30-06 E-tip bullets

[C.Smith]

If you had to chose one E-tip bullet for an all around bullet, deer and elk, which one would it be? The 168 grain or the 180 grain and why? I need to start playing around with them because I'm afraid the lovly state of Washington will be following California's lead ban soon. Seem to follow everything else they do.

Corey

 

[FOTIS]

168. Perfect balance of velocity, power and trajectory. Just my choice. Of course the rifle will have the final say with what she likes.

 

[6mm Remington]

+1 for Pop's choice. Final decision is on which one your rifle likes best! :mrgreen:

 

[JD338]

Another vote for the 168 gr E-Tip. Perfect match up of bullet and cartridge.

JD338

 

[DrMike]

Undoubtedly, the 168 grain. With the monolithic bullet, you have sufficient weight retention to ensure complete penetration at reasonable ranges. Plus, it was just built for the 30-06! :grin:

 

[SJB358]

Same here, 12gr's will never make too much difference in a 30 cal, and the 168 can be pushed pretty quick to get the advantage of speed and you get the penetration of the heavier bullet. Seems like a great match. Good luck, always neat to hear how the ETips work out. Scotty

 

[C.Smith]

Okay thanks a lot for the help. When I get some worked up I'll let you guys know how it went.

Corey

 

[ofdscooby]

I've been kicking around setting up a current build for an e-tip my self but not sure grain size to go with. From what I have read based on asking questions and from other guys experiences when you go e-tip or just lead free you will need to go a little smaller because to get good expansion you need to achieve higher velocities and to achieve that(due to the longer bullet) you need to go a little smaller. I was looking at going with Barnes in the 160 range but guys that are having the best success with them are using ultra mags and I have a 7mag so I was and have tested the 150 grain e-tips they shoot pretty well but to achieve the velocity I need to obtain expansion I'm thinking of going 140. I'm no expert I just ask a lot of questions to a lot of different people and until told otherwise I think that's the route I'm going. My co-worker shoots a lot of pigs in the lead free zone and is using a 30-06 in with a 160 grain lead free bullets and is consistently getting pass through with no expansion at ranges of 200-400 yards he now just tries to take out a shoulder instead of a heart/lung shot.

PS Not all Kalifornia is lead free I'm allowed to shoot lead in my part of the state right now but I'm sure its coming

 

[Guy Miner]

That's the one remaining gripe I see fairly regularly about mono-metal bullets, particularly the Barnes - that they don't always open up.

I've only shot two mule deer bucks with the little 100 gr .257" Barnes TSX. One obviously opened up and tore the heck out of that buck's heart & lungs then penetrated into the ground. The other... Well, I'm not sure if it expanded or not. Very dead deer, but... Found no evidence of expansion.

I believe the Nosler E-Tip, as well as other tipped "mono-metal" bullets are more likely to expand reliably. Also, concur with the others on the 168 gr E-Tip for the .30-06 rifle. Long ago I went to a standard load of the 165 gr bullet for my .30-06, and it's yet to let me down. Sure hope this lead free legal stuff doesn't spread too far though. I like my Partitions & B-Tips!

Guy

 

[C.Smith]

Guy I'm with you on that but I just read an article where it was mentioned that Washington State was considering the lead free bullets for hunting. I really hope not but I want to be ahead of the game if they do so I'm prepared with a working load. The way our state is I would not be surprised they do pass something like that.

I loved the job the AccuBond did on my elk a week ago, great performance.

Corey

 

[6mm Remington]

Corey I'm with you. I really like the Accubonds as well as the Partitions. What did you shoot your elk with? Did you recover the bullet and how far of a shot?

 

[C.Smith]

I shot it with a 7mm Rem Mag 160 grain AccuBond, fully penatrated him so no recovery. Great exit size hole though.


Corey

 

[Guy Miner]

Yes, I've heard that our tree-hugging state government is considering lead-free ammo as well.

I've got a few boxes of Brand B bullets stashed away, just in case. Have them in 6mm, .257 and .30 cal, not a lot, just a couple of boxes of each. Actually bought them several years ago before Nosler came out with the E-Tip, and must confess, they've worked out pretty well on target and on game. Sure hope we can keep using our lead-core ammo though. I'd prefer to use Partitions & Accubonds.

 

[Richracer1]

I've worked up a load for my -06 using the 180ET. Performance has been, of course, exceptional. Several CA hogs have fallen victim to this bullet. They were all bang flops. I'm getting an average of 2750 fps with them.

 

[SJB358]

That is great speed out of them Rich. Seems like you got the best of both worlds, a 180 at full speed and great accuracy! Seems like when they work, they work well. I would like to try them in something just to see how they do. Scotty

 

[Richracer1]

That is great speed out of them Rich. Seems like you got the best of both worlds, a 180 at full speed and great accuracy! Seems like when they work, they work well. I would like to try them in something just to see how they do. Scotty

I'm getting 2832 fps with the 180AB from the same 30-06. This is probably the most accurate "out of the box" rifle I've seen. It's the Vanguard Sporter (Not the sub-MOA model)

 

[SJB358]

My Vanguard was a pretty good shooter also, just not a fan of the trigger. I am hoping the 300WBY Vanguard is better, if not, it is getting a Timney! Scotty

 

[C.Smith]

Rich you give me hope in the 3006. How long is your barrell?

Corey

 

[6mm Remington]

Rich you give me hope in the 3006. How long is your barrell?

Corey

Corey, I'm not Richracer but I have a Ruger #1B with the 26" barrel. I load 165 gr. Partitions or Accubonds and with 57.4 gr.s of IMR4350 I am getting 2940 fps chronographed velocites without any pressure signs and good case life. A couple books show 58 grs. as maximum and some have it even higher with that powder and weight of bullet, but I get consistant 1/2-3/4" groups at 100 yards with a fixed 4x Leupold on it! As Doc, Pops and some of the others who have tried powders such as Reloder 22 and some of the others are even getting higher velocities, but I thought this was pretty darn good and it sure shoots.

I believe that the 30-06 has been cautiously loaded even in the manuals because of all of the old military, semi-auto, pump action, and lever action rifles that are still out there being used and hunted with.

 

[Richracer1]

Rich you give me hope in the 3006. How long is your barrell?

Corey

24" barrel