[MacPelto]

What 30-06 factory game load (suitable for Texas whitetails) is most closely duplicated, trajectory wise, by M2 ball? I would like to practice using M2 without changing my scope settings every time I shoot. Of course, I will sight in using a suitable game load, but I'd like the ball to hit somewhere near where the hunting load would.

Thanks in advance.

[one-shot-one]

this answer will be different for each rifle. my .308 will put 147gr mil. ball, factory 150gr, and my 165gr hand loads within 2-3" of each other. i have other guns that will not even hit paper at 100 yrds when i change loads. generaly the closer to bullet weight and muzzle velocity the better chance that they will print close.

[Al Thompson]

I "think" a 150 grain load would be your best bet. IIRC M2 ball is 147 grains. If you have some handy, pull a bullet and weigh it. :) Every rifle is different, so yours may take some tuning with ammo to match up.

[Art Eatman]

M2 Ball, loaded with 4895, has an MV of some 2,700 ft/sec. 150-grain hunting loads commonly exit at around 2,900 ft/sec. At 100 yards, the point of impact, for all practical purposes, "should" be the same.

The fly in the ointment is barrel harmonics. It will vary from rifle to rifle for these or any other loads. Sometimes you're lucky; other times you're not.

Don't worry about the bullet weights. All I ever used on Texas whitetails was the 150-grain. (Well, 90+%. :) ) They work just fine. Bambi loves'em.

Way back when, WW II and Korean eras, M2 Ball bullets were 153-grain. I have read that the weight changed slightly, from time to time with different contracts. Again, the practical difference between 147-grain and 153-grain is zilch.

I'd zero with the hunting ammo. Then, I'd learn what Kentucky windage was needed for the M2 stuff, or go ahead and change the scope's settings. It's just not that big a deal.

:), Art