recommendation on .30 06 ammo

landrjos

New Member
Hi All,

I have a new Remington 700 .30 06 and would like to try a few factory loads to see which on the gun likes best. What commercial loads do you guys recommend? Would use it for white tail hunting out to 200-300 yards max.

Thanks,

Joe
 
I've found federal premium to be best for what you are looking for. Few years ago I switched from Remington accutips as they shot so well in number of our parties guns for many years and then the the quality must've went out the door so we did some experimenting and found federal premium 150 grs to be the ticket.


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Your gun is gonna favor some loads over others, even the one that came off the line before or after yours is gonna be a little different. One of the loads I would be sure to try is Federal Fusion. I only have one rifle that it doesn’t shoot well in, and I have to handload for it.
 
Always makes me chuckle a little as well when we i see guys at local store buying the cheap $20 box of shells for deer hunting and wonder why they don't shoot that great. For any big game hunting its like i'm not taking what maybe 5 shots/year spend the $ and get top shelf ammo is my advice.
 
Thanks Bonecrusher. What ammo do you reccomend. I have always used core lockt 165 grain. Looking for others to try other than the premium you suggested..

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I switched to Hornaday copper bullets a few years ago after several Montana hunting trips. As I drove around, I kept seeing bald eagles feeding on gut piles from hunters and decided I should do my part for conservation. I still shoot lead for practice and small game, but the handful of shots I put on big game in a year, the added expense of non-lead was pretty minor.

We have a raptor rehab center here, and according to them, the most common thing they see after hunting season is birds with lead poisoning. Talking with other biologists, I asked why this has not been a problem in the past, and they pointed out that until the last 20 years or so, the numbers of eagles and other raptors was pretty low due to other factors such as pesticide use.

I am by no means advocating banning lead, but the small expense of using non-lead on big game is worth it.
 
Thanks Bonecrusher. What ammo do you reccomend. I have always used core lockt 165 grain. Looking for others to try other than the premium you suggested..

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Barnes Triple Shock are close second for me and then probably nosler custom trophy after that. Anything remington ammo i've avoid like the plague, as learned that in my years of bench rest reloading its no wonder none of veterans shoot Remington brass/bullets. I would compare them to like Ryobi tools, work pretty good and nothing fancy, but it is not a Milwaukee.

believe the barnes triple shock are lead free as well. I can get on board with that, as copper doesn't break apart in game like lead and anything w/ polymer tip will give you expansion needed.
 
Thanks Bonecrusher. What ammo do you reccomend. I have always used core lockt 165 grain. Looking for others to try other than the premium you suggested..

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I have killed truck loads of deer with 165 g Core Lockt out of both a 308 and a 06. Last couple of seasons I needed something "better" and switched between Nosler accubonds and hornady SST. If you want more meat damage they are just the ticket. They would group better out of both rifles but will a deer at 200 know the difference between a 3/4 inch rifle and a 1.5 inch rifle = no. I used the 165 g CL all through my formative years of deer hunting - ie running shots, texas heart shots, strong quartering shots, basic poor shots. They always penetrated well, didn't blow up or pencil through, mushroomed perfectly when you found a bullet, and killed deer. When you are talking deer you don't need the controlled expansion and high dollar bullets. Ammo is a lot like fishing tackle it is not marketed just to catch fish!
 
I have killed truck loads of deer with 165 g Core Lockt out of both a 308 and a 06. Last couple of seasons I needed something "better" and switched between Nosler accubonds and hornady SST. If you want more meat damage they are just the ticket. They would group better out of both rifles but will a deer at 200 know the difference between a 3/4 inch rifle and a 1.5 inch rifle = no. I used the 165 g CL all through my formative years of deer hunting - ie running shots, texas heart shots, strong quartering shots, basic poor shots. They always penetrated well, didn't blow up or pencil through, mushroomed perfectly when you found a bullet, and killed deer. When you are talking deer you don't need the controlled expansion and high dollar bullets. Ammo is a lot like fishing tackle it is not marketed just to catch fish!

Many, many head of game were killed with the old cup and core bullets like Remington Corelokts and Winchester Power Points before premium bullets were ever born.

I use Sierra Game Kings in my .280 Rem in front of 43 grains of R19 The GK bullet always expands, penetrates reliably, and I’ve only had to follow one blood trail in about 6/7 deer now, and that was my fault.
 
I don't know about shooting 200 yards.
100 is the furthest I've ever shot. One time. But something about seeing a tattered green and yellow box just gives me the warm and fuzzies. And the contents do kill deer.
 
Maybe i'm just pickier than most, not saying core-lokt can't get job done or won't continue to. But if I got to make a 200 yd shot, that extra $20 i spent on quality ammo when we invest how much money into the sport seems like a rather minor cost to me.

cheap ammo over time will have flyers and misnomers because the quality is not there, i want to know when i got bullwinkle in my sights its going to perform exactly the same every single time just like the range not 8/10 times.
 
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