30-06 AMMO FOR ELK

I guided a guy this year that was shooting a 180 Barn's TSX I think it was-Worked great. We found the bullet and weighed it and it weighed 168 gram-Worked really well.
 
Haha!
I just use factory ammo for most of my guns, I've never had a problem that a "better" bullet would have kept me from (shot an elk in the back leg once and had to track it for 2 days before I got it but I only wish I could blame that on the ammo) I do like to use a heavier bullet for elk (180 grain or better) If you have the ability to reload, I would go with a 200 or 220 grain if you're shooting within 200 yards. Those really add some knock down power and if you're shooting through any brush, the heavier bullets are more likely to get through if you hit a few pine needles.
Oh and I'm right handed. :)
 
I'd recommend Nosler Accubonds. I shoot them out of my 30.06, 270 WSM and 325 WSM and have never had an issue. Just shot a 5X6 big bodied bull the other day with 140 gr. Accubond from my 270 WSM. One shot at 350 yards and he collapsed. I ended up recovering the bullet with a perfect mushroom and it weighted out at 120 grains.
 
What ever shoots the best.
I know it was many years ago, but back in the day tons of elk meat was harvested with 30/30's .300 savages, .32 winchesters and other low powered rounds with plain factory bullets. It can and still does work today if you do your part.
Good luck!
 
165gr nosler accubonds for me. I shoot a ruger m77 mark II. My friends shoot 150gr for deer then change over to 180s for elk. I just split the difference and shoot the 165s at everything but coyotes. That's what the .22-250 is for.


"That's a special feeling, Lloyd"
 
LAST EDITED ON Oct-19-11 AT 05:39PM (MST)[p]Trophy bonded bear claw
Nosler Partition
Barnes tsx or ttsx
165gr - 180gr

Can't go wrong with those loads.
 
150 grain winchester power points have brought down 13 bulls and 30 or so deer over the years for my dad. Cheap, never a tracking job, anywhere from 10 feet to 400 yds. If you over 3000fps they dont hold together very well.. I shoot them out of my 270 with the same results (just not that many animals). They dont stand up in my 300 win mag though... So I shoot accubonds out of it.

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Thanks guys for the input. I am leaning toward federal 180gr.nosler partitions or accubonds. Guess I will get both and see which groups better in my -06.
 
win XP3 no doubt! 180gr is the best bullet you'll find! you will see the 180gr holds more ft lbs of energy and at 500 yards is actually going faster than the 150.

30-06 SPRINGFIELD 180 GR. SUPREME ELITE? XP3?
BASIC INFORMATION
o Cartridge: 30-06 Springfield
o Bullet Weight: 180
o Muzzle Velocity: 2750
o Ballistic Co-efficient: 0.527
o Rounds Per Box: 20
o Rounds Per Case: 200
BALLISTICS
RIFLE BALLISTICS
DISTANCE
(YDS) VELOCITY
(FPS) ENERGY
(FT.LBS.) TRAJ.
SHORT TRAJ.
LONG
Muzzle 2750 3022
50 -0.1
100 2579 2658 0 1.9
200 2414 2330 -3.7 0
300 2280 2034 -13.4 -7.8
400 2103 1768 -30.0 -22.5
500 1957 1530 -45.1

VS. 150gr

30-06 SPRINGFIELD 150 GR. SUPREME ELITE? XP3?
PRODUCT DETAILS
o BASIC INFORMATION
o BALLISTICS
o VIDEO
BASIC INFORMATION
o Cartridge: 30-06 Springfield
o Bullet Weight: 150
o Muzzle Velocity: 2925
o Ballistic Co-efficient: 0.437
o Rounds Per Box: 20
o Rounds Per Case: 200
BALLISTICS
RIFLE BALLISTICS
DISTANCE
(YDS) VELOCITY
(FPS) ENERGY
(FT.LBS.) TRAJ.
SHORT TRAJ.
LONG
Muzzle 2925 2849
50 -0.2
100 2712 2448 0 1.6
200 2508 2095 -3.2 0
300 2313 1782 -12 -7.2
400 2127 1507 -27.3 -20.8
500 1950 1266 -42.2




It was a big bodied 2 point.
 
>Thanks guys for the input. I
>am leaning toward federal 180gr.nosler
>partitions or accubonds. Guess I
>will get both and see
>which groups better in my
>-06.

I've used both. Killed a good amount of animals with the 180 gr Nosler Partitions. My .300 Winnie's favorite cartridge is the 180 Accubond though. It'll shoot cloverleafs at 100 yards. Can't go wrong with either.

GrizlyHunter
 
I like the 165 super performance hornadys shoots 2960 thats the fastest i have seen i think they are gmx can't remember
 
165 grain hornady light mag interbonds. they have worked great but are no longer being made. replaced by the superformance.
 
Although in a 300 Win Mag and not in a 30'06, I just killed my first elk with a Hornady 180 grain Interbond in their Superformance line. One shot dropped him. Bullet went in on a slight quartering away angle and stopped about an inch from the skin on the other side. Weighed 156 gr, or 87% weight retention.

I've shot Hornadys for several years and now I'm hooked!

ColoradoElkHunt2011032.jpg


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If you are shooting a Ruger M77 I have some input for you. When I was getting ready for a LE elk hunt several years ago I bought different bullets to try out accuracy and use a new high performance bullet. Well, I had a terrible time shooting a decent group with any boat tail bullet in my M77. Just so happened to be a guy at the range that heard me cussing my gun and asked me what was wrong. He told me that M77s won't shoot boat tails consistently. I don't know what info he was going from but he seemed pretty sure of himself. So I pulled out the old Remington CoreLokts and shot a great group.

I think an accurate bullet is more important than claimed bullet expansion/performance. I went with CoreLokt 150 grain bullets. Shot my bull and he went about 30 yards. He had massive damage in the boiler room. If you hit them in the right place, they will go down. Go with whichever bullet shoots consistently. If you have several in that category, then you can get fancy.

HAZMAT

www.muddyroad.net
 
I shot a big bodied 5x6 bull last year with my Rugar M77 30.06. I was using factory Remmington Corelokts, 180 gr. I shot from 307 yards. The elk never moved from where he was first hit. For me the corelokt makes sense because I'm willing to practice more with a less expensive round than with the high dollar stuff.
 
Your choice of 180 grain Nosler partitions is excellent. I've killed over 100 head of elk and other large game with this bullet. A rock solid, steady performer. I am not a fan of the Core-lok or power point bullets. Spend a few bucks more and shoot the quality bullets on your hunt. The only other bullet I recommend is the Barnes TSX. Another top performer. Shoot whichever of these shoots the best in your rifle.
Bill
 
We had a hard time getting my buddys 30-06 M77 to shoot decent groups too. We eventually tried the Barnes Tsx and they worked the best as far as accuracy, however we never tried the corelocks.

I think the barnes tsx bullets are the best out there and I use them exclusively now. I have shot deer, bear, and elk with them so far and all have been a fast clean kill.

I shot my 5 point Elk this year with the 140 gr. tsx out of my 270 thru the shoulder at about 100 yards. He lunged forward and died quickly. The bullet passed all the way thru without blowing out a bunch of meat.
 

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