Why 180gr over 200+gr in 30.06?

[Elton]

Help me out here as this question is bothering me and you tube is useless.

Im planning on buying a new 30.06 (my first rifle) as i always hunt with family and friend's rifles.

As i mainly hunt for meat here in South Africa i was always told that heavy slow bullets do less neat damage then lighter fast bullets. If this is the case then why are most people (research and reading I've done) using 180grain bullets over 200 or 212 grains?

The reason i am looking at the 30.06 is because with our red tape and issues owning weapons here in sunny South Africa, i want 1 rifle that can cover the bases from warthog to Kudu/Gemsbok.

This being said i also want a bullet that will do the same. Not excessive meat damage on an Impala, but also not to light in the pants for the Kudu. (seeing as you cannot always choose what you find in the bush)

Any information and/or recommendations from real word results would be much appreciated.

 

[Rickmt]

Look at the ballistics. I shoot a 165 grain here in Montana for deer and elk because it’s flatter shooting and and what matters most is where you put the bullet.

 

[Elton]

Ballistics are all well and good but there is some "real word aspect" to also take in consideration. I mainly shoot within 150m so Ballistics dont play as much of a roll here in the bushveld as over 500yards? But meat damage does.

 

[Elton]

I realized that many people prefer thr 165 g over 300 yards

 

[JimP]

Back when I was packing a 30-06 the only round that I shot out of it was with a 150 grain bullet and I never did have that much meat damage on mule deer or elk. But I always tried for a shot right behind the shoulder that punched through the ribs and wrecked havoc with the lungs. The only time that I would even consider a heart shot was when the animal was facing directly at me where there was no heavy bones to go through to get to it.

Today I I was shooting a good old 06 I would shoot the 165 grain bullet. Put them in the correct spot and you will have minimal meat damage. But even with a 180 or even a 200 grain bullet, they will do the same thing. But shoot any of them where they hit heavy bone and you are going to loose meat.

 

[Tgood1]

The run of mill factory barrel twist may stabilize the 150-180 grain bullets more consistently,,,perhaps. Every rifle different regarding what bullet it prefers

 

[Rickmt]

Ballistics are all well and good but there is some "real word aspect" to also take in consideration. I mainly shoot within 150m so Ballistics dont play as much of a roll here in the bushveld as over 500yards? But meat damage does.

I have never shot at any animal over 400 yards. Under 200 yards I doubt there is much difference between the 180 and the 200 grain load with a well placed shot

 

[375er]

Having shot the '06 for about 40 years, here is what I can tell you. The use of 180's is probably mostly due to availability unless you reload.

I have found that bullet weight to be quite accurate in most rifles. They also give you a reasonable trajectory at most hunting yardages.

As far as meat damage, I think if you use a well constructed bullet you probably won't notice much difference. The only time I ever really had a problem was with an early Nosler BT that did damage on a fairly close shot on a pronghorn, approximately the size of one of your Implala.

If all you can get are 180's I would pull the trigger and not worry too much.

Shoot straight!

 

[sestoppelman]

Standard twist for .30-06 is 1-10, never heard of any maker using different other than custom. That twist will stabilize all weights just fine. I used 200 gr Partitions at 2600fps on my last trip and it worked perfectly when I did my part properly which sad to say is not always.

 

[Terry Blauwkamp]

So far, I've killed African plains game with 29 different bullets in the 30-06, and.... and not found it to make a lot of difference. Dead is dead, bullet placement is most important. However, I was least impressed with the 200 gr Nosler Partition, and surprisingly impressed with the 150 gr Barnes TSX.
but shoot 180 or 200, just shoot what your guns like best.

 

[shark_za]

Howzit Elton.

I used to have a 30-06 and used it for plains and bushveld hunting.
I loaded 220gr RN for bush and then a 150gr or 165gr when hunting in the Karoo.

Always trying to jump between loads and changing scope settings etc; became a pain.

I ended up loading a good 180gr and stuck with one load for everything.

 

[Areaonereal]

Tikka and Sako are 11 twist, all others that I am aware of are 10 twist.

 

[Elton]

Thats the idea i have, lile. The rifle,. I want the bullet to. Cover the spectrum. I have been on a hunt where we were looking for impala and all wr kept on finding were kudu. So like i said you taje what the bush gives you. I dont want to walk around with a specific round for a specific animal. A broad approach and i know i am covered. From karoo springbok to bush kudu.

Howzit Elton.

I used to have a 30-06 and used it for plains and bushveld hunting.
I loaded 220gr RN for bush and then a 150gr or 165gr when hunting in the Karoo.

Always trying to jump between loads and changing scope settings etc; became a pain.

I ended up loading a good 180gr and stuck with one load for everything.

 

[IvW]

200 gr Rhino will do the trick for what you want.

 

[Hunt anything]

Have shot a dozen or so animals with 180 grain 30-06 bullets, ranging from klipsringer to roan. Whatever bullet you choose make sure rifle groups it well.

 

[.45]

I have fed my 30-06 with 180 gr factory ammo for 31 years, on game ranging from the occasional duiker or steenbuck,springbuck, warthog, many Impala and kudu, upto eland. I initially used regular "brown box" PMP ammo. After experiencing primers which failed to ignite, I had since used Remington Safari Grade loaded with 180 gr Swift A Frame. I find them to be extremely accurate, deadly and not excessive as far as meat damage is concerned. Most of my hunting is in bushveld conditions for meat.

 

[meigsbucks]

For what you want, I believe that either the 180 or 200 will do the job. My concern would be bullet construction more than weight. With the 200 gr bullets you’re looking at 2550-2600 fps, whereas the 180 gr at 2700-2800 will give you a little flatter trajectory.
If it was me, I’d load some 180 gr Barnes or Swifts and have at it. If I were to travel to a more open area, this would be slightly superior to the 200 gr..
I used a .30/06 in Namibia on steenbok to gemsbok with great success using the Barnes 180 gr TSX.

 

[BigSteve57]

We took my trusty deer rifle in 30-06 with Federal Nosler Partition 180's (P3006F) on our trip and it performed fabulously. I would factor in ammo availability for hunting; 150's & 180's should be very available perhaps more so than 220's At least that's true here in the USA. Taken with the 30-06 were: Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Red Hartebeest, Oryx and Springbok.

That trip showed me just how capable the 30-06 really is as the biggest game I ever shot with it was White Tailed deer.

 

[375er]

The 30-06 gets it done all day, everywhere, on almost anything that walks this planet.

 

[Swedish chef]

Help me out here as this question is bothering me and you tube is useless.

Im planning on buying a new 30.06 (my first rifle) as i always hunt with family and friend's rifles.

As i mainly hunt for meat here in South Africa i was always told that heavy slow bullets do less neat damage then lighter fast bullets. If this is the case then why are most people (research and reading I've done) using 180grain bullets over 200 or 212 grains?

The reason i am looking at the 30.06 is because with our red tape and issues owning weapons here in sunny South Africa, i want 1 rifle that can cover the bases from warthog to Kudu/Gemsbok.

This being said i also want a bullet that will do the same. Not excessive meat damage on an Impala, but also not to light in the pants for the Kudu. (seeing as you cannot always choose what you find in the bush)

Any information and/or recommendations from real word results would be much appreciated.

Either way you are well covered by a 30-06 for those critters. I shoot boars with 180 gr Swift Scirocco from my 30-06 and it's a great bullet and calibre combo. Stiff bullet and high ballistic coefficient makes it a 3-400 meter bullet but I shoot them on average at 70 meters so that I can seee clearly through my thermal. The bullet still holds together and retain weight.