30-06. Hunting bullets. 150? Or 180?

[Ricohard]

This may have been asked many times.

Live in Vic. Have a 30-06. Dont know what bullets to choose from. I have sighted in with 150gr Super X and dropped Fallow with them. But keen to drop Red and Sambar...and maybe down the track some Camel and Donkey.
Only really shooting within 200m.

Some people have told me 150gr is cruel on larger animals like Camel and Sambar, that i should go 180.

What should i sight in for? How much power difference is there? And what sort of tip. Soft point expansion, boat tail soft point, hollow point, etc.

30-06'ers out there please way in and tell me what you use and what works.

[sungazer]

There really is not much difference between them what one lacks in weight it gains in speed. At hunting distances I think using the projectiles that you are familiar with is much more important. Shoot them at different distances, different light and in different winds get to know the ballistics and your gun. That is much more important than 2 grams of lead.

[Oldbloke]

There really is not much difference between them what one lacks in weight it gains in speed. At hunting distances I think using the projectiles that you are familiar with is much more important. Shoot them at different distances, different light and in different winds get to know the ballistics and your gun. That is much more important than 2 grams of lead.

Yep, sungazer is pretty right. 130 is legal for sambar. But 180s are VERY popular for sambar hunters. Bit of a pointless argument though really.

[marksman]

the reason the 180gr pills are popular is because they are used on a sambar running away from you to try and stop it dead in its tracks
the 150 is plenty but I will say if you can get some 168gr a-max/z-max projectiles they seem to work very well at killing sambar for me
but I have used 150's no problem, shot placement is far more important than the size of the projectile period, if the deer is bolting away let it go

[southeast varmiter]

The 30-06 works best on 180. It’s where it shines above the 308. It was oringally built for 220 gr FMJ for US military. The case length is to support enough powder charge to drive this.
IMHO 150’s in a 06 is a waste of time and powder.

[wrenchman]

as a fan of the 3006 have noticed i do get better penetration with the 180s on pigs and bears but as has been said the 150s will do well.
one of the things i do like is the choice of ammo thats out there for it and if you hand load you can make it shine.

[Oldbloke]

You just have to compare the case capacity to a 308. Obviously it will do a bit more, but perhaps less efficient.

[Bigjobss]

You can get a 150 Barnes TTSX going over 3000fps in an '06 - devestating projecticle when you get them humming along.
I use 165s in my 300wm and if it hasnt dropped on the spot the blood trail has been easy to follow.

[Bristles1]

Solid 150s will stop all pigs even red deer. 180's are a bit more of a good thing on bigger deer and camels etc and premium 180s work on buffs and scrubbers. I like to load 220 round nose Hornadies for a bit of fun though.

[bigrich]

when looking for a "do all" projectile for my 308, i did a lot of online research on forums and nathan fosters/chuck hawks websites. the projectile that shoots very accurately and is supposed to be flexible for medium to heavy game is the 165 gr speer boat tail soft point.apparently the copper jacket isn't as stout as the "hot core". just getting my handloads sorted, if i get the chance in the near future ( maybe over x-mas) i'll revisit this post with a field report

[SCJ429]

I am with SouthEast, the 30-06 has the grunt to move heavy bullets at reasonable speeds. I would use 180s or 200 plus. That is not to say the 150s won't do the job but there is not much of a downside to using the heavier bullets.

[Oldbloke]

The 30-06 works best on 180. It’s where it shines above the 308. It was oringally built for 220 gr FMJ for US military. The case length is to support enough powder charge to drive this.
IMHO 150’s in a 06 is a waste of time and powder.

I agree

If you want to use 150s then 308 is optimum. Optimum for 3006 is 180 to 200.
180s are popular for a reason.

PS. Bloody old thread.