30-06 bullet for elk size game?

[KYODE]

i'm cutting down a 300 win mag barrel to 16.5", and expect to get approximate 06 rifle balistics from it. :shock:
what bullet choices do ya like for elk/deer out of the 30-06?

[Mikey]

KYODE:  I prefer the 180 grn in the 06 for all my work.  The only time I change my mind is when I want to shoot long range, in which case I will go to a 190 gn bullet, or when I am going to hunt really big and heavy or dnagerous critters - then I will use a 200 or 220 grain bullet.  HTH.  Mikey.

[Reloader]

If I had to stick with one bullet for both I would load up a 180 grain Nosler Partitions and not look back.

However, on the Blacktail deer around here, which are not big bodied I prefer to shoot 165 grain bullets.

[Thebear_78]

180gr Partion!!!

[Paul Barnard]

Yep, 180 Partition.

300 Mag and a 16.5" barrel?  Can you spell MUZZLE BLAST?

[SAWgunner]

For Elk, 180 grain definitely. I would stay with a Fail Safe or X-Bullet. I have seen alot of easterners shooting Ballistic Tips, Core Lockeds, etc. that are fine on deer, but have problems with elk. Since you do not live in Elk Country, I am betting that you do not want to lose that elk you get a shot at. Stay with the premium bullets.


SAWgunner

[longshotmiller1]

ive killed several elk with the 180 hornady interlock boattail. ive never had a bad bullet from those guys. im not going to knock nosler that partition is a great bullet. but you can buy 100 honadys for the price of 50 noslers and it is every bit as good of a bullet. it wont let you down. i was shooting that 180 hornady in a 300 h&h mag when i was living in idaho and even at 3000 feet per second and point blank range it dropped elk like they was hit by lightning and fantastic weight retention and structual integrity

[leverfan]

I use Nosler Partitions for hunting with my 30-06.  The 180 grain bullets are probably the best all-around, but I'll be heading out this season after black tail with 150 grain Nosler Partitions.  

It makes sense to practice with cheaper bullets, but after spending over $70 for various fees and licenses, along with the cost of my gun, the gas I'll be burning in my Jeep, hunting clothes, etc., I'm not going to sweat paying a little more for my bullets.  Partitions give me a little extra confidence in the field, and while it may be a purely hypothetical performance edge, I'll take it.

[Dusty Miller]

Hey Reloader, what kind of black tail deer roam your part of the country that require a 165gr. bullet?!!  They must be a LOT bigger than those scrawny little things that we find in the California coastal range.

[Reloader]

I would hazard a guess that the blacktails up here are every bit as scrawny as yours.  I don't think a 165 grain bullet is required but they have always shot decently in my 30-06's and were the first bullets that my father reloaded for my deer hunting.  Come to think of it, I have several boxes of 150's around but I've never done much with them.
What kind of poison are you using down there? :-D

[35Whelen]

i'm cutting down a 300 win mag barrel to 16.5",

 Ummm....are you serious? Do you have any idea what the muzzle blast and muzzle flash will be like from a 16 1/2" 300 Win Mag barrel?? If your ballistics do match a 30-06's, I'll be surpurised because with a case that large, in a barrel that short, you're going to be blowing an incredible amount of powder out of the barrel (hence, the large muzzle flash you'll experience)
  Oh well, to each is own!!
    Greg

[KYODE]

yep.....serious as a heart attack. then....to beat it all........i'm gonna use it in handgun configuration. :eek:

in reloading for it, i hope to find a good compromise. all powders will not act the same, as far as muzzle flash/blast.

i'm sure it will not be super efficient, but will still be a VERY powerful handgun. :wink:

[swecology]

Try a Hornady SST or Interbond SST.  Also consider a Sierra 180 gr.  3/4" groups or better out of my '06 with both.  

FWIW, I'm not a big fan of Noslers, I think they are over-rated as I have gotten better, more consistent accuracy and terminal performance out of these.

[jackfish]

There is no such thing as a Hornady Interbond SST.

http://www.hornady.com/media/InterBond_Bullets.pdf

http://www.hornady.com/media/SST_Bullets.pdf

[swecology]

Jackfish,

Picky, aren't we? :grin:

Take a look at the link you sent and compare the construction of the Interbond to the SST.  Same tip, same general construction, except one is a bonded bullet and one isn't.  If you want to argue semantics, go ahead.  I got my point across, though.

[longshotmiller1]

swecology i agree with you. i cant badmouth nosler but i am alot happier with a good hornady myself. they work every bit as good as the partition for terminal effect and i think the hornady is more accurate.

[jackfish]

Yes, I am picky.  The only thing the SST and the Interbond have in common is that they both have plastic tips and similar shapes.  Otherwise, they are constructed entirely differently.  The jackets and cores are not the same and the way the plastic tip engages the core is different.

[IntrepidWizard]

Use 55gr 760 for 165 gr and 49 gr 760 with 220gr for everything,40 years use only 4350.Bear down is covered.

[Dusty Miller]

Reoloader, there is not a Black Tail on the planet that cannot be taken with a 257 Roberts.

[ButlerFord45]

SAWgunner, I'm not trying to be a smartass, I'm just proud of the efforts that have been made and the success that has occured.
http://www.kdfwr.state.ky.us/elkhunt04.asp

[Reloader]

You'll get no arguement here on the ability of the 257 Roberts.  I've taken blacktail and antelope with mine.  I thought this subject was about bullets at 30-06 velocities.

In case I've stepped on any other toes I've also taken blacktails with: 6.5x55, 7x57, 25-06, 264 magnum.  

I've seen blacktails that were taken with: 243, 6mm, 220 Swift, 257 Weatherby, 7mm-08, 8 mag, 270, etal.

They were all dead!! :roll:

[while99]

If I were going to hunt elk with a .30/06 I would use the 200 grain Nosler Partition.