i use handloads with 180gr partitions for everything. simplicity in every sense of the word.

quote:

Originally posted by ted thorn:

What is the best grn. wt. bullet for the 30-06 all around. Speed/Energy out to 300 yrds.

I'm not looking for your fav. brand name just your fav. grn. weight.

That's easy....168 grain. Works excellent to 300 yards. I know you didn't mention brand, but I'd put my 168TTSX from my .06 up against any other bullet in 180 on any given suitable game.

It's not just the weight...it's also the BC of the bullet. A flat nose 150 grain bullet is going to lose a lot of it's punch at 300 yards, where a tipped, sleeker 150 grain is going to hit much harder.

For all-around use in the '06, I would agree with the majority that 180 grains is the best bullet weight.

I did have to think about it a while, though.

With the premium bullets we have available today, I am finding that one can drop down a notch in bullet weight and get more velocity and flatter trajectory, while giving up nothing in terminal performance.

Pretty much any 180gr. for me. Even non-premium bullets will do nicely at .30-06 velocities.

165gr with a BTHP after it.
Damn,I always wanted to try those 135s though.

Easy choice for me : 30-06=150 gr accubond
308 win=150 gr accubond
.300 win mag=150 gr accubond
Wayles

For your needs the 165 would be the answer. 180s are for "all around purposes" but I hunt with 165's for everything. Esox357.

Ralph Walker, or Walker Arms in Selma Alabama, wrote an article about this around 20 years ago.

He was using his 30-06 to take around 20 deer a year in lower Alabama. The deer there are probably 120-140 pounds on average, not monsters, and the range was not far.

He was using Sierra 130 HP's. Claimed that frangible bullet was the best, knocked them dead.

I shot a deer with a 125 Hornady SP at less than 50 yards on a spike buck. It was a running shot, the first bullet hit the rear leg just on the hip joint. That wound was devastating, though it took a second shot through the neck to end the animal's suffering. The meat was hamburgered all up and down that leg, had to discard that leg.

You can push a 130 grain bullet in the 30-06 to 100 fps faster than a 270. At 300 yards, it is still going faster.

And yet while folks consider the 130 an excellent choice in the 270, they totally disrespect it in the 30-06.

Best bullet for what????

For me, i just don't believe in one bullet weight for this, another for that... and yet another for something else! Then you have to remember the trajectory ect.. ect.. of each load too...

When i buy a gun, i decide what all i will use that gun for, and choose ONE bullet that will work for everything i will hunt. I then dial it in, and stick with it...

I spent 25 years of my life hunting all over Alaska, and when i was carrying a 30-06 i found no bullet better than a 200NP... It does a good job on everything from small deer on up to moose and big bears.

I consider the 30-06 loaded with 200NP's to be enough gun for anything Alaska has to offer, (at reasonable ranges) and that means it will work anyplace in the lower 48 too.

The 200NP's are very accurate too,



It's the best all around choise for the 30-06 i've found...

DM

I have always believed that if you need more than a 165gr bullet to kill something you probably need more than a 30-06 to launch it with.

as for the 180 out penetrating 165's? if true you are likely using the wrong 165.

That being said I've never recovered a 165 Ballistic tip from a deer... so how far will a 165gr TSX or partition penetrate...

If I "need" more than a 30-06 with a 165gr I go looking for a 338mag loaded with 225's.

AD

When loading for deer/elk...
Use a good bullet and don't worry be happy

I use 165/168 for the 30-06
others
85 for my .243 win
110/130 for the 270 win
120/140 for my 7mm-08
160 for my 7mm RM
130 for my 300 savage
225 for my 358 win
300 for my 450 marlin

165 gr.

have killed or seen killed antelope, deer and elk out to 330 yards with 150-grain. it is all that we load in .30/06 here; having said that, i would not hesitate to use 165-grain as a deer/elk combination.

in general, 180 is ridiculous unless going for moose, elephant or dinosaurs....OR unless they shoot very, VERY well out of a particular rifle.

For deer--150 grain
for moose--150 grain
for anything else--150 grain

quote:

Originally posted by 33806whelen:
yeah, but were talking 308 winchester here. a 180 takes too much space in the case. If hunting moose at short ranges, I might use a 180, anything smaller the 165 gets the nod.

No, we're talking 30-06, not .308 Win. BTW, using W-760 and the 220 gr. Sierra RN will get you 2300 FPS. Accurate load too. Start at42.0 gr. W-760 and work up to 44.0 gr. W-760. (Max load.) I get 2310 FPS and .375" groups from a 22" barreled Win. M70. Note that that is only 100 FPS less than the advetised velocity for a 220 gr. bullet in the 30-06.
In an 18.5" barreled Ruger 77 RSI that saame load delivers 2250 FPS and 1.5" groups. Not bad for something that the "egg-spurts" doesn't work. Rather than believe the BS from some gun writers, try experimenting and finding out for yourself what works and what does not work. You might be surprised.
Now regarding the 30-06, I use 180 gr. Sierra Pro-hunters for deer. For bigger animals the 180 gr. Nosler partitions.
Paul B.