Factory Ammo Suggestions

[Houston Bill]

For 30 caliber I like 180 grain loads. For the game you mentioned any of the bullets recommended would be acceptable. As has been mentioned in this post I would buy a few different brands/bullet combinations and shoot them and pick the most accurate. I have had a lot of success with Nosler Accubonds, Swift AFrames and Barnes LRX bullets in Africa.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

@Bob Nelson 35Whelen can correct me if I'm wrong but I believe he shot Accubonds at a very high rate of speed out of his whelen and reported feet of penetration. Also, you don't get much heavier built than a moose and plenty of them have succumbed just fine to the old partition, AB or Scirocco.

@CJW
Don't know about high speed 2,900fps and went five foot thru a kudu from front to rear ham and still retained 174gn of weight.
Bob

 

[BeeMaa]

The NP has its place, with a few exceptions…that place is in the bin.

Rest in peace Bruce Moulds.

 

[nomspc]

I used a .30-06 on PG in Namibia with Barnes 180 TTSX; worked great. Be careful with these on herd animals, though. I once shot an elk bull at 70 yards with this combo. The bullet went though his chest, through a bush behind him and through the neck of a cow elk standing behind the bush. An inadvertent twofer…

BTW, the 180 TTSX was my go-to bullet in the 300WM for many years; didn’t see a lot of shoot-throughs with that combo.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Everyone has their go-to but here's another option that's beginning to be widely used in RSA, the ELD-Xs.

https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/rifle/30-06-springfield-178-gr-eld-x-precision-

 

[CJW]

The NP has its place, with a few exceptions…that place is in the bin.

Rest in peace Bruce Moulds.

This is America, so I respect your right to be wrong.

 

[BeeMaa]

This is America, so I respect your right to be wrong.

I'd agree with you...but then we'd both be wrong.

Cheers mate.

 

[harris88]

Looking for a starting point for 30-06. I understand each rifle will be different but looking for suggestions on bullet type and weight for plains game hunt. I am not a re-loader so looking for off the shelf or even going with custom loads. Thanks in advance!

I used the 180 gr. Norma Bondstrike on my latest PG hunt in Namibia. It worked flawlessly on different size animals from baboons and duikers to oryx. Good expansion/wound channel and penetration. It's a very high B.C. bullet too with pretty consistent velocities between shots (though I'm not convinced the B.C. is as high as Norma claims).

In general, a bullet that deforms rapidly but in a controlled way and has a high B.C. will be a good choice for PG as shooting distance can vary a lot and you want them down as quickly as possible. Bondstrike, Accubond, Partition, Scirocco II, Tipped TSX, Sako Powerhead Blade, etc, all fall into this category, but there are a number of other similar bullets that work just as well. I would try to pick the most accurate ammo for my rifle with such a bullet type. With lead-free bullets you can go somewhat lower than 180 grains and get at least equally good results as long as the muzzle velocity is high.