Checking the deer loads/rifles

[Guy Miner]

My youngest son and I got a little practice in this afternoon with our deer rifles; he was shooting his 6mm Rem/700 BDL with a 3.5-10x Leupold and 95 grain Nosler ballistic tips moving at about 2900 fps. I had the Green Machine, my .308 with the Krieger barrel, McMillan stock & 4.5-14x Leupold, shooting 165 gr Nosler solid base bullets right at 2800 fps.

We set up targets at 100, 200 and 300 yards. The mirage was brutal through the scopes and there was a variable breeze, about 10 - 15 mph I'd estimate. Significant breeze for any halfway longish range shooting.

John's 6mm Rem was sighted in dead on at 200 yards. At 300 he was a few inches low of course and had to hold off about six inches right to hit centered on the target. At 300 yards the 32 year old rifle still produced decent accuracy for the lad. He had a 4" group going until a wind shift caught him and opened it up to about 6" wide. Interestingly the height of the group was slightly less than 2", showing me that on a less windy day, this load has some real accuracy potential. Today we were shooting from a bench, with the rifles on bipods.

I was shooting a slight variation from my normal hunting load and came away still impressed with the accuracy. Am using Lapua cases, Federal 210 match primers, 46 grains of Varget and 165 gr Nosler solid base bullets. Had one three shot group that measured 1 5/8" and a four shot group that measured 1 1/16" both of them at 300 yards. Under these mirage and wind conditions, I can live with that although I like to see groups of an inch or under at that range with this rifle.

Because of where we hunt, in pretty open country, I like to keep my rifles sighted in at 300 yards, but because my son has less experience we keep his rifle sighted in at 200 yards. In good conditions, he has taken game at nearly 300 yards with his rifle.

It was a nice way to spend the afternoon. Now it's time for a little nap before going to work tonight!

Regards, Guy

 

[JD338]

Nice story Guy.

Always fun shooting. And with your son, its even better!

JD338

 

[Bobby Mack Jr]

Hats off to a fine fourth of July spent with your boy. :grin:

I noticed you were shooting 165 grain bullets in your .308. I've always been a fan of 180 grain bullets for elk and 150 grains for smaller mammals; all out of a .30-06. A buddy of mine has been encouraging me to switch to 165 grain bullets for all my shooting. He makes a pretty good arguement for flat trajectory with ample down-range energy retention.

What's your opinion? Is this really the do-all bullet for .30 caliber rifles, or is it merely a compromise?

 

[YoteSmoker]

Craig Boddington has used the 165 Partition in N.America and Africa in 30-06. It is a compromise between speed and energy but does not give up much between the lower and higher grain bullets. If you want one bullet to cover deer, elk,, and black bear I think it is the perfect choice. If I were only hunting antelope and deer, I would go with a 150. The 180 eats up a lot of case capacity in the 308, however if you shooting thicker timber it wouldn't be a bad choice I suppose.

 

[Guy Miner]

Yeah - I really like the 165 - 168 gr bullets in the .308 Win. Nothing wrong with the 180's, but the 165/168's shoot better from my rifles.

My battered old .30-06 also shoots very well with 165 gr bullets - somewhat better than it does with 180's... Heck, the 180's were fine too.... No great insights on that one I guess.

I haven't taken any huge numbers of game with them, but yes, I'm satisfied with the performance of the 165's from the .308 & .30-06.

The .300 magnums I see as a different animal. Much larger powder capacity, and I've found mine worked best with 180 & 200 grain bullets. Used some 165's and 150's but the high impact velocity ruined a lot of meat and accuracy wasn't as good for me, particularly with the 150's. They were fast though! :grin:

 

[Guy Miner]

By the way - son and I just loaded up a batch of 100 rounds for his little 6mm Remington:

50 of the 95 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets over a max charge of 48 grains of Reloader 22. This is the most accurate combo I've ever found for the little rifle, and I've come back to load it again and again over the years. The BTip is a fine open-country deer bullet too.

50 of the 100 gr Nosler Partition bullets over a slightly reduced charge, only 47.5 gr of Reloader 22. This one also shoots well, and gives the promise of somewhat better penetration on heavier bodied game at closer ranges. Still, it produced a 3-shot group of 2.5" at 300 yards - not too shabby! :grin:

It was a nice afternoon, stayed inside out of the heat and loaded the ammo, start to finish, with my son. I liked that.

Regards, Guy