Does anyone shoot small bullets out of their 30-06. I'm talking like, 130gr jobs. The reason I ask is, I'm considering buying a 270 or a 30-06. The 30-06 would give me, powerwise, a little more upward mobility. But what about the lowerend of the 30-06's capability. How does it compare to the 270?

I currently own a Marlin in 45-70, so I got plenty of power when I ever need it at short ranges. I'd like to hunt Antelope someday though, and I think the 270 would be perfect for that. But, what if I get a chance to go Elk hunting. Yes, I know a 270 will take Elk, but I think I'd prefer something with a little more poop, like an 06.

I load a Nosler 125gr. BT in my 30-06AI and have had good luck so far. this is my mid-range load for yotes and hogs. I have used it for goats in west texas and some of the deer around the ranch.

I think a 30-06 is a great all the round gun you can hunt P-Dogs to moose and just about anything you would like.

My Vote is a 30-06 if it counts.

Doc

You could always compromise and get a 280.They work well with bullets as light as 120gr and are suitable for elk and moose with premium bullets in the 160 to 175gr range.

I shot a few deer and some plainsgame with the 130 gr. Barnes X and the 130 gr. Speer and they worked fine. ( I think they were 130, perhaps 125, don't recall exactly)

But, I think I will stay with the 180 Nosler for all my 06 shooting...

Cat, I've shot every weight bullet made for the 30/06 and some that weren't made for it, so for once I feel fairly qualified to answer a question.

Yes, the 125/130 grain bullets will work on deer, especially if you use the premium stuff like Atkinson. I've been more of the cheap devil and shot Sierra, Hornady and Speer. My feelings for this practice is this: From the /06 these light bullets are best relegated to varmint loads as they often tend to be pretty explosive...UNLESS you want to go with some of the high dollar bullets that are designed NOT to blow up.

If I were going to get a deer rifle and had to stay with 130gr bullets, I think I would go with a .270. Don't ask me why. But if it's this "upward mobility" you want to keep, then by all means go for the /06. I generally think of anything below 150grs in an /06 as a varmit bullet. Certainly they will kill the dickens out of deer with the lighter bullets but meat loss can be horrific. JMHO

I've used the 125 Noz Bt a bit in the 06 for deer and lopes.

But I am with Ray a 180 Hornady or Noz PT for my 06 hunting.

"GET TO THE HILL"

Dog

When you said small bullets I thought maybe you were speeking of 110gr'ers. I found a load for a new(to me) FN mauser I came into a couple of months ago. Sighted 3ins. high at 100yds. with 150gr. bullets the Speer 110s hit about an inch high.
I shoot a deer once in a while when I'am out coyote calling and if the buck dosn't give me the time to slip in a 150 then I'll shot the 110s.
No dought either way I'll have to lug venison back to my little blue mule(Toyota).

Mark, I did find a load with the 180gr. bullet that hit 2800fps. out of a 22in. barrel and 3045fps. with the 150gr.
call em in close_____Pete

The Speer 130gr. hollow point is explosive on ground hogs as are Nosler 125gr. BT's in the .30/06. Wouldn't use either on anything bigger than a coyote.

Don't forget the factory 55 grn Accelorator's when you can find them.

Guess the question I would ask is how far out would you shoot an antelope? Other question would be if you intend to shoot smaller stuff with the "little bullets"?

As others have mentioned, the 125-130 grain bullets from most all makers are meant as varmint/very light game bullets. The Sierra manual shows a recovered 125 grainer taken from a deer, but the deer was shot over 200 yards away IIRC. Shoot one at 50 yards with the same bullet and hit bone on the way in and I don't think the bullet would look so pretty.

But it is not trick at all to get 3000 fps from a 150 grain bullet out of a .30-06 with safe handloads. The 150 grain is the "classic" deer and antelope weight for the '06.

Run the trajectory numbers between a 150 grainer from an '06 at 3000 fps and a 130 grainer from a .270 going 150 fps more and you can see that in the real world there is no practical difference in trajectory until you stretch things out past 400 yards. Even at 400 yards the difference in trajectory is only about 3", with a 250 yard zero that means 14" below line of sight for the .270 vs. about 17" for the '06. With either one you have to hold up a bit to hit at that range. You can juggle the sight in ranges somewhat to change these numbers but the relative comparison remains the same.

The .270 is a crackerjack mule deer and antelope rifle, I like it a whole lot. But, JMHO, the '06 IS about the most versatile thing you are going to find out there. And a final FWIW, if you ever gravitate toward the "one gun one load" philosophy, I'll second or third the notion that you won't find a much more versatile bullet than the 180 grain Nosler Partition. It works just fine for little does at 40 yards to elk out beyond 200 and I know that for a fact.

I guess the lightest load I�ve ever tried in the 30-06 is an old Norma pistolbullet, about 93 grains, with a light load of norma 200, velocity around 2800 fps. Its a perfect gameload for fox and other smaller varmints. The bullets are avaliable both FMJ and lead tipped. I�d go for the -06 and the added versatility of shooting bullets up to and around 220 grains.

I would always get the 30/06 first. In fact most of us got rid of the 45-70's back in the 1890's when the 30/30 came out!

When I only had a .222 and a 30/06 I loaded the 125 gr Sierra for long range varmints. It was all I had that had any power for long range chucks. Once I bagged a chuck with a richocet. The 125 Sierra is very accurate.

Hello : I have a 30/06AI that I shoot everything down to 130 grains with. I have no trouble shooting 130 grain bullets and moving back up to 150, 165, 180 or larger. The 06 will handle all the weights fine with the exception of 110 grains. I have not tried these but have read negative reports about them. Take care and enjoy your 06.

I have loaded 110 Speers, 125 Remingtons, and 125 Nosler BT's. The only ones that shoot worth a hoot are the BT's. I have had some exceptional groups with them. 150's don't give up anything to the 125's on their trajectory. They buck the wind better and are properly constructed for deer sized game. There is a minimal difference in recoil between 150's and 125's.

Paul