In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
Which 30-06 cartridge?
hivoltg
Member Posts: 928 ✭✭✭✭
Which 30-06 cartridge would be best for deer out to 400 yards? Which brand? Ballistic tip or not and why? How heavy of a bullet?
Thanks for the help
Thanks for the help
Comments
With any of them, your maximum "point blank range" will be 300 yards or less, so your also going to need to learn your trajectory *from actual testing", not from a computer drop chart.
Deer are a easy kill, IF you put a bullet in the right place.
That said, the 150gr NBT has worked well out of my 30-06 out to 440yd, but that's with a hand load that's tuned to my rifle.
I'm not a fan Ballistic Tips but there are several members here that are ardent supporters. There is a large selection of bullets suited to taking deer at 400 yards and closer with perfect results. The older, established spitzer bullets such as the Speer continue to harvest deer year ofter year without blinking an eye. Nosler Partitions are in that same category, older design great function.
Newer designs like the Swift Scirocco, Hornady Interbonds and the Barnes TSX are making inroads onto the average shooter's reloading bench.
I happen to prefer the older Partitions, the newer North Fork bullets and most of the Match bullets manufactured today for much of my hunting but there are too many bullets to name that will work within your parameters. You do need to test any bullet/load combination in your rifle in order to ascertain whether it is accurate.
This is the link to the Federal Cartridge Ballistics menu where you can look at each load they have and look at the related ballistics charts. It will give you some basic information about bullet selection and ballistics:
http://www.federalcartridge.com/ballistics/default.aspx
This is a list of ballistic tables available from Rifle Shooter magazine:
http://www.rifleshootermag.com/ballistics/ballistic-tables/
Best.
Something to consider here. Several loads will work. What you need to understand that with the 30.06 the drift in a 10 mph wind will be more than the drop. Both of which you will need to account for. During our shooting clubs deer rifle sight- we had several people want to shoot on our 300 yd. range. In the 4-12mph gusting winds most people couldn't hit paper. For both windage and elevation. They usually sighted in at 1"-2" high at 100 yds. At three hundred they were usually lucky to hit the paper.
Typically a heavier bullet will buck wind better. But, they are fired a little slower and therefore have a greater initial drop than lighter higher velocity bullets. You can range in hunting bullets from as low as 130 grs. (un-common) clear on up to 180 grs.
My 30-06 likes it's 180 Accubonds pushed around 2710-2716. That from a 22" barrel using 4350.