I have no tools or knowledge to reload, so I'm sticking to factory loads at the moment. If money was no issue, what is the very best factory round available in 30-06, soft point, any weight from 150 to 200 grains? It could be American or foreign. By Best that I mean consistent performance and accuracy, and good brass that will eject reliably every time. Thank you

Targets, deer, elk, Africa?

No Africa. Dear and hog mostly. Thank you

Federal Blue Box soft points have always been accurate for me no matter the caliber.

JG Raiders suggestion is good and I agree. I've also found the Winchester Silver box ammo very reliable and accurate as well, If you want an upgrade in ammo Winchester Supreme (black box) is great stuff.
You need to figure out what weight bullet and brand of ammo your rifle really likes. Any weight 150, 165, 180 will work fine for what you are hunting just find something accurate in your rifle.

Agree with Snellstrom.

I like Winchester branded ammo as well, but most U.S. manufactured ammo is far better than it was 40 or so years ago. And most offer loadings with premium bullets, if that's your thing.

You need to do some experimenting and determine what brand/load your rifle prefers, and as Snellstrom said, anything in the 150-180 grain range should work for your intended purpose.

I'd go with Barnes Vor-tx or Remington with A-frames.

If your rifle shoots the Barnes TTSX bullet well I have found the Barnes Vortex ammo to be very accurate and consistent. The thing to remember is that monometal bullets act like heavier class bullets. If you like 180 grain cup and core rounds then use the 165 grain Barnes. Your rifle will either love them or hate them....won't take long to find out.

In the 30,06
For versatility i like 165 grain bullets. I would start with Any quality load. Hornady is good for me !
...tj3006

I have found the Norma USA ammo to be consistent, reliable and very accurate from box-to-box with both their Oryx and Kalahari bullets.

For deer and hogs I'd use 180 grain Rem Corelocts.

quote:

Originally posted by Dthfrmbv:
I have found the Norma USA ammo to be consistent, reliable and very accurate from box-to-box with both their Oryx and Kalahari bullets.

Ditto - though I've only used Oryx and Alaska.
If all else fails, the Norma Oryx has been my fallback ammo for a good time now.

For best brass - use Lapua.
For deer and hog the Mega oughta do the job plenty well - for bigger, go Naturalis.

- Lars/Finland

Adrian, expense doesn't always increase accuracy, it all depends on the harmonics of your individual barrel. Oftentimes a simple inexpensive load like the Remington Core-Lokt will shoot better than a premium brand in your rifle. Try as many typed of factory ammunition as you can, and one will shoot as well as a good handload.

Biebs nails it.

For deer and hogs, whatever shoots best in your rifle will work. When I bought my last 30-06 I sighted in with Winchester inexpensive silver box 150 grain rounds. They proved so accurate, I just have not looked farther. They killed my 200# hog just as dead as if it had been premium.

I usually start with the two mentioned by JGRaider and Snellstrom. If Federal and Winchester don't work, I assume I have another problem.

quote:

Adrian, expense doesn't always increase accuracy, it all depends on the harmonics of your individual barrel. Oftentimes a simple inexpensive load like the Remington Core-Lokt will shoot better than a premium brand in your rifle. try as many typed of factory ammunition as you can, and one will shoot as well as a good handload.

Yup. My M70 30 06 liked Federal 180 TSX, then Rem Core_lokt, then Rem with the Swift A-Frame. All good enough for hunting, but the Federal performed the best. I've yet to hand load for it because I have a bunch of the factory.

Remington accu-tips through a rem. 700. Very noticeable difference from the regular cor-loks.

quote:

Remington accu-tips through a rem. 700. Very noticeable difference from the regular cor-lok

Maybe, maybe not....depends on what the gun likes. Hey, welcome to AR, Tomahawker!

I have had good luck with Federal 180 loaded with Nosler partitions. Not sure if they still load them.

Hornady factory ammo; SSTs for deer

I suspect ANY Factory loaded 150 gr. ammo will suit your purpose just fine..Deer and pigs don't require the super bullets, in fact, the softer cup and core bullets work perhaps a bit better IMO.

I have used more WW power points than any other bullet, but the Rem Corelokt has always served me as well. I have used both bullets on deer and elk and probably Antelope, and no regrets.

Remington CoreLokt, or Hornady SST would both work well. Most rifle's will shoot them reasonably well.