Hunting in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming or Idaho, sometimes a "loaner" rifle is needed for somebody who has drawn a big game tag but has little experience and is not a dedicated hunter-shooter at that point. He will probably be with one of my hunting group all the time. Game may include buck or doe antelope or mule deer, and bull or cow elk or moose and the ranges between 35 and 350 yards.

The rifle will be a Mod 98 Mauser sporterized with scope, recoil pad, sling etc. During the season different persons may use the rifle for different game. I do not want to be always re-zeroing because of different bullet weights, I want one bullet weight ( although different types for different game could be used if they hit to the same point of aim)for all. Barrel length is 24 inches.

What specific bullet(s)and weights do you recommend?

Nobody ever went wrong with a 165 or 180 gr. Nosler Partition, although for serious elk or moose hunting I'd probably stick with the 180gr. I see Federal now has the Barnes triple shock, partition and trophy bonded all in '06 180 gr. loads. If you're going to use factory loads none of those would be bad.

Heck, even for handloads it would be tough to beat that lineup.

Nothing wrong with the Nosler Partition 180 grain bullet for a one load for everything in a 30-06 (or a .300 Mag, for that matter). But if it were me, I would try the new 180 grain Accubond. Better ballistic coefficient, probably more accurate, and cheaper than the partitions. I just tried some 140 gr Accubonds in my .270 Winchester Short Magnum and was very impressed with their accuracy. At least as accurate as the Nosler Ballistic Tips that I have been shooting. The word from Nosler and others who have used the Accubonds is that they penetrate and hold together like partitions, but shoot like ballistic tips with more retained energy downrange. My 2� worth. I am going with the Accubond in my .270 short mag for deer and elk. Am confident it will do its' part if I do mine.

If it weren't for the moose I'd suggest 165gr Rem PSPCL bullets. They're relatively inexpensive (practice ammo too) and perform well. Considering the moose, my suggestion is 180gr Rem PSPCL. I don't believe premium (expensive) bullets are needed for a loaner.

Be considerate of the recoil with 180's for a novice shooter.

Good luck.
Bill

Nothing wrong with keeping a good loaner on hand, I do too. Nearly any good 180 grain would do a fine job, but a 165 grain might be a better way to start someone off if thats what it gets used for. Try some 165 grn Speer deep shocks or grand slams. Either are sufficent for every job you mentioned if they are put in the right place.

In the end it might be the rifle that decides what bullet it shoots.

Leanwolf:

Part of me laughed out loud on reading your post. Another part of me (the hunter part) was appalled that anyone wanted to go hunting who couldn't shoot. (I thought it was only some of the Africa "hunters" who couldn't. I am on record in the Africa thread about my opinions of people who don't learn to shoot)) I am struggling to understand how someone could go to your magnificent West and want to hunt a magnificent animal like an elk - and not have paid the animal the compliment of killing him cleanly. (I grew up knowing an old prayer " "Lord, Let me shoot clean and let me kill clean and if I can't kill clean, let me miss clean") In the end, what's to say? The outfitter has to take his clients as he finds them. He keeps his opinion of them to himself. You and I can comment. Personally, I would think, as a matter of pride, that I would not want to shame myself in front of a guide. We all have missed shots. That's not the question. It's not preparing at all that gets me.

One more reason to opt for the 165 grainers vs 180's for a loaner besides less felt recoil is trajectory. For someone who knows their rifle there wont be enough difference to matter, for a loaner there might be though..

I picked up a box of 1000 rem 165 corelokts from Midway. They kill Deer and Elk just fine. I shoot 60 or 61 gns of RL22 in rem or win brass and get around 2730fps. This velocity shoots sub moa in all my 06's. The pressure is low, recoil moderate and your not spending a pile on premium bullets. You could probably switch powders and get another 200fps out of it, but this works for me. I intended to try for 3000fps, but the accuracy came in real good here, so I stopped.



My loaner rifle is a Turk 8mm that I home sporterized. It's soo ugly that I probably wouldn't notice if it got bounced off a rock or two. It does shoot well though.

168 gr. Barnes TSX-BT over h4350 would be my top choice

I have 2 loaners. Both shoot 1" or even better if I do my part. I did'nt expect either to shoot, but they both do. One is a rem m700 in 7mag I picked up for 175.00. It had a 2x7 leo on it too. Seems to shoot everything I feed it. I settled on a 160NP and imr7828. I have lent it to my friends son 3 years in a row and he has taken 2 nice mulies with it. I may give him the gun, but it shoots so good I hate to part with it.
The other is a m77 300wm with 2x7 redfield. 200.00. Scope was junk. I just got it and on my third trip to the range with some very promising loads. 180np and imr4831 or 4350. Both shot 3/4" on the last trip. I need to do that again with the 20 rounds I just loaded up and I'm going to be a happy camper. Its wearing a 6x24 for load development and I have a vxII 3x9 that will go on it when I'm done.
I would not hesitate to use either of these guns myself and am glad they shoot the nosler partitions. They get my vote. I would really like to try the triple shock, but I have all the components and see no reason to stray from the NP, cause it works. Should I get out of the stone age???
As for who I lend my guns too. Not just anyone... They come with all the ammo you want to shoot. If you don't want to come and do some shootin. You won't get to use my gun.
Thanks for introducing more people to this fine sport.

sidewinder

I have a loaner. It's a Rem. 742 in 30-06. Has a Leupold 4X on it and is sighted dead on at 200 yds with storebought Remington 180 gr. Round nose Core-Lokt's. We use it as a backup gun and it'll shoot 5 shots into a beercan at 200 yds. Things can get complicated when you reload for a loaner. An '06 180 gr. bullet is coming out of the tube at about 2750 fps give or take and you can buy a box of Rem Core-lokts just about anywhere. At that bullet speed the core-lokts don't come apart and they penetrate, mushroom and usually perform real well in an Elk body. They will also work on Deer and Lopes too. Just one bullet, one easy to get load and no problems as I see it. Godsdog.

This past week I tried a load in the rifle I'm planning to use as a loaner. It is a Mod 98 WWII sporterized Mauser in 30-06 with all the appropriate modifications. I found that a 200 gr Nosler Accubond in Win cases, with 56.0 gr of AA-3100 and WLR primers at 3.295 OAL gives a 1/2 inch group at 100 yards. With a 24 in barrel, I expect that at +3.0 at 100, it will be +1.6 at 200 and -6.7 at 300. With plenty of energy at these ranges, that looks mighty good to me. I would have tried partitions, but I didn't have any on hand.