.30-06's at 300 yds

[Thankful Otter]

Thank you Dr Mike. Your guidance is always appreciated and trusted.

When you say premium. You know that my grandfather loads woodleighs, swifts, and north forks for my rifles. I believe he would also use Norma Oryx if they were easier to obtain, but they are not apparently. Do you also include both the Pt's and Ab;s in you definition of premium---and again I, of course, am thinking of the 30-06 for an agitated bear--but also moose, bison, muskox--thank you!

ps--I should also mention that except for wolf, goat and sheep, mosts shots, especially on bears are much less than 300 yards. I have noticed that you guys, on average, take longer shots ( successfully I might add ) than I do. I believe your bear on this thread was over 300 yards Guy, which you successfully made-no muss and no fuss, another reason to say good job Guy

 

[SJB358]

I would put the Partition and AccuBond in the same category as the ones you mentioned. Saw the 165 AccuBond from a 30-06 do just as much bone smashing damage from a 30-06 started at 2900 as a 180 Partition from a 300 Win Mag started at 3000 at roughly the same distance. Granted two elk isn't scientific at all, but during butchering they both took about the same amount of bone and muscle.

It was one of those moments I realized how well a 165 and 30-06 really work together. Plus, the extra speed on the 165 doesn't hurt anything.

 

[DrMike]

Each of the bullets you name is considered premium, Cheyenne. Monolithic bullets (E-Tip, TSX and various iterations), bonded core bullets (AccuBond, Interbond, Oryx, etc.) and Mechanical Mantel bullets (Partition, A-Frame, H-Mantel, etc.) all qualify in my estimate as premium. Any bullet that retains 60-70% of its mass after impact would certainly qualify as a premium bullet.

 

[Guy Miner]

Cheyenne - my bears are much smaller than yours! :grin:

Re the range, I've shot four bears in that area: 150, 306, 320 and 325 yards. On one of those, the "finishing shot" was at very close range in the brush. Maybe 15 feet.

Re the .30-06, I think it works very well with a wide variety of bullet weights and styles. Is the 180 better? The 165 perhaps? I don't know. For some reason I've had an aversion to the 150's, but my partner on this hunt used Remington 150 grain soft point ammo and it did a fine job as well. I'd have no disagreement with any reasonable bullet choice. For my purposes, I've found that I like the nice balance of velocity, accuracy and killing ability of the 165/168 class .30 cal bullets.

Up in your area, where the animals tend to be bigger, and more dangerous, I think I'd be carrying 180 or even 200 grain Nosler Partitions. But that's a thought from someone who's never hunted the great bears.

A bullet that intrigues me - but that I've yet to try - is the 168 grain Nosler E-Tip. No lead core... I have wondered if this could be an excellent "all around" bullet for the .30-06 & .300 magnums?

My indecision on this, after a lifetime of shooting the .30-06, is reflected in the wide array of .30 cal bullets I have on hand: 125 gr to 220 gr... :grin:

Regards, Guy

 

[Thankful Otter]

Guy, Dr Mike, Scotty--thank you gentlemen

Some of my education was received in the following manner and from older gentlemen. like my grandfather. Find a premium bullet that works in a particular rifle and one that will work on all game even if it is a little overkill for some ( like the 180 gr for wolf ). If you want "more" then go up in caliber---as an example. I use the 180 in the 30-06, the 200 in the 300 H & H and 250 in the 348. I have also been told that the bullet is the cheapest part of the hunt--use the best. I noticed Hodgeman recently mentioned this point as well. This is where my head is and it has worked for me but I am always listening to those who have been there, done that and have done so years before me, thanks again

 

[filmjunkie4ever]

Nice shooting Guy!

Dale