shoot off between them, the Hornadys, and the Speers.

The point is well taken that, until my friend spends some time pulling the trigger, he really should stay inside 200 yards. About 95% of the deer we see in Wisconsin are well inside that mark.

Again, thank you--and that is a great chart, assuming it's the really big one with about 40 different bullets listed.

Friar

Don't forget the 180 Winchester Power Points. They have performed excellently on w/t deer from my .30'06, killing quickly without a lot of bloodshot meat.

quote:

Originally posted by friarmeier:
Decisions, decisions!

The joy of reloading...now if I could only FIND a supply of the Remington 180 Rnsers, I could do a little shoot off between them, the Hornadys, and the Speers.

...

Friar

Yeah, I wish I could find some Rem 180 RNs, too. Easy to find bulk packs of the pointed CoreLokts but I've never run across the RNs. PM me if you ever find some - I want'em in .308/180 RNs and .277/150 RNs.

friar, I've used 180 RN bullets on Maine and NH white tails for years. They work great at the close ranges we usually get here. I'm shooting them out of .308 win and 30-06, with muzzel velocity running about 2500-2650 fps. I use the hornady version since remingtons aren't available as components, and the others don't seem to shoot as well in my guns. As you noted, the large area of exposed lead allows good expansion, and the bullets won't blow big holes through the edible sections. Drop at 200 yards isn't bad either if the rifle is sighted 1.5-2" high at 100 yds. Good luck and post your results when you get a chance.

quote:

I agree on the Nosler 165BT's, but IMPACT speed below 3000rpm? how about MV below 2800fps for use inside 200yds

Alan,

I'm not sure what you mean by 3000rpm?
My statement was in general terms, meaning the BT's bullets impact speed should be under 3000 fps.
The 165 gr bullets MV would be under 3000 fps anyways so bullet blowup wouldn't be a problem.
Best to keep the BT's away from the shoulder bones too.
BTW, Nosler is going to offer a 308 cal 165 gr AB later this year.

Regards,

JD338

I hunted whitetails in Michigan from 1961 till '90 when I moved to Wyoming....my all time favorite whitetail load in the '06 is... 170 gr hornady flat points pushed by 46.5 gr IMR4895.. book said about 2600fps.. (didn't have a chrony).. but lots of whitetail never moved after taking a hit.. grouped excellently.. HTH.. Les

I'm a little surprised that only one person posted briefly on a 150 gr. bullet. It may be old hat or passe(not trendy) but a whole lot of deer , incluing large mulies, have been taken with the 30-06 using NON premium 150 gr. bullets traveling between 2650 to 2900 fps.

A WWII B17 pilot veteran friend of mine use to pull the bullets from 06 military ammo and replace it with Speer 150 gr. bullets. Every year he got at least one Elk and many deer. He said he never lost an Elk. He and another acquantace of mine for a short time just ground the tips off the mil. bullets.

When I was carrying an 06, living in Colorado, the 150 was my go to bullet for deer, 180 for Elk : didn't need anything MORE than that. Could not afford Noslers but always liked them.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the 150 ain't no pansy ,guys. roger