VisionCasting
Senior Member
Hunting big game out to 300yds w a 30-06, what ammo would you use? Why?
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Long range 30-06 ammo
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deadend
Senior Member
To 300 it won't matter.
georgia_home
Senior Member
I am thinking in the 150 class.
Should fly well, not toooo much drop. Still hit hard enough to take care of business. IMHO
Should fly well, not toooo much drop. Still hit hard enough to take care of business. IMHO
sandhillmike
Gone but not forgotten
150 is plenty, but I mostly shoot 165.
miles58
Banned yankee
Almost any commercial ammunition will be good out to 400 yards. You cannot however be so sure it will be as good from point blank to 30 yards though. If you intend to always be working beyond 300 yards then you need some pretty specialized ammo, and will almost certainly have to give up close shots.
Most bullets have a fairly narrow range of velocity and need to slow down from muzzle velocity or they can break apart and fail to penetrate well or maybe even at all. When you use a tough bullet it may not maintain velocity well enough to open decently at range.
Take for example a "typical" 30-30 bullet. they are designed for 1600-2200 FPS impact speed. Load them up on top of LeverEvolution powder and you can push them out at ~2700 FPS. That's a lot more speed than the more anticipated 2000 FPS impact speed and a lot of 30-40 bullets won't handle hitting bone and still penetrate decently. So, quartering to or away shots where you hit rib or leg bones on the way in and need deeper penetration because of the angle, tend to be more of a problem at close range with those bullets and point blank velocities.
Bullets usually do not disintegrate at 2700 FPS. But Fragile bullets (bullets designed for much lower impact speeds) have a much greater tendency to shed a lot of weight and deform substantially. That makes them much more likely to deflect (and that does not mean a bone deflects them), shed their jacket and break up even more. Or, they can have lost so much weight (energy) that hitting bone will stop them. A bullet below that catastrophic break up speed (a slower bullet) tends to penetrate straighter and deeper.
Very tough bullets hitting below their minimum impact velocity tend not to open well. Without the broad from mushroom, the tissue damage from cavitation tends to be much less and consequently less effective in killing the deer.
Personally, I load only Barnes bullets anymore for deer. They will open at 1800 FPS and will not come undone no matter how fast they start out. The down side is that loaded ammunition with Barnes bullets is expensive and hard to come by. Also, Barnes bullets being solid copper are notorius for being touchy about seating depth in a given rifle which mean they may not be very accurate. I load my own so while some guns can be a PITA to find the right seating depth, they eventually all will deliver superb accuracy.
Any premium bullet loaded ammo will run almost twice the price (or more) of green and yellow boxed Core-Lokt ammo, which is pretty good stuff, and a standard to measure other ammo by.
Dave
Most bullets have a fairly narrow range of velocity and need to slow down from muzzle velocity or they can break apart and fail to penetrate well or maybe even at all. When you use a tough bullet it may not maintain velocity well enough to open decently at range.
Take for example a "typical" 30-30 bullet. they are designed for 1600-2200 FPS impact speed. Load them up on top of LeverEvolution powder and you can push them out at ~2700 FPS. That's a lot more speed than the more anticipated 2000 FPS impact speed and a lot of 30-40 bullets won't handle hitting bone and still penetrate decently. So, quartering to or away shots where you hit rib or leg bones on the way in and need deeper penetration because of the angle, tend to be more of a problem at close range with those bullets and point blank velocities.
Bullets usually do not disintegrate at 2700 FPS. But Fragile bullets (bullets designed for much lower impact speeds) have a much greater tendency to shed a lot of weight and deform substantially. That makes them much more likely to deflect (and that does not mean a bone deflects them), shed their jacket and break up even more. Or, they can have lost so much weight (energy) that hitting bone will stop them. A bullet below that catastrophic break up speed (a slower bullet) tends to penetrate straighter and deeper.
Very tough bullets hitting below their minimum impact velocity tend not to open well. Without the broad from mushroom, the tissue damage from cavitation tends to be much less and consequently less effective in killing the deer.
Personally, I load only Barnes bullets anymore for deer. They will open at 1800 FPS and will not come undone no matter how fast they start out. The down side is that loaded ammunition with Barnes bullets is expensive and hard to come by. Also, Barnes bullets being solid copper are notorius for being touchy about seating depth in a given rifle which mean they may not be very accurate. I load my own so while some guns can be a PITA to find the right seating depth, they eventually all will deliver superb accuracy.
Any premium bullet loaded ammo will run almost twice the price (or more) of green and yellow boxed Core-Lokt ammo, which is pretty good stuff, and a standard to measure other ammo by.
Dave
Miles pretty well defines it. I'll add this; in real terms the cost of your bullet is pretty minor. You'll spend more on many other things during a hunt. Also, see www.jbmballistics.com and get familiar with weights, mv, and where the bullet is at various distances. From that study, select an appropriate zero.
NOYDB
BANNED
Are you wanting to know about factory ammo or about hand loading?
Two different discussions.
Also by big game do you mean Deer or are you including Elk and Bear, also might make for a different recommendation.
However, for factory ammo. Find out which brand/weight your gun likes best and gives you the best groups. Memorize that rounds ballistics. Kill things.
cmshoot
Senior Member
Yep, what kind of big game are you talking about? I would use a different bullet for whitetail than I would use for elk, bear, moose, etc.
For whitetails, just about any decent bullet of 150grns or more would do the trick. I think most folks use pills in the 165grn class, but I prefer 180 grainers (I like heavier bullets). I use the 180grn Nosler Ballistic Tips for whitetails.
For larger game, I would use something like a Nosler Accubond, or other bonded core "premium" bullet. Again, in the 180grn class, unless you are using one of the solid copper bullets, then I'd look at the 165 grainers.
For whitetails, just about any decent bullet of 150grns or more would do the trick. I think most folks use pills in the 165grn class, but I prefer 180 grainers (I like heavier bullets). I use the 180grn Nosler Ballistic Tips for whitetails.
For larger game, I would use something like a Nosler Accubond, or other bonded core "premium" bullet. Again, in the 180grn class, unless you are using one of the solid copper bullets, then I'd look at the 165 grainers.
GunnSmokeer
Senior Member
any big game bullet
As long as you choose a bullet made for big game hunting, not varmint hunting or target shooting,
and you pick a bullet in the 150-180 grain weight class, you should be fine with a .30-06 shooting 300 yards.
If your muzzle velocity started at 2800, you'd still have about 2100 f.p.s. at 300 yards. That should get your lead core soft-points to expand.
The 150 grain bullets have a slight velocity advantage at 300 yards, compared to the 180 grainers, but I'd use them for their lower bullet drop. For a rifle sighted dead-on at 100 yards, you'd have to aim 10" high at 300 yds with 150 grain bullets, but 15" high for the 180 grainers.
Really, I'd be more concerned with accuracy than which quality big game hunting ammo to use.
Some guns with some ammo in the hands of some shooters will give you 30" groups at 300 yards. They could hit a 55 gallon drum reliably, but not a 5-gallon pail or 2-liter Coke bottle.
Other guns fired by other shooters will give you 3" groups. They could shoot a grapefruit off a fence post.
As long as you choose a bullet made for big game hunting, not varmint hunting or target shooting,
and you pick a bullet in the 150-180 grain weight class, you should be fine with a .30-06 shooting 300 yards.
If your muzzle velocity started at 2800, you'd still have about 2100 f.p.s. at 300 yards. That should get your lead core soft-points to expand.
The 150 grain bullets have a slight velocity advantage at 300 yards, compared to the 180 grainers, but I'd use them for their lower bullet drop. For a rifle sighted dead-on at 100 yards, you'd have to aim 10" high at 300 yds with 150 grain bullets, but 15" high for the 180 grainers.
Really, I'd be more concerned with accuracy than which quality big game hunting ammo to use.
Some guns with some ammo in the hands of some shooters will give you 30" groups at 300 yards. They could hit a 55 gallon drum reliably, but not a 5-gallon pail or 2-liter Coke bottle.
Other guns fired by other shooters will give you 3" groups. They could shoot a grapefruit off a fence post.
GunnSmokeer
Senior Member
A funny thing happened the other day at the 600 yard range.
My buddy's Savage Axis .308 rifle, that he's had for 4 years and is known to shoot tight groups with any ammo at 200 yards, showed a STRONG dislike for Remington Core-Lokt soft-point ammo at 600 yds.
The PMC soft-points were fine. The Privi Partizan 168 gr. BTHP match bullet ammo worked fine at 600, just like they did at 100 and 200.
But Remington soft-point ammo (he tried both 150 gr. and 180 gr.) could barely keep them on the paper. And 600 yard rifle targets are on paper the size of a barn door!
My buddy's Savage Axis .308 rifle, that he's had for 4 years and is known to shoot tight groups with any ammo at 200 yards, showed a STRONG dislike for Remington Core-Lokt soft-point ammo at 600 yds.
The PMC soft-points were fine. The Privi Partizan 168 gr. BTHP match bullet ammo worked fine at 600, just like they did at 100 and 200.
But Remington soft-point ammo (he tried both 150 gr. and 180 gr.) could barely keep them on the paper. And 600 yard rifle targets are on paper the size of a barn door!
NOYDB
BANNED
The group in my avatar is 20 .30-06 rounds at 100yds. rem core-locs 150 grain factory ammo. The three you can see I called when they were less than an inch from dead center. The blob in the middle is 17 rounds. Target was measured to confirm the 100 yd distance. Do your part and let the bullet do it's.
MCBUCK
Senior Member
Last year I used Federal Premium 165gr in. Tikka T3 to take a nice little 8 pt last year at 279 lasered yards. I put the crosshairs high shoulder and the bullet went right where I aimed. I was a 270 guy for 30 years and had the same question but now I know a 165gr is good on deer in the 300 category.
Dub
Senior Member
Hard to beat a load with a 165 gr Accubond.
https://www.federalpremium.com/products/rifle/premium-centerfire-rifle/nosler-accubond/p3006a2
https://www.federalpremium.com/products/rifle/premium-centerfire-rifle/nosler-accubond/p3006a2
nmurph
Senior Member
I took the deer in my avatar last year at 255yds and a big 8 year bf at 319yds measured, both using 165 Accubonds. Both were high shoulder shots, and both were DRT. That's from a factory stock ADL synthetic 700. It's not the most accurate rifle, but it's tough on deer out to 300yds.
krizia829
Senior Member
My first whitetail with a rifle was when I was 15 years old (Turning 27 this year). I have a Remington 700 SPS .30-06 and at the time I had a Bushnell Firefly Scope (Swapped it out and now have a Nikon Monarch). I shot a doe at 224 yards and hit her on the elbow. She bled out and I got lucky and found her about 25 yards from where I shot her. I was super excited and completely forgot about compensating for a further shot.. Besides that shot, I've never shot anything further than 100 yards. I've been told that .30-06 starts to drop at about 250-300 yards. Is it true? I have no idea.. I don't even feel confident making a shot that far with my .30-06! lol! If you have a range nearby (or your own property) with targets reaching out to at least 500 yards, I would test it out on paper first to get your group going, then test it out with ballistic gel to compare the damage your rounds do at different distances. I shoot Hornady Superformance SST 150gr and they shoot like reloads out of my rifle! Every gun is different, every scope is different and every round is different. Just see what your gun likes and compare with ballistic gel if possible. Good luck!! 
Buckman18
Senior Member
150gr Winchester deer season xp from a 30-06 from 0-300 yards. Cheap. Easy. Effective. And found at Walmart.
model88_308
Banned
A 150gr with decent BC. Using that, allows you to get an honest 300 yd MPBR. I'd look at Hornady Superformance 150 & 165.
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