what grain 30-06 do you shoot?

[PaulB84]

I've put everything from 150s to 220s through my model 70, it shoots everything very well. I want to find a load and stick with it..... whats the best blend of knockdown and trajectory? Prob dont need anything heavier than 180s, maybe that is even too much. According to Chuck Hawks, 150s and 180s give a max point blank range of 287 and 269 yards respectively and about 2.5" high at 100 yards. Had a GREAT range day today with Remington corelokt 165gr. Is 165 a good compromise between 150s and 180? or is it an oddball weight that should be avoided? I'd like to be able to make 300 yards my max range for a whitetail-vitals size target (8"-10"?) without giving up the ability to take shots under 100 yards.

PS the way my gun handled the 220s makes me wonder about twist rates...im 99% sure mine is 1:10....it seems that if it handles the heavier rounds that well, then thats what I should shoot?? Seems that the traditional 150-165 gr would do even better out of a 1:12, though they seem just fine out of every 30-06 ive ever shot. ive heard that 30-06/.308 are very forgiving when it comes to bullet weight and twist rate...comments?

[45/70fan]

165 gr is a good blend of bullet wt and velocity, that said I've always used 150 gr spitzers for everything including elk, mule/WT deer and black bear out to 200 yds or less. The 150's are more limited for long range, I used them on antelope and coyote but hesitate to recommend for larger game. Is it a long range choice for WT deer, 165's might be a tad better for long range energy retention 200+ yd.
If all I had available were 150 gr loads and a shot presented itself on an elk at 300 yrd I would definitely take the shot as long as I could put it in the heart/lungs. Knowing that the potential for long range shots were possible then I would definitely use the 165's for my general use cartridge.
When you get over the 165's then excessive bullet drop becomes problematic (180 +gr) unless you really know the rifle/cartridge combination. 200 and 220 gr's are great for those relatively close shots on really big game, over elk sized game in my mind.
The original military 30-06 Gov't round was based on the 165/168 gr bullet if that helps.

[badriverbarber]

My Winchester m 70 Loves the Remington 165gr.coreloks
I zero in at 200 and its 2 1/2 in high at 100.
After that I just leave everything alone.
I shot any and every thing at that setting.

[PaulB84]

The original military 30-06 Gov't round was based on the 165/168 gr bullet if that helps.

:yeahthat:

Badriver what you say corresponds EXACTLY with the paper numbers Ive read, which is pretty amazing. I think I'm gonna run the 165's for a while and see how I like it...After watching my cousin drop a 160lber in november with a 130gr .270 shooting winchester supremes, so I'm not worried about knocking down deer, but I would like the potential for more without changing my setup by much. Do you use the Corelokts for hunting? is there any reason to step up to a pricier round in the same weight? The winchester supremes are very impressive, never tried them in my gun though. Remington also makes premium quality 165/168s. I had it loaded with 180 gr Winchester CXP 2's or 3's all last year. Like that round alot, maybe ill try it or the remington ultras in a 165 or 168....thoughts?

[Ol` Joe]

The 165/168 gr bullets are the most logical choice but, who picks a bullet just because the numbers show it to be best?
I like 150gr in my Sauer and 180s in my MRI just because they are the bullet that shoots most accurate in that particular rifle..
Never had a animal complain the bullet wasn`t good enough yet ;-)

[Ol` Joe]

The original military 30-06 Gov't round was based on the 165/168 gr bullet if that helps.


I always thought the 06 started with the same 220 gr bullet as the old 30-40 Krag when it was 1st developed and known as the 30-03 and later went to a 170/180gr (172gr?) around the start of the 1st WW until WW2 when the army went to 150 gr bullets to lower recoil....I could be mistaken though.

[joe_robi]

i use 5000gr bullets:hide:

[PaulB84]

The 165/168 gr bullets are the most logical choice but, who picks a bullet just because the numbers show it to be best?
I like 150gr in my Sauer and 180s in my MRI just because they are the bullet that shoots most accurate in that particular rifle..
Never had a animal complain the bullet wasn`t good enough yet ;-)

By numbers I meant trajectory, drop, POI etc not bullet performance on game. Its reassuring to hear firsthand what the ammo companies put out is right on.

as far as I can tell, after shooting corelokts in 150, 165, 180 and 220, the groupings are nearly identical (obviously POI is different) so it comes down to personal choice, which is so cool (and rare) when a gun gives you that option instead of only doing its best work with one type of ammo :)

[pkuptruck]

winchester supreme 168 grain.

never an issue, and ALWAYS the correct outcome. :batman:

[postban]

I always thought the 06 started with the same 220 gr bullet as the old 30-40 Krag when it was 1st developed and known as the 30-03 and later went to a 170/180gr (172gr?) around the start of the 1st WW until WW2 when the army went to 150 gr bullets to lower recoil....I could be mistaken though.

Yer not.

[justbehindit]

You really won't see what your rifle is truly capable of doing without matching the powder type and weight with the bullet type and weight. To do that you need to reload your own and experiment.

Typically I loaded the 150 gr or165 gr Sierra Game King on top of IMR 4350. I don't remember the powder weight as it's been a long time since I shot a lot of 06 but that combination was deadly.

The 220 isn't normally necessary unless you are hunting some very large game like black bear, and need the extra knock down power.

[miked]

I primarily use mine for hunting. I've always used Remington 180 grain loads.

[fishnpbr]

I don't reload but get excellent accuracy and terminal performance on deer with 150 gr Remington Core Lokt factory ammo.

[ajmorell]

In the past (before I started reloading) I had decent luck with the 168 grain CXP2 Winchester Ballistic Silver Tips. Now that I'm handloading I'm shooting 165 grain Speer SPBT over around 47 grains of H4895. I think the 165 is about the perfect bullet for the -06. I plan on using this primarily as a deer gun. If I was going to take an elk or blackbear I would probably work up a 180 grain round with something like a Nosler Partition.

[PaulB84]

I'm not a reloader, so I'll be relying on factory loads. I realize tailoring a load to the gun is the only way to squeeze every bit of accuracy out of it, but that's not the point of this gun. If I can shoot 2 MOA consistently out to 300 yards with good terminal effect on game I will be MORE than happy (and pretty impressed with myself too :). Headed to the range in a few, will be shooting 100,200 and 300 yard. Currently I have 3 boxes of the 165gr corelokts and 1 box of 150gr CXP2s. We'll see how it goes, yesterday at 100 yards the corelokts were shooting TIGHT.

PS The 168's were good enough for Carlos :getsum: For a whitetail load I think I'm going to get some Remington Premier and Winchester Supreme in 168 and start there. I will prob also mess with a 180-220 just for the hell of it once I have the lighter bullets sighted in and can make easy adjustments. thanks
guys :salute:

PPS- Any comments RE twist rate at the end of my OP would be appreciated!

[Ol` Joe]

<snip>
PPS- Any comments RE twist rate at the end of my OP would be appreciated!

I feel we over think the twist thing. The factories have got the std twist they use down pretty well after the last 100 yrs and unless one is useing bullets at the extreme ends of the wgts available - say 110gr or 240 gr in a .30 caliber - you should never notice a difference in stability.

Over spinning a bullet doesn`t come into play until they are approching the speed of sound, and that`s a long way out with most high powder rifle cartridges today. Or they may come unglued if the jackets aren`t up the RPM they develope like people found the light weight Speer TNTs or Sierra 40gr Blitz King doing in 1/7" twists.

Under stabilization is more trouble but, even there the velocity of some cartridges will keep a bullet pointed right under most conditions. Concider you can usually stabilize a 69/70 gr bullet in a 223 with a 1-9 twist or a 175gr from a 1/9 in standard 7mm cartridge like the 7-08. It is only when you try a 80gr .224 bullet in your 20" AR or something like the 180gr Berger VDL in your 7-08 you have problems. These are not normal bullets for most people and are limited mostly to match shooters who have their rifles built specificly to handle them.

[SMUDGE]

180

[SMUDGE]

180 Remington core lokt

[sevenplusone]

I roll my own, mine shoots 150gr bullets really well so that's what I stick with.

[cmr]

I use 165gr Hornady SP's with H414 powder.

[Shooter McNasty]

My Parker Hale 1200 shoots Remmy Green Box and Mil Surp Ball exactly the same. I like to practic shooting lying down, knelling ect. Little cheaper to shoot Surplus Ball then factory ammo.

Really cant go wrong anywhere with a 30/06

Have you tried shooting 125 grn bullets??

[Done Deal]

Remington 150 gr Core Lokt's shoot just fine out of my 742 Carbine at anything u/300 yards.

[PaulB84]

Was up north this weekend when I started this post. Found a family friend who has a no-**** range in his back yard. Spent about 5 hours shooting at every target and object we could find. Very proud to say that at 200 verified yards (longest range Ive ever got to shoot at) I went 18/20 on 4" hanging steel plates (playing HORSE with my cousin and his savage .270...lemme tell you cuz can shoot :) Some were just barely hits right at the outside, but a hit is a hit as they say. Ive put all of maybe 150 rounds downrange with this gun, only about 40 since the new stock. I was shooting 165gr corelokts. It is dead on at 100 yards and drops about 2-2.5" at 200 yards...I'm impressed. I desperately want to find at least a 200-300 yard range here in SEMI and rezero for MPBR (im thinking roughly 3" high at 100 should give me zero holdover at up to 300) This long range stuff is FUN!

[ro2]

I got to the point where my favorite was a sierra 168 gr hpbt

[PaulB84]

I got to the point where my favorite was a sierra 168 gr hpbt

have heard really good stuff about Sierra, never shot any. I'm not a reloader, does anyone know if there is a factory round that uses Sierra bullets?

[Ol` Joe]

have heard really good stuff about Sierra, never shot any. I'm not a reloader, does anyone know if there is a factory round that uses Sierra bullets?

http://www.federalpremium.com/products/rifle.aspx

http://www.federalpremium.com/products/rifle.aspx

Actually any of the "tipped" bullets like the A or V-Max, Ballistic Tip, etc, are very similar to hollow points in design. They are basicly a "hollow point" with a added light wgt plastic plug that keeps their wgt to the rear, very concentric jackets, improved BC due to the sharp tip plus, tip helps them expand at velocities quite a bit lower then a std hollow point. For hunting they are IMHO a much better choice then a HP.
The Sierra soft points though are very accurate and perform well on deer in my limited experience. They don`t hold together as well as a Partition or bonded core bullet and are condemned by many because of it. People have taken animals for a hundred years though with similar bullets and I don`t recall my dad or any of my relatives complaining about bullets not working when I grew up..