I need help from all the experts. I am planning on going on a hog hunt with my 30-06 Encore and don't reload for rifle. Anyone have any knowledge of good factory rounds as far as accuracy and maybe velocity? Any answers would be greatly appreciated. And by the way this site is amazing. I have been handgun hunting for years, mainly SBH's. Got a 44 encore 15" when they first came out and now I'm hooked.

My Encore is a rifle and none of my '06s are handguns but my default load is the Federal Premium 180 grain Nosler Partition. IIRC Federal offers the Trophy Bonded bullet in that weight as well. Good hunting!

Anyone at all... Can you recommend any factory rounds that proform just ok in a 15".

Every barrel is a rule unto itself. What may perform superbly in one may shoot like crud in another. At the reduced velocity that the 15" barrel will be operating at, any of the 150 or 165 grain offerings should penetrate adequately to take care of a hog. I'd go for the 165s, though. Personally, if I had to shoot factory ammo, I'd probably start with Hornady and work from there.

Thanks. I am all to well versed in picky barrels. I was looking for a factory load that lends itself more to the 15" barrel. Powder burn rate that is better in 15" than product B.ect... Thankyou again.

You can't count on the same powder being used for any length of time in any given factory load. Factories often blend powders, and whatever gives a certain range of velocity and accuracy within a targeted pressure range will be what is poured into the cases.

682: The powder that gives the most velocity in rifle length barrels will also give the most velocity in a 15" barrel, so you needent be too concerned about velocity. Let the accuracy be your guide.

In short barrels with heavy for caliber bullets, the least velocity loss will occur with slow powders. Peak pressures are usually reached before the bullet travels a couple of inches. Choose a bullet load combination that has a high bullistic coeficient and that will reliably expand at your terminal velocity. As Bobby said, the 150s through 165s are excellent...Rusty.

A bud of mine had a factory 15 30-06 barrel and used the Hornady Light Magnum ammo with good success and accuracy. Ditto to what has been mentioned above.

A couple weeks ago a non-reloading friend brought me the jacket base of a factory .30-06, 165 gr Rem PSP core-lokt he used to shoot a 120 lb doe in the neck. He said the bullet hit the bottom of a vertabra and disintegrated blowing a 3" hole in the deer's neck. It was a bang/flop so it clearly did it's job. I was pretty disappointed in the bullet's performance since I had turned him on to the rounds many years ago. On the other hand, any other bullet could not have killed the deer deader.

My son had a .458 300 gr Rem HP fail to penetrate a smallish doe last year from a 450 Marlin. The bullet went thru the ribs and blew up destroying the lungs and heart. Again....bang/flop...it was very surprising that the bullet did not make it thru the animal providing an exit wound. Same thing...dead is dead, but I have my eye on Remington core-lokts now..........

quote:

My son had a .458 300 gr Rem HP fail to penetrate a smallish doe last year from a 450 Marlin. The bullet went thru the ribs and blew up destroying the lungs and heart.

Any idea what velocity the handloaded bullet was traveling at on impact?

mb,

It was a 50 yds shot and not a hot load, so I'd put impact velocity at about 1800 fps which should be well within the design limits.

I had a Hornady 250 gr XTP out of my Savage ML 10 do the same thing at about the same speed, but it DID exit in a raking cross body shot. Too much meat lost for no reason. I'm thinking about going to hard cast for next year or dropping down to my 45 cal shooting 40 cal bullits....these deer come apart too easy!!

I have a 15" 06 encore barrel with a http://www.probed2000.com muzzle brake but I only load up to 150 grain bullets with 55gr of H4831, my rifle loads of 165gr nos or sierra with 59gr of imr 4831 with a fed 215 primer are a bit noisy.I check http://www.noslershop.com reloading section regularly for their factory 130,150 & 165gr seconds in solid base bullets,bt's and partitions.Most accurate bullet in my 06 sako rifle is the 165gr nos solid base guess I'll load some for my encore 15" pistol barrel and see what happens.

I have to go with mb on this one and say that any Nosler partition will get the job done at most any reasonable velocity. I have friends very happy with Federal premiums. I structure my handguns and those I hunt with around Nosler bullets because the bullets will open at handgun velocities.

My wife shoots a 165gr partition from her Encore 06 handgun.