30-06 mono bullets?

[Strausser]

Well,seems I’ve just bought my first aughtsix.
And for no good reason at all,I’d like to use mono metal bullets for hunting.
165-ish a good weight to aim for,or heavier?
Any good options out there other than Barnes?

Oh,deer,moose and boars will be the quarry.
Most likely shorter ranges,but I don’t mind a bullet that works between say 20-300 yards if possible.

Gun pics to follow when I am able to pick it up.
Feel free to make a guess.Rather uncommon brand.
Mine was made in the fifties and the brand is still around.

 

[TucsonFX4]

I think for mono metal, 165 is the heaviest I’d prefer to use for that caliber, perhaps with a little flexibility for the next size up when something extra large/tough is on the menu. But even then, I think the 165 is appropriate. It might be worth stepping down in weight for thin skinned lighter game to get higher velocity and improved expansion.

 

[RLL]

Ive used Barnes 180 ttsx loaded to 2850ish with great success. CEB 150 safari raptors at 2950ish work wonders. Hornady 165 GMX at 2800 are consistent and shoot well from my rifle. Moving away from mono metals if it’s legal for you, Woodleigh 240 gr at 2200ish if hunting pigs under 100 yards on foot are a hammer. Hornady 150 grain interlocks are hard to beat on thin skinned game under 300. I don’t like Berger VLDs and Haven’t tried hammer bullets yet.

 

[JMM]

I like the monos in lighter weights. I shoot a lot of deer with the 110 ttsx at 3500 fps in 06. Don't know if they expand or not, never found one. I think they do based on exit hole and DRT reactions. Not had as much luck with the heavies. In my experience, they need to be driven fast. Based on your intended quarry, the 168 is the heaviest I would go. The 150 will do it all also. I have culled a lot of elk cows with the 130 ttsx and never had an issue.

 

[Yosin]

I think the suggestion for lighter for caliber is good advice. I've used the 168 and 180 with success in the 30-06 and .300 WM but have the suspicion it should be driven at the higher velocity from the reaction of the animals. I've used the Barnes in 130g 270 and 225 grain in the .338 WM. All very accurate. I found some Nosler E-Tips and loaded the 150gn in the .308 and 30-06 but have not been to the range due to the cold here. (- zero many days)

 

[Strausser]

All bullets are legal,but I thought I’d try out some mono’s,just because.
I did not expect bullets lighter than 165 to be recommended.Interesting,and something I need to learn more about.
I’ve shot tsx/ttsx before but never hunted with them.

 

[Ryan]

I have used 168 grain Barnes TTSX in my 30-06 for a decade now. Used it on a few caribou from 175 to 270-ish yards and 8 species of plains game from springbok to kudu and zebra ranging from 30 to 210 or so yards. I also used 150 grain TTSX on caribou, though only once so far with that round. Bang-drop dead at 80 or so yards on a nice sized bull. I started out using Barnes Vor-TX 168s and switched to hand loads as I got into that. The 150s are hand loads. The 168 grain is actually designed for the 30-06 and 308 so for a general purpose round it is tough to beat. I would use it on a bull moose here in Alaska without hesitation.

 

[Ray B]

I'd give Cutting Edge bullets a look.

 

[meigsbucks]

I had great success with 180gr Barnes TSX in a .30/06. I used them in Namibia on Springbok x2, Gemsbok, zebra, steinbok. MV: ~2650 fps. All made exit.

 

[ldmay375]

Well,seems I’ve just bought my first aughtsix.
And for no good reason at all,I’d like to use mono metal bullets for hunting.
165-ish a good weight to aim for,or heavier?
Any good options out there other than Barnes?

Oh,deer,moose and boars will be the quarry.
Most likely shorter ranges,but I don’t mind a bullet that works between say 20-300 yards if possible.

Gun pics to follow when I am able to pick it up.
Feel free to make a guess.Rather uncommon brand.
Mine was made in the fifties and the brand is still around.

I am not sure of the validity of this, I have never verified, but I have an older 30-06 that is listed as a 1-12” twist. Twist rate could be a concern with the heavier / longer mono bullets. The same issue can be encountered with the 308 Winchesters of older vintages.

 

[Bert the Turtle]

168g Tipped triple shock has served admirably for me from impala to eland

could go lighter and be OK, but I tend not to experiment after I find something that meets my needs.

I don’t see any reason to go heavier.

 

[Divernhunter]

150gr TTSX Barnes will kill anything up to elk. The 130gr TTSX works well for deer and pronghorns and such. Load them hot and give them lots of jump for best accuracy and terminal performance

 

[Hyde Hunter]

in April I will be going to Africa for Kudu down to Impala using 152 Hammer Hunter mono bullets and we will see how the work.velocity will be 2864fps I will post results when I get back

 

[Doug3006]

I used a Model 70 in 30-06 for my first safari in Namibia. I was shooting 180 grain Barnes TSX bullets at about 2600 FPS MV. I took Gemsbok, Hartebeast, Hartman’s Mountain Zebra, Kudu and Warthog. All ran a short distance with no real tracking required. I noticed that all but the Warthog took longer to expire than I’d like. I only retrieved one bullet, and it hadn’t opened much. I think I’d have been better off with the lighter grain at a higher MV.

 

[ARHinAK]

My hunting partner kills Alaskan bull moose on a regular basis with 150 grain TTSX Barnes factory ammo. I’d tell him to use 168s but when we find the bullet caught by the hide on the opposite side I just keep my mouth shut, and keep skinning.

 

[Strausser]

I’ll check the twist when I pick it up.
Seems quite a few calibers used slower twist than we prefer today.
Looking at you tripledeuce.

I am not sure of the validity of this, I have never verified, but I have an older 30-06 that is listed as a 1-12” twist. Twist rate could be a concern with the heavier / longer mono bullets. The same issue can be encountered with the 308 Winchesters of older vintages.

 

[C.W. Richter]

Well,seems I’ve just bought my first aughtsix.
And for no good reason at all,I’d like to use mono metal bullets for hunting.
165-ish a good weight to aim for,or heavier?
Any good options out there other than Barnes?

Oh,deer,moose and boars will be the quarry.
Most likely shorter ranges,but I don’t mind a bullet that works between say 20-300 yards if possible.

Gun pics to follow when I am able to pick it up.
Feel free to make a guess.Rather uncommon brand.
Mine was made in the fifties and the brand is still around.

165-168 (they have both) are excellent for deer and fine for boar too. I'd go heavier for moose! 200ish. Both fly really well considering the factory twist and velocity range of most 06s. I use the 200 Nos PTs for the combined deer/bear season. You could use the heavier bullets for everything, as they're good to 300 yds! A hot 165 is good to 500+(has the best velocity vs. bc so drops less,) just not in my deep woods 18.5" carbine.

 

[C.W. Richter]

I used a Model 70 in 30-06 for my first safari in Namibia. I was shooting 180 grain Barnes TSX bullets at about 2600 FPS MV. I took Gemsbok, Hartebeast, Hartman’s Mountain Zebra, Kudu and Warthog. All ran a short distance with no real tracking required. I noticed that all but the Warthog took longer to expire than I’d like. I only retrieved one bullet, and it hadn’t opened much. I think I’d have been better off with the lighter grain at a higher MV.

'Son and I have killed a pile of thin-skinned whitetails with 165-168 Barnes, and even they run a short distance. 'Only had a few drop like rocks (spine shots under stands.) He used one exclusively for cull hunts in Namibia, always using 200-220 grain conventional bullets (which tend to work better at 06 velocities on thick-skinned, more toughly constructed African PG.) We like hot handloads, which will increase V somewhat.

 

[Ryan]

A zebra is one stout animal. I shot mine as it quartered towards me at 120 or so yards with a 168 grain TTSX. The bullet broke the front leg and still travelled diagonally completely through the body lodging on the far side hide. The zebra went a few feet and dropped dead. Here's the bullet, it lost no weight. So I have zero doubt it'll drop a moose.

Here's a lot more info and proof of the bullets effectiveness.

Making My Way To BARNES

Making my way to BARNES. There was one person in my entire extended family who ever reloaded ammunition themselves and, in that case, it was only for a Shotgun and only target shooting to boot. Eventually, I started to shoot enough Sporting Clay targets that it became more economical to...

www.africahunting.com

Making My Way To BARNES

 

[Nhoro]

It is well known that mono's made of a lighter material and will be longer for the same weight. So in order to stabilise properly, you will be using lighter bullets. Many people try to spin that off as an advantage of brass or copper bullets- you can use lighter bullets to do the "same" job -not strictly true.

To me the reality is you need to use bullets that stabilise in your rifle or your groups will look like a shotgun pattern.If that is a 165 gr, then that is what you need to use, regardless of whether you like a 180 or 220 gr bullet. If a 180 gr mono will stabilise, I would go with that. Otherwise work my way down through the weights until I get an acceptable group.