30-06 loads for Elk

[TSK1975]

I am going to start working up loads for my A-Bolt in 30-06. I am looking for any suggestions on bullet weight for hunting elk. I am thinking either 165 or 180 grain bullets. I know that the 165's would give me some extra velocity over the 180's, but is it enough to make a difference? The 165's have BC in the mid .400's and the 180's have BC of in the upper .400's to just over .500. I am thinking about Nosler Partitions or Accubonds and Barnes TTSX. I am open to suggestions on other bullets from other manufactures as well. Does anyone have a load for their A-bolt that has worked out well? Thanks for the help.

 

[mshootnit]

a famous gun writer in a recent article gave some strong reasoning for favoring the new 165 gr solid bullets like the Barnes TSX. The weight was never an issue it was creating a bullet which would hold together and penetrate. I would definitely favor a 165 gr. solid.

 

[jmr40]

I'd use the bullet that proved more accurate in my rifle. 180's are traditionally thought of as the better elk bullet, but with some of the solid copper bullets like Barnes a 165 or even 150 would get the job done.

While the lighter bullets have a bit more velocity, if you look closely at ballistics charts there just ain't that much difference in bullet drop at the ranges you will be shooting. Elk are pretty big animals and 2 more inches of bullet drop at 400 yards is of no concern. The heavier bullets will be less affected by the wind at longer range.

 

[Chuck Dye]

Playing with ballistics software, commercial load info, and maximum point blank range sighting, the hottest 180 is ±3" to 276.7 yards, the hottest 165 to 304.6. Without optical or laser range finding, I am likely to be off in my estimate by that 27 yards or more. Think I'd opt for whichever is most accurate in my rifle. The elk are not likely to notice the difference.

 

[zfk55]

So what kind of a load would it take to reach the 115 yards across the short part of our west pasture to tap one of these?



And smiley face aside, what would you use for your lightest projectile at this range?

 

[guzzi]

30-06 elk

Great picture zfk55

A 165 Hornady btsp over 49 grains of IMR4895 gives me 2835 fps near the barrel. That comes out to just under 3000 ft pounds of energy. That ought to do it.

 

[ZeroJunk]

I use 165 grain Nosler Partitions and 58 grains of IMR 4350. Shoots around 1 inch out of my Rem 700. Load is out of the 1979 Speer manual.

 

[dougwx12]

At 100 yards, anything will work. I'd use any weight of TSX, myself, including 130 or 150, at that range.

 

[HankB]

I tried Barnes X-Bullets and found them to be very inconsistent out of my rifle - 3 or 4 shots would be in a tight group, then a flyer would open things up to 3" or 4". And the flyer could come anywhere in the string.

So my "standard" hunting load in my 22" M70 is as follows:

Once fired Winchester brass, neck sized, standard case prep.
Winchester Large Rifle primer
61.0 grains ReLoder 22
180 Grain Nosler Partition, seated 0.020" off the lands.

This load gives me an honest 2730 ft/sec or so out of my "slow" barrel (Winchester's standard 180 factory ammo barely yields 2550) and is quite accurate and effective - no elk, but having cleanly taken whitetails, as well as kudu, zebra, gemsbok, warthog, and various other plains game, I'm confident it will do the job and do it well.

At the time I developed this load, it was max. in the Nosler manual, and 1 grain under in the Speer manual, so start low & work up.

 

[NCsmitty]

There is nothing like a lead core, copper jacket bullet for reliable expansion, and the Hornady and Nosler bonded bullets are reasonably priced, absolutely reliable and usually accurate. Either 165gr or 180gr bonded bullets will get the job done, and have better BC than the Partitions in each weight.



NCsmitty

 

[FlyinBryan]

is that load compressed hank?

 

[Waywatcher]

165 TSX in my .30-06 has been marvelous. Killed every dear I have shot with it cleanly; expanded and exited every single time. Significantly less meat damage than JSPs.

 

[Huckelberry75]

I am a HUGE fan of the Nosler Accubonds for elk. I shoot them in both my 300 WM and 30-06. Reasonably priced and dead-nuts reliable. You do your part and they wil do theirs. They also have the advantage over the Partitions with the poly tip that won't get mashed/tweaked like a lead nose. I personally prefer the 180gn option, and have seen it flatten a mature cow elk at 200yds.

 

[janobles14]

165 gr. accubonds have not lost a deer or elk yet at up to 350 yards from my a-bolt -06.

 

[BBDartCA]

Here is a 180g at 86 yards. Two shots but down fast.

http://youtu.be/6POc1xhkEJg

 

[Gunnerboy]

i use a 165 gr nosler accubond with 57 grains of imr 4350 and it puts down any critter with one shot so far, and i hunt the roosevelt elk in washington state so that loads definatly works.

 

[shaggy430]

^^^^ That's the same load I worked up. Haven't shot any critters with it yet, but glad to see it works well. It is insanely accurate in my rifle.

 

[jmr40]

i use a 165 gr nosler accubond with 57 grains of imr 4350 and it puts down any critter with one shot so far, and i hunt the roosevelt elk in washington state so that loads definatly works.

Same load, except I'm using Hornady bullets. I found it to be most the most accurate and fastest for me as well. Getting 2875'ish fps from a 22" barrel with amazing accuracy.

 

[rori]

I've killed 7 elk with my A bolt stainless stalker in 06. Load is 56 gr 4831 with Barnes 180 gr tsx.Two of them were shot from the rear. Bullet went the full length of the animal ending uo at the base of the skull. The other 5 were broadside or quartering away and no bullet recovery as it exited the off side of the animal.Internally they were all torn up preety good somewhere there is a photo of me looking thru the huge bullet hole thru the lungs this was also typical of all the shots that exited the animal.3 of them actually made it about 40 yards before piling up. The others dropped where they were hit. With over 100 big game kills I can tell you I have never seen such great performance from any other bullet and I will never use anything but. The A bolt is a great rifle very accurate with groups (5 shot) going well into less than 1". The bullet is awsome and I bought 5 boxes of them so that just in case they become unavalable I'll have enough to last out my life. I'm 67 so that should be enough.Good luck on your hunt.

 

[tango2echo]

I use 165 grain Nosler Partitions and 58 grains of IMR 4350. Shoots around 1 inch out of my Rem 700. Load is out of the 1979 Speer manual.

I've used this same basic load for 20+ years and my Father and Grandfather did also. Hundreds of deer and dozens of Elk have fallen to it. I have some my Dad loaded in 1974-6 that still shoot great.

 

[BBDartCA]

165g always seems to be the best -06 bullet.

 

[barnetmill]

My what a picture. Elk are certainly grand animals. I would be quite happy just to sit and watch them. If you are hungry for meat just about any of the choices mentioned would work fine if you do your part.

 

[rori]

One bullet that I will never use again on elk or for that matter anything but paper punching is the Hornady 180 gr interlock. I had one blow up on the side of an elk and only thru luck did I get a second shot. One bad bullet is way too many in my opinion. The good that came out of it is I tried the Barnes TSX and never looked back. FRJ

 

[Kachok]

I would personaly stick to the heavier bullet weights, I always had more confidence in a high SD bullet in case of striking heavy bone. 180gr would be ideal for elk, though I will say there are some advanced bullets like the Accubond and TSX that would give 165gr bullets all the penatration of their tradational heavy counterparts. Serria Game King is another really good bullet you should look into. They are not super high tech monolithic, electrobonded, fused, or any of that but they are a hella good traditional cup and core, so good in fact that I use them in my 270 WSM pushing just over 3400fps! Ballistics are just as good as most poly tip boat tails so that is not really an issue either.

 

[HankB]

is that load compressed hank?

Bullet barely touches the powder.